Tag: Writing
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Patience
Writing teaches patience, whether it happens when you’re staring at the blank screen and trying to figure out what happens next or watching the words slowly build to a completed piece. It’s like going to an amusement park. You can’t sleep the night before, waiting for that new adventure to begin. Once you’re there, the…
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Fear of Authenticity
A few weeks ago, I had a conversation with a friend about my writing and I came to a horrifying realization. I was no longer having fun. The change was slow and insidious. I had stories I enjoyed, ideas I liked, and characters I loved. But the balance was off. I was focusing too heavily on…
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“It’s not subtext…”
I try to stay open to signs from the Universe about what I should be writing next. Sometimes, the messages are easily explained as my subconscious picking up on things in my environment, and saying, “Please? May we please play with this story now?” This phenomenon is currently manifesting as me noticing motorcycles. The particular…
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Creative Connection
When I write, I don’t feel as if I’m creating something. I’m getting something down on the paper instead. My brain produces a constant stream of movies set in my own worlds and populated with people born from my subconscious. Often, I do control them, like playing with dolls as a child (though I was…
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Summer
I have to admit, summer is not my best season for writing. It isn’t the worst, either, but there’s something about the long days that dims my creativity. My muse is more likely to hibernate during the light months than the dark. In the autumn and the winter, she has more space to play. In…
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In the Mix
Good stories consist of many different elements. Action, dialogue, inner and outer conflict, drama, horror, and of course, romance, just to name a few. The presence of these elements can be amped up or dialed back, like balancing the channels on a mixer to create music. I keep romance at the center of every story,…
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Luminous Characters
There are people in this world who carry light within them. Real people and imagined. Some spread their light like a gentle sunrise, some like a guiding star. Others blaze like a perpetual supernova. Some are luminous like lightning. Exploring these variations is part of why I write. I want to get into the head…
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Monkey Mind
It’s amazing the things that I’ll come up with to distract myself from writing (take this blog post, for instance). Earlier, I caught myself looking at my arms and wondering if my biceps were the same size. I’ll suddenly remember a picture that I just have to send to someone right that moment. The most…
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Ebb and Flow
Writing every day is a wonderful habit to cultivate. I work hard to make the time, to show the discipline to make it happen. Sometimes, though, I need to let go of that expectation. Life is busy and curve-balls can come out of nowhere. It’s important to make a consistent practice of writing. It’s also…
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Thinking Outside Yourself
Lately, the summer sky has been filled with enormous fluffy white clouds. High altitude winds sometimes stack them into floating skyscrapers. I’ve been watching them as much as I can, imprinting them in my memory to call up when my mind gets stuck in the details of living. It’s made me realize just how much…
Cassandra Chandler 