As a New Year’s resolution in January of 2007, I decided I was a writer and would start acting like one. No more excuses. I was going to stop complaining and saying that I’d start writing “someday.” I would glue my backside to the chair and start writing right now. The problem was, I had… Read more »
The Power of Writing to YOU Several months ago, I visited the Rubenstein Rare Books & Manuscript Library at Duke University. My purpose? I needed to research an individual for a possible picture book biography. Duke housed my subject’s archives in one of their collections. As I sorted through photographs and papers in the quiet… Read more »
There are only two types of writing prompts. The good ones, that spark a new idea. And the great ones that take you on a journey and fill you to the brim with creativity. If you thought, at Worldly Wise I am just going to drop prompts for you to choose from, you haven’t been… Read more »
Hello, beautiful people on the internet! Welcome back to Worldly Wise where together we’re going to take the reins of your speculative fiction story and see it to the finishing line. Did any of the book recommendations from last time make it to your TBR Pile? If not, but you still want to explore the… Read more »
I’ve always loved a good prompt when it comes to writing because I’ve always loved a challenge. These are usually questions or directives (though they don’t have to be) with the goal of inciting a written response from the writer, such as: “two strangers meet in a bar, and one of them turns to the… Read more »
In this post, we’ll consider the challenges of trying to change people’s minds, trying to urge action, trying to change the world, or some portion thereof, explicitly with your words. While the examples I reference are from creative nonfiction, I believe the tips can apply to fiction or poetry as well. In response to the… Read more »
When it comes to working with literary themes in your writing, it’s not enough to identify or study them. It’s also crucial to practice incorporating themes logically and thoughtfully into your work. We did this last year with a series of writing and brainstorming exercises for the theme of family. Today, we’ll do this again… Read more »
It’s easy to take writing prompts for granted. Maybe because they’re so abundant, we wonder if they can really help that much. Maybe it’s because they’re so fun, it’s hard to take them seriously. Those suffering from writer’s block especially seem to go to extremes in their approach to prompts. On one side, blocked writers… Read more »
Remember, when you were a child, how much you wanted to become a published writer when you grew up? The image of being a successful writer has so much glory and aspiration that everyone dreams of it at some point. Besides, when you don’t dive too deep into it, it seems like writing a bestseller… Read more »
Recently, I wrote an essay about the sea glass I collected as a kid. This essay was a fun one to write because it was the type of piece that grew in complexity the more I spent time on it. Until I got encouragement from an editor to write the piece, I didn’t feel it… Read more »
