“My Writing Process Blog Tour” is about the creative process of writing and illustrating. Anastasia Kierst, Muffet Frische, and Cynthia Wildridge are three inspirational writers and artists who hold the spark for me, a LIFELONG LEARNER. If you click on their names above, it will take you to their website. Gather some inspiration from these fabulous writers.
I want to share a few of my favorite books on writing. Anne Lamott makes a suggestion in her book “bird by bird” to “try and sit down at approximately the same time every day and write.” I love this schedule, but a teaching librarian job five days a week does not allow for the perfect schedule. On Saturdays, I have a scheduled time to write in the morning. During the week my schedule begins at 5 a.m. with the treadmill and a book to read, quiet time, shower, and getting off to work. I have tried writing before work as John Grishman, when he worked at his law firm. But I don’t think he worried about hair or make-up, and that is a BIG chunk of my time. However, I keep a BOOK OF WORDS notebook with me at all time. During the day, I jot down words or thoughts and or a short paragraph, if I am waiting at the dentist. My notebook is key for me and my writing time. I prefer small ones that fit into my purse. I love bright colors! If it’s bright enough, I can find it! This notebook process was inspired by The Creativity Workshop in Florence Italy.
Natalie Goldberg mentions in her book “Writing Down the Bones” the importance for writers to “get together with good friends and tell stories. When you tell friends stories you want them to listen, so you make the stories colorful: you might want to to exaggerate, even add a few white lies. Grace Paley, a New York short story writer, said,”It is the responsibility of writers to listen to gossip and PASS IT ON. It is the way all storytellers learn about life.” Love her message.
Steven King expressed in his book On Writing “If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot. There is no way around these tow things that I am aware of, no shortcut. Every book you pick up has its own lesson or lessons, and quite often the bad books have more to teach than the good ones.”
I recommend reading these three authors and their different views on the writing process. Happy Reading!