Tag: prose

inspiration, Uncategorized

It All Starts Tomorrow

carolyncordon

Today is the penultimate day of January, and I can almost say that tomorrow will be the first day of February, and that means it’s also the first day of February, and the first day of the month of creative writing prompts! I’ve been talking with members of my writing group about this, and the blog posts I’ve written about it, are on my Facebook page, and being read by some people.

I’ve put some links on my twitter accounts, and who knows how many people may have seen the information there. I’d like hundreds of people to be reading this blog post, obviously, but life isn’t like that – you have to work hard to get stuff like that happening in your life.

And my life is full of lots of different things, and I don’t have the time or the knowledge, understanding, or inclination to get all of those kinds of things done. In my ideal life, I’ll have a p/a, who will attend to the details, and I’ll be able to concentrate on the big picture stuff only. I’m not living that ideal life though.

Puss in Boots and I hape we all have a great creative month together, for February, with lots and lots of words written!

So I do what I can, what I want to do, what interests me the most, and what ‘floats my boat’. I get a huge kick out of inspiring other people to write, when they never realised creative writing was a skill they had. Giving feedback and encouragement taught me these things, and I’m grateful to the people who helled me in these ways. This February writing prompt idea is a way of giving to others.

Giving to others, helping them to write better, inspiring them to write, as a writer, of course I want others to write too, they’re my peers, and writers, are also readers, and of course writers and readers have a symbiotic relationship, giving to each other …

So the month of February will be a month of exploring ideas, writing on the new prompts I’ll be handing out, a new one every single day … And I’ve just today discovered that Writers’ Week starts in Adelaide, on the last day of this project, and that seems so appropriate to me, a month of new writing, ending with a great writing and listening and learning, as well as chat and schmoozing event, that brings together writers and readers from around the world, all getting together in the that little grassed space …

I’ll be there, for some of the event, not sure how many days, but at least two days, hopefully more. Writers Week always feels like I’m ‘one of the gang’ the gang of writers, sharing with others, and learning more and more about this writing world …

So this month of writing prompts starts tomorrow, the fun starts tomorrow (I hope!), and with luck, by the end of February, I may have enough poems for my next poetry collection! Or I may have a breakthrough and really truly get to work on my series of Cosy Murder Mysteries, or I may even turn the first draft of the novel I’ve written into the second draft, and have begun giving it to readers to make it into a publishable book, perhaps! You never know what might happen, when inspiration is in the room!

So I hope you’re feeling inspired for February to bring good writing, as I am, buckle in and be preapared to write and write and write!

Writing

What Is A Writer?

carolyncordon

Points to Consider

  • Poetry
  • Prose
  • Journalism
  • Fiction
  • Non Fiction
  • Article
  • Blogs
  • Public Speaking

All of the dot points above involve writing, and involve writers. Not every one of them necessarily is seen as making a person a writer, but it’s is definitely true that if you write in any of these forms, you could call yourself a writer.

Whether or not you and your words ever get published is irrelevant, if you write, you are a writer, that is what I believe. Of course for some the idea of sharing their work with many other people, and even earning money with your writing is the ultimate result, but that isn’t as easy as it may seem.

So are you a writer who wants to get your words ‘out there’ and even earn some money? Read on, below:

 

Get your words working for you!

If you live in or near a town or city, there are probably many venues where you can meet with other writers. Many hotels and libraries, for instance, sometimes hold ‘Poetry Readings’ where poets can attend an ‘Open Mic’ session, having the chance of 2 or 3 minutes to read their poetry to audience members.

Service groups are another possible option, for being a place where an audience may be interested in your writing, and maybe but your books if you have them available.

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For the poetry options, the audience are often to also there read their own work out, so they are likely to already be interested in poetry. If you attend these kinds of events, and become known to other poets, there may be the chance of finding other events and other possibilities.

If you send your poetry to online or other magazines, you may gain publication and if you have enough of your poems published, or available online, you may have a higher chance of having a poetry collection published. If you want to cut some corners, and have some spare cash, you could self-publish a collection yourself, and possible sell some copies to heal to cover your costs, and maybe even make a profit!

The more you are seen, ‘out there’ with your poetry, the more likely it is that someone may ask you to present your words to an audience. If you write a lot of poetry about flowers and plants, for instance, perhaps a gardening group might like to have you speak to their club members.

‘Gigs’ like this may not be paid opportunities (although they may be, sometimes), but they can be a great chance to sell copies of your poetry collection, or whatever genre it is that you write. The same applies if your genre is something other than poetry, readings from collected short stories, or blog posts collected together, or articles, all these are possible avenues for a writer.

 

Bottom Line

So what is a writer? A writer is a person who writes. The world has many, many readers, as well many places looking for entertainment options. A writer can fashion themselves and their words as possible entertainment options, in a variety of ways. Comedy, for instance is an option. If you have a funny bone, and a good sense of timing, you may be able to become a stand up comic, or perhaps you could find somewhere you could sell your jokes – country newspapers are a possible place to accept such writing.

If you keep an open mind, and keep your options alive, who knows what and where your words may end up!

If you are a writer, the whole world is out there for you!