We All Need a Little Boost…

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encouragement, freelance writing, help, Peter Mallett, running, support, writing

Not me, but this is what running feels like sometimes…

I enjoy exercising…most of the time. My schedule alternates between running, biking and walking, but honestly, when running days come along, I feel the eensiest bit whiny. It’s too hot…my shoes are too tight…it’s too cloudy…anything, really. Strangely, the best part is the feeling of accomplishment I get when I’m finished, all hot and sweaty, glad that I reached another goal.

Sunday’s whiny little voice was no different, but I laced up and headed out anyhow. The last leg of my run takes me past Joe and Rosemary’s house, set behind some trees.

They’re elderly – I’m guessing in their 80s – and obviously past any exercising days they may have had, because they drive their car down to the box to get the morning paper.

That’s what Joe was doing as I huffed and puffed past their driveway, running along, wishing our driveway was next. (Sensing some whining here?) I waved at Joe, but his attention was directed toward maneuvering the car so he could reach the press box. I ran a few steps, turned around, and waved once more. Joe responded with a big smile and a wave.

Ocean/Corbis

It was a simple thing, but it sealed the deal on my last half-mile. Buoyed by that little gesture of happiness, I fairly bounded home.

The writing process can be that way sometimes. I feel like I’m slogging along, not making the progress I want to. Everything is uphill, writing into the wind, so to speak.

At those times, it’s nice to have a little encouragement. Recently, I left a part-time job (read more about that here) to return to writing. I’ve submitted to magazines in the past, and wanted help polishing the way I went about it. I reached out to Peter Mallett, whose blog “Writing in Color” offers supportive and encouraging posts, written in down-to-earth style.

He responded with a terrific Q&A series, based around questions that I and other writers submitted. (Part 2 here).

It was just what I needed. Like Joe’s wave, it was a supportive boost that spurred me on.

Writing can be a solitary pursuit, but there are times when it’s important to reach out, with questions, advice, support, giving others that little push they need to finish the race. That feeling when I hit the “send” button on something I’ve written is a little like finishing my morning run – a lot of work, but the feeling of accomplishment is priceless.

When have you benefited from a helping hand? How have you used your talent to help others? That’s what it’s all about!

courtesy nps.gov

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Ideas Now on Sale at Wal-Mart…

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classes, creative writing, freelance writing, kids writing, learning, teaching

Every so often, I have the opportunity to teach a writing class. Invariably, someone asks where I get my inspiration from. The younger the group, the more interested they are in this process.

For a kindergartner, the possibilities are endless. Younger kids, just out of the stage of the magical thinking of their toddler years, still have a sprinkling of that fairy dust left. In their world, it’s almost possible for me to pick up a great idea at Wal-Mart, sitting right next to the toothpaste.

As the kids mature, they wrestle with idea generation in a different way. Girls especially, seem to want inspiration packaged and neatly wrapped. They sometimes struggle with the start of their stories, unable to move forward until they rip that first idea from their mind, dirt and roots and all, and slap it on the paper.

It doesn’t always happen that way, I tell them. Ideas don’t come because you pine away for them. It takes a little prodding, poking, and sometimes just setting it aside for a while and coming back to it.

As long as you’re not procrastinating, this can work wonders.

But, they ask, what do I do when an idea is stalled, stuck by the side of the road, waiting for a tow truck to show up?

http://www.sheknows.com

Once, I needed to write an article and all four of my creative tires were flat, puddled heaps on a seemingly dead car. I had a germ of a thought, but every beginning I came up with sucked. And there were quite a few of them.

So that’s what I did, I told the class. I typed “this beginning stinks” at the top of my page and I went on to write the rest of the article.

They thought that was pretty funny. I explained that I changed the beginning before I submitted it, but the point was valid:

When the beginning won’t come, write the rest.

The older boys I’ve taught have different issues. Aside from being almost consumed with writing about blowing things up or car chases, they don’t always dive below the surface the way the girls do.

Sometimes their writing skates across the ice. Adults see the cracks and bubbles and cold water lurking below, and good writing will plug its nose and plumb those depths, stick our metaphorical head in the water for a while. That’s where the story is.

For the younger kids, I just want them to have fun, to enjoy the silliness, the possibilities, the sheer thrill of creating. Finished with a few paragraphs, they run outside to their mothers, papers waving excitedly in their hands. Mom smiles before she even sees what’s been written, and the kids get instant validation for having created a little something.

And the older kids? I tell them it’s OK to struggle, to think what they’ve written is no good, downright stupid and not worthy of being printed. Keep going. Don’t give up.

That’s often when inspiration strikes and something great happens.