short story from C L Roberts
Starting December 1st – January 1st ten percent of all book sales will go to the Galax VA Back Pack Buddies Chapter. Back Pack Buddies is a nonprofit organization dedicated to make sure that no kids go hungry in school or at home. I lived in Galax, VA for many years and I still consider it home. Like many people that live there lots of job opportunities were lost in the last couple of years and families are struggling to make a living. Help make a difference in the lives of others.
Happy Holidays
On March the 5th – 7th I will be a guest at stellarcon 34. I will be signing books and giving away prizes at my table. So take the time to come and visit me. www.stellarcon.org/home
For everyone that has ever taken a creative writing course before. Many of you know that there is as many ways of approaching this subject as there are colors in a Disney movie. My attempt here is not to rehash methods I have learned from courses; but to show you how I approach the creative writing method. What I have found that works for me, which won’t work for everyone, but my goal is to help you to get your neurons firing and perhaps approach this subject in a new and fun way that you might not have ever considered before. As of the writing of this document I only have one book to my credit; so some of you may think that my advice may be premature or not valid. There is one thing you need to know about me, before any judgment is passed. I have known since I was very young that I have always wanted to be a writer. I have studied and read extensively on the subject of creative writing and have experimented on myself in the methods I’m going to outline to you the reader. The goal is to give you some tools or ideas that work for me and hopefully will encourage you to pursue your passions and achieve your dreams. After all I’m a firm believer that how one imagines there life will be, they will get the results they seek. Never stop dreaming and when someone tells you, you can’t or not smart enough or strong enough; that’s when you prove them wrong. Above all things believe in your-self.
For starters I’m one of these people that writing first thing in the morning and late at night is the optimal time for me. This is something everyone needs to figure out for them-selves and make a plan to try and write every day around that time or hell even several times during that day. If you’re a busy person like all of us my suggestion to you is to keep a writers journal with you. When you have free time or your writing during the time you discovered is your optimal time, then whip out your journal and write about anything. Jot down ideas you have, journal about your day or how you want your day to go. If you hate your job then complain about it in there; I have and it’s made my day go so much better. You can even draw or doodle in your journal; do anything that helps get your brain going and thinking.
This may sound easier said than done for most people. Just staring at a blank piece of notebook paper like a zombie transfixed on a blinking light is often the hardest thing to do. Here is a bit of advice of things I have learned to do to help jump start your brain. I’ll just start jotting down random words that come to mind, maybe even colors to start with. (Ex. Red white blue green, rat, hat, cat, sat, etc…) If you find this hard to do, then look in a dictionary or book and just start jotting down words or sentences out of the book. You can even listen to the TV or radio and jot down words. After you’ve filled several lines of this you’ll be amazed at how much more functional your brain and creativity is. As a variant you could even use crayons or markers to jot down these words. This method is like doing jumping jacks for the brain. Give it a try before you have any writing assignment or you just need to be able to think outside of the box more clearly. I think you’ll be surprised at how much this helps. If you want to use a computer instead of a note book; I suggest using Microsoft office one note. This is a great tool you can use to jot down ideas, draw and coloring in and do just about anything with. I have only just started using it and I use a mixture of both a notepad which I carry with me constantly and one note on my laptop. Do whatever makes you feel comfortable with, the object lesson here is that you find the time to write and do it on a consistent basis.
