Archive for Writer’s Block
Enhance your language skills – free online resources
Posted by: | Comments"Words are the most powerful drugs used by mankind." Rudyard Kipling
Words can motivate you to conquer the world. Words help you to show the world your gifts, sell your products or services and influence your tribe. (Words can bring you down in matter of seconds, too, of course. I am sure we all remember many occasions when that happened to us.)
Without good language skills we would be lost in the world, we wouldn't be able to learn any new skills. What's more, research shows that there is a strong correlation between people's range of vocabulary & ability to use those words and their success in their chosen area of expertise. Why? If you can express yourself clearly and well, you are regarded as more intelligent and of higher status. Unfortunately we seem to give up on enhancing our language skills after we learned speaking, writing and reading at an acceptable level.
When was the last time you discovered new words? Or played with words? Or read a challenging book? Or written just for your own fun without reason and destination? It is never too late to sharpen your skills. I gathered a few online resources that I use nearly every day. And they are fun, too!
No more bulky dictionaries! I love the online dictionary http://dictionary.reference.com/ There is a practical toolbar that you can download to access not only the dictionary, but the thesaurus http://thesaurus.com and other great services like http://www.reference.com from your browser.
Looking for a thesaurus with more pizzazz? Take a look at the visual version at http://www.visualthesaurus.com. Great if you want to get a quick overview; perfect for visual types. Unlike the other resources I gathered here, this is not free, but you can have a free trial and it costs only $19.95 for a year.
Are you into discovering new words? The "word of the day" option will be perfect for you. http://dictionary.reference.com/wordoftheday Challenge yourself to use the new word in a few sentences. You can use this world as a journal or ideation prompt, too.
My absolute favourite is http://oneword.com. You get the word of the day and 60 seconds to write anything you want. About the word, around the concept, as an explanation, whatever you wish, really. Wild associations are welcome.
Or create a 60-second story around the word. Or a poem? You have endless possibilities. Perfect for lovers of words. Not one of them? Try this site anyway. It will get you out of your usual thinking patterns. You have the option to publish your 60-second creation if you want; and you can read what others written, too.
Which of these fab online resources becomes your favorite?
Writer’s Block Remedies – a new series
Posted by: | CommentsI got inspired to begin the Writer’s Block Remedies series as one of my followers asked me about my best tips on curing writer’s block. (@DyanaValentine – thank you for asking)
I decided to gather all my tried and true tips on writer’s block here and publish them every Wednesday. I will keep posting until I run out of tips – which might take a few weeks! Keep coming back if you are interested in how to write again with ease.
The first obvious question is: what is writer’s block? I think this is a very personal experience. Here is my definition (based on research and my own experience):
A deeply emotional state associated with a blank page or computer screen while you make earnest efforts to get a few words written. Oh, yes… the suffering, the desperation, the endless trying, the thinking, the churning…
Writer’s block is not choosy and gets the better of you while writing your novel, a sales letter, a blog post or even a love letter. There are only a few immune to this ailment.
And our reaction?
· Getting totally unnecessary tasks done that could have waited till next week, next month (or next life?)
· Checking email, Twitter, Facebook – but any good old distraction will do
· Reading instead of writing
· Checking the news, magazines, and requisites of the past in the process of looking for the word that will get our fingers move again
· Watching TV
· Getting high on chocolate, sugar, alcohol or drugs (I stay with chocolate as a not-recovering chocoholic)
· My personal favorite: cleaning the house from basement to attic
All in the name of getting some inspiration and get writing again. Or simply to forget about the sad state of affairs.
I found this extremely fitting quote from Gustave Flaubert which describes writer’s block perfectly for me:
"You don't know what it is to stay a whole day with your head in your hands trying to squeeze your unfortunate brain so as to find a word." (But I know, Mr. Flaubert, I know)
How do YOU experience writer’s block?
