Tag: Writing

HAIKU POETRY–The Style & Simplicity

Writing Haiku

My last post was about black-out poetry, a technique I learned from Austin Kleon’s book “Steal Like An Artist.” Today I’m going to try another technique which I learned from taking a Masterclass with Billy Collins. His suggestion was to take an ordinary everyday item and find inspiration in it. Being a Brit kid from the last century and a big Corrie fan, I chose a teabag.

teabag image by Lynne Collier

Haiku

I’ve been feeling the need for focus lately and what better form of poetry for narrowing down the words to as few as possible than to write a Haiku poem?

Poets over the decades have waffled on the exact rules of writing Haiku. The traditional Japanese Haiku is a three-line poem with a 5/7/5 syllable count, often focusing on images from nature, emphasizing simplicity and clarity of expression.

A modern Haiku poem is not required to, and generally does not, rhyme–although it can at the poet’s discretion. In other words, it’s all up to the writer how they want to approach it.

The set rule of 5/7/5 syllables still needs to be adhered to and spelling needs to be accurate, but all other punctuation and grammar are poetic license (pun intended).

So here’s my Haiku poem from my teabag–

WAXING

Liquid dries and leaves–

A breakfast roll, crescent moon?

–Pacman’s gaping mouth

On days when I can’t focus enough to write, I like to jot down a short poem to help bring me back to concentrate on my work. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I see a particularly interesting dust bunny that could be my next masterpiece.

Til next time, remember you are loved by the One who created you in His image.

~ Lynne

WRITING POETRY: Black-Out Style

Black-Out Style

As I focus more on writing poetry, I’m devouring poems by great writers past and present. I’m currently reading:

Eye of the Beholder by Luci Shaw

Conspiracy of Light by D. S. Martin

Bronte Sisters Poetry by Amazon

This week I also added The Steal Like an Artist Journal by Austin Kleon to my list. He’s a brilliant Creative who astonishes me by his way of encouraging artists of all mediums to delve into artistic bins of untapped ideas and brilliance.

Each page is an exercise to stretch the grey matter to its limits of reality and see things through a different lens. One such exercise is the ‘Black-Out’ approach to writing poetry. An exercise I’ve found most intriguing. I wanted to share my ‘stolen’ discovery with you.

Here’s what he asks of the reader on this particular page:

“Black out one word at a time until you are left with a poem.”

https://amzn.to/3g22f2X

He gives a writing sample to practice on in case you don’t have anything handy but I write mostly Scripture-inspired poetry so I chose to black-out a passage from the book of Revelation.

Revelation 3:15-18, New International Version (NIV)

15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 17 You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. 18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.

Here are the words that spoke to me–

Deeds   cold   hot

either.

Lukewarm

neither.

Spit out!

Rich   wealth   need.

Realize

wretched   pitiful

poor  

blind   naked.

Gold   refined   in

Fire.

Cover   shameful  

nakedness.

Salve   eyes

See

Even without any revising I think this is a solid start to a good poem.

Have you tried this method? 

Let me know in the comments.

Til next time, know you are loved by the One who created you in His image.

~ Lynne

(A quick word–I’m a Canadian Amazon affiliate so I receive a small fee from Amazon for outbound clicks and purchases which helps me to pay for my website. Thank you 😊)

‘Writing For God’ – a beginner’s guide

You’ve decided you want to write for God but now what? Most writers who feel they want their work to count for God’s kingdom in some way start out with that question. We don’t know how to write for God, what He wants from us, how to write what we feel He’s asking us to write, or how to get that out into the world when we’ve written it. Does it seem like a daunting task to write and publish something and even more so when our main audience is God Himself? I break all of that down in my new book,

Writing For God – a beginner’s guide.

  • Writing for God - a beginner's guide book, front cover showing a blue hydrangea.

The workbook has pages to jot down your thoughts and collect all the information you need as you discover how God created you for this new adventure. You’ll be able to decide what genre suits you best, which format aligns with you as a created individual, your natural talents and spiritual gifts, and how your personality shines through your work.

You’ll also see how you already have the experience you need to start writing now and hone your craft as you build your portfolio.

“God does not call those who are equipped, He equips those whom He has called.” — Smith Wigglesworth

Don’t be fooled into thinking you have nothing original to write about. No one else has had the exact same experiences as you, so anything you write will be unique and from a different perspective. Write from your heart and people will be blessed

Til next time, remember you are created in the image of God who loves you very much.

~ Lynne

Check out my book on Amazon — http://bit.ly/2sPxQA0

Skyrim – Writing Inspiration

Where do you get inspiration for your story’s location? I’m writing a fantasy story for NaNoWriMo this year. I have a broken arm and shoulder so I gave myself a personal goal of only 10,000 words in place of the usual 50,000. This meant I’d be writing a novella (small novel). But I was bereft of ideas for the location to a particular scene until I remembered my son had invited me to play Skyrim with him one night and — ta da — my characters had a home!

