Category Archives for Writing
The Motivating Factor: Tips and Tricks to Motivate & Inspire Your Writing
New Year’s resolution: Get back to writing every day and finish some of those pieces that have been languishing in the proverbial desk drawer. It’s time to bring back that writing mojo.
You’ve hit a wall, you say? Well, let’s bust right through that wall, shall we?
Writing isn’t just an activity for us; it’s a core part of who we are. Can you write for fun? Absolutely. But I have a feeling that writing is more than that for you, much the same way playing guitar for Keith Richards isn’t just about doodling around on the weekends.
That’s why when we get that block, it’s beyond frustrating. Everything comes to a grinding halt. It’s like running in quicksand.
I’m a sports fan: baseball in particular. So when one of my favorite players goes into a slump, it can be excruciating to watch. For the player himself, it’s oh so much more agonizing. Every player goes into a slump at some point, and every player eventually comes out of that slump. When they do, they typically go on an exhilarating rampage that leaves the opponent quaking in their boots.
For 2022, let’s get our writing on an exhilarating rampage. The kind that leaves readers salivating for more.
In this piece, I’m going to share five ways I jump-start my motivation and inspiration for writing. If you’d like, go ahead and play Start Me Up by The Rolling Stones while you do it.
Let’s get started.
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9 Strategies For Using Science To Tell Stories
The day I went from having to follow strict briefs to being able to choose what I wrote about was a watershed moment for me. It was a new, open-ended project in the beauty sector, with a broad, vague content strategy and the brand’s objectives to guide me. Other than that, I had free rein.
I charged full-steam ahead, firing off blog posts, product descriptions, email content. Naively, I just assumed the ideas would keep flowing. But very soon, the well had run dry.
That’s when I decided to turn to science for guidance. But not for the data—for the story. This simple shift of perspective almost instantly raised my game as a writer. When I decided to pick apart just why it worked so well, I found it came down to nine core strategies.
At the time, I had already been incorporating science into the content I was writing for clients in the beauty sector—a statistic here, a study there—to back up whatever hair or skincare point I was making. This time, though, I wanted to put the science at the center.
But did it make sense to go this level of geek in the most aesthetic of fields? I had my doubts.
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The Language of Love: How to Write a Swoon-Worthy Romance
As February store shelves glow pink and jewelry ads twinkle on social media, one thing is as clear as a princess-cut diamond: Our culture loves love. Harlequin books sell four copies every second, and romance films make millions in theaters and on streaming platforms.
In 2019, greeting card companies made close to a billion dollars from Valentine’s Day alone. That’s good news for romance writers: You’ve got a large, enthusiastic audience ready to be captivated by your love story.
Sizzling, sweet, toxic, or wholesome, a romantic storyline can be a dynamic narrative tentpole in your writing. Entangling the flaws and assets of two (or three or four) personalities with unique histories, goals, and values creates endless interactive possibilities.
Weaving these threads into a rich, immersive love story might seem challenging, but don’t lose heart (sorry, not sorry). Whether you’re writing a script, short story, or novel, whatever your platform or genre, you can write a swoon-worthy romance into your tale by following a few guideposts.
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Twice Upon a Time: How to Write Captivating Retellings
As the music swirled around me in the summer night, I sat entranced, a story fitting together piece by piece in my head.
There I was, sitting in the botanical gardens, captivated by a fountain show inspired by the music of Swan Lake. As I listened to the incredible music, I read through the synopsis, following along with the tale. The characters spoke to me, eager for their stories to be expanded upon. The original ballet had captured much, but so much more could be done, I realized.
That was the beginning of my first novel project.
To retell a story is to grasp its essence—its themes, its characters, its aesthetics, and overarching story—and bring it to your audience in a new, exciting light. Retelling is not remaking but taking a story and twisting it into something you can call new and your own.
It is important that you are retelling a story, not remaking it. A remake is the same story, with very few elements changed. For example, Disney’s Cinderella (2015) is a remake of their movie, Cinderella (1950). The 2015 film was a live-action remake, keeping the same characters and key points of the story, just telling it in a different visual way.
A remake is permissible but does not bring anything new to the audience. What readers want to see is a retelling: a story they are familiar with told with new twists.
If you’ve ever read or watched a great story and thought, “what if…?” you might be ready to write a retelling. Let’s look at how to choose a story, what missteps to avoid, the rules for retelling, and the methods you need to know.
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