Reserving the Right to Change Your Mind

During the course of writing this blog, I have made many a life change. I started writing in high school as a badly-formatted public journal and then (gradually) went on to see it as a more formal way to publish my own content without the burden of a publishing contract. It's part the zinester in me and part personal encounters with the publishing industry. At a tender middle school age, I attempted to publish my first novel (pitching to real live agents, you see), but for the obvious reasons that was a flop.

In some ways, the blog has watched my personal growth in a very tangible way and stands as living proof of my thoughts at various stages. Most important to me, however, it has acted as a true showcase of how often I really do change my mind.

Travel for Writers: 5 Ways

Yet another list today, but this one a little more on the how-to side; having recently done a bit of travel, I feel it is mandatory to put up a post on the best ways to travel for a writer, from hyperlocal (really really hyperlocal) to global, travel can be just what you need to recharge your creative energy. Rather than continuing to sound like an infomercial, I present you with five ways to travel and their best practices:

Build with your ideas.

 

6 Tips from Writing Workshops: Opening Lines, Content, & Revision

This weekend, I had the pleasure of attending an all-day set of writing workshops at Richard Hugo House in Seattle. Since I have been learning to beat writer's block, this day was a necessary shock to my system - an entire day of learning, writing, and revising is just what I needed!
And, because I believe in the power of sharing, I thought I would disclose some of the most valuable writing lessons I took away - specifically on openings, content, and revising.

On Location: Write-o-Rama

Today, I will live-Tweeting from Write-o-Rama, an all-day writing workshop event that raises money for the Seattle-based writing organization Richard Hugo House. Follow my Tweets (@thecowation) or #writeorama for updates from the workshops and advice for writers!

Caught My Eye: Dear Sugar Column at The Rumpus

As I was trying to rouse myself from a literary stupor this week, I searched around the internet for some inspiration to fill myself up until I could no longer stand the feeling of not writing. One of the articles that I came across that most inspired me was The Rumpus' column Dear Sugar.

Dear Sugar is a self-reported advice column, but it caters to those of all stripes - it is not just a love life column, nor an inspirational manifesto, but also takes care of its writers and other people in long response articles. My favorite of all such articles is Write Like a Motherfucker, which tells the unabashed truth: get writing and keep doing it until it hurts.

Check out the rest of Sugar's advice column for everything from marriage advice to alternative graduation speeches; you will not be disappointed!

Check out some more media with the rest of the Caught My Eye series.

You may also be interested in reading 3 Ways I Beat Writer's Block to a Pulp.