Wacky Wednesday: OneWord Prompts

As a writer, I know I often run out of things to write about despite the folder of at least a hundred plot bunnies that I have. There are also days when I really want to write something, but I don't have a lot of time to do it. Usually, I have at least one spare moment, and that's when OneWord is a really great resource.

Upon entering the site, you can choose to write about the prompt that will appear if you click the "go" button. You have sixty seconds to write about whatever is inspired by that word. If you choose to create an account, you can store all your prompts on it, and after writing your prompt, you even have the opportunity to read what others have written. It's really a great resource for when there isn't a lot of time but you're still itching to write anyway.

Here is a sample from what I wrote in sixty seconds based on the word "walls":

Walls. We build them to protect ourselves. To hide behind them. To make sure no one sees who we really are. We are afraid that if the walls fall, then everything will shatter.
Why are we so afraid to show who we are? To let the walls fall down? To be authentic. To be real. To stop hiding behind facades, but to really be the people we really are? Why do we find it easier to be fake? To lie to ourselves, instead of telling the truth and showing the truth?

Obviously, it's not perfect, and what someone writes in sixty seconds usually isn't. But it can be the start to something. It can be a character's journal entry, or poetry, or a short story. In short, prompts are a really wonderful resource to challenge yourself and think outside the box, so I highly recommend this resource as a way to jog your brain.

Visit OneWord by clicking on this link!

Wacky Wednesday: Edit Minion

Edit Minion is a resource for cleaning up writing in terms of looking for repeated words, phrases, and even things that may come off as cliche. For example, I asked Edit Minion to help clean up the first chapter of my novel, Facades, and received this screenshot.

(Yes, "toilet" made it onto the list.)

As needed, the user can ask Edit Minion to look for certain things such as possible homonym issues, passive voice, adverbs, weak words, etc. An example of what that looks like in my own writing is below.

Personally, I find the color coding really helpful, and I'm definitely going to be using Edit Minion for final cleaning up before publication! I definitely recommend it. It's a wonderful resource. Nothing is saved on the website, so it's safe for use without copyright infringement worries!

And, as proof that I have improved as a writer, I dug out some writing from when I was 13 and stuck it into Edit Minion. Excuse me while I cringe.

I would say that Edit Minion accurately reflects how much I've put into a project and refined it, so why not use it to your own advantage? It'll really clean up your work, and you'll feel happier once you play around with it as well.

Happy writing, everyone!

Music Monday - A Writing Sample

The following is an excerpt from a lyric war I did based on the following:

"I'm in love with my own sins." (The American Suitehearts – Fall Out Boy)

***

When I do it, I know it’s wrong. But I love it.

I love it. I hate it. But sometimes, I think a bigger part of me loves it.

My hand, wrapped around the knife, clenches tighter. I’ve been told all my life it’s a sin to hurt myself. My body is supposed to be “a temple.” I’m not supposed to mutilate it. Slice it. Cut it.

But I do it anyway.

The door is locked. I lean against it, knees curled up to my chest. My arm trembles. It’s not the first time I’ll do it, and it won’t be the last. This should feel normal by now. I should be able to just do it. Don’t think. Just do. Think later.

I tell myself I’ll stop when I want to. Every day that passes is deemed the day I’ll finally not do it. But there’s no other way to take away the pain. As the world destroys me, I need to destroy something. And the only thing I can actually destroy is myself.

My eyes close. Metal against flesh. Just a little less space and they’ll meet. And since I’ve done this so many times before, this time, I won’t feel a thing.

The blade sinks into my arm.

I was wrong.

I still feel something.

***

I took this piece of writing and modified it to put it into my novel in verse, Indelible. As an example of what can be inspired, changed, or modified from a lyric war, I've put a sample below.

Toolbox Tuesday: Kill Talking Heads Syndrome

*Adapted from when I blogged for The Sleepless Writers

Congrats! You’ve just finished your novel. Now, you have to edit it. Kill talking heads syndrome, show instead of tell, work out plot holes—the works. Where to begin? Fortunately, I have a little acronym that is going to be very useful for eliminating talking heads syndrome and helps writers show more instead of tell in their writing.

Here is a little sample of writing that is going to need some major editing:

            “Dance with me.”

            “You mean slow dance? With our bodies pressed close to each other and everything?”