Now, understand that when I say “play” I actually mean watch, (haha) and I know as a writer that copyrights are something to be respected for the original creator. With that in mind I joined my son on a Skyrim walkabout to get the feel of the land and take notes for my own fantasy world.

  • Skyrim Whiterun waterfalls
    Skyrim – Whiterun waterfalls
  • Location from Skyrim fantasy game with stone steps alongside a river and waterfalls.
    Skyrim – Whiterun stone steps
  • Skyrim's pool
    Skyrim – Whiterun pool
  • Skyrim Whiterun town centre with a local woman by a large tree surrounded by a circular stream and bridges.
    Skyrim – Whiterun town centre
Images of Skyrim Whiterun

I also took some notes from the landscapes of LOTR and the breathtaking photos by Ray Majoran in Compassion Gallery. His photos from Iceland are spectacular.

Have you found a particular game, movie or real life location an inspiration for your writing? Leave a comment.

Til next time, remember you are loved by the One who made you in His image.

Lynne

Writing A Memoir

We all have a story to tell. Some write a story about a fictitious character or an historical person. Then there are those who write their own story, their autobiography about their own personal experiences, usually in hopes of their story helping someone else in some way. These are the writers of Memoirs and I have a new workbook for you if you’ve ever considered writing your own memoir.

A young woman sitting at a desk writing her memoir.
From Muse To Memoir
by Lynne Collier

Write Your Memoir in 4 Weeks

This is a downloadable/printable workbook (no physical product shipped) filled with easy-to-follow worksheets for writers who want to turn their memories into a published autobiography — in only 4 weeks!

It’s a 49-page PDF workbook that will show you the “From-To Method of Writing” which uses your own social media content to create a digital or print book. But you don’t need to already have a vast amount of online material. You can create that as you write your book and gain followers who will be interested in your book when you’re published!

Here’s a peek at what you’ll work on in From Muse To Memoir:

  • Scheduling time for your writing
  • Brainstorming and defining your book’s outline
  • Creating Social Media ‘Gems’ so you have something to promote online before, during and after your launch.
  • The White Rose Writer’s method of turning your memories into a book.
  • A look at some of the steps you need to take for publishing your book.
  • Guidance on how to create a noticeable author brand so you stand out from the crowd.
  • Marketing Ideas for your new book.
  • Worksheets for each of the above to keep all your ideas in one place.
  • Printable inspirational posters to spur you on …and more!

This is an easy way for you to divide your life experiences into single chapters for a series of ebooks or a collective full-length book spanning your entire life (so far).

If you follow my workbook to write your memoir I’d love to hear about it in the comments. And watch for my other 3 books coming early next month!

My Other Workbooks

Take a browse in White Rose Writers Etsy Shop where you’ll also find my first workbook From Blog To Book which shows you how to expand on your blog posts to write a book in just 10 hours!

Woman writing at her desk
From Blog To Book

And coming soon –

  • From Pin To Print — use your Pinterest boards to write an ebook
  • From Tweet To Tutorial — use Twitter to write a tutorial or workbook
  • From Post To Published — use Facebook to write a novel in 4 weeks! (Nano anyone?) 🙂

Til next time, remember you are loved by the One who created you in His image.

~Lynne

Book Bites 6 — A Warm Hug

From My Book In Revision

The novel I’m revising has a female protagonist and I’m writing from her point of view. ‘A Warm Hug’ is just what she needs right now.

Couple caressing
Image by Anastasiya Babienko from Pixabay

“She managed a faint smile and sat down on the couch, curling up beside him as he pulled the blanket around them both and held her tight. They hardly spoke a word during the show. She sensed Tom wanted to give her time to settle down after the ordeal and just be peaceful. He usually knew what she needed after all the years they’d been together and he was right. She just needed to sip chamomile tea under a blanket and feel his arms around her and see him smile.”

How do you show support for a loved one or a friend who’s facing negativity from others? Do you do as Sheldon from ‘The Big Bang’ does and offer a ‘refreshing beverage’?

Do you always add some romance into your stories? Have you written love from a different perspective, such as a parent and child, an owner and a pet, or the love of God for us?

If you’d like to browse a few romance novels, I have an online bookstore of Christian novels and other published work by various authors over at my Christian Authors website. I’m an Amazon affiliate and all the books are shipped from there.

If you’d like to follow along as I revise but you missed the previous posts, you can start back at the beginning here Book Bites 1.

Til next time, know you are loved by the One who created you in His image.

Lynne

Write A Book In 10 Hours!

MARCH 13, 2019

How would you like to write a book this week?

Through my writing career, I’ve discovered a quick and easy way to create a short story or info book in about ten hours. So Kirstie (my digital designer) and I have been busy putting together five new workbooks for authors of stories and writers of nonfiction and we’re ready to launch the first one!

It takes approximately ten hours to write enough content for your book plus a short revision and you’ll be ready to publish. We’ve added worksheets to help you brainstorm and posters to inspire you as you write. We even give tips on marketing so you’ll be off to a great start right after you hit ‘launch’. The best part is you probably have enough content on your social media platforms already, you just need to organize it into a publishable book.

Workbook to help you write a book in ten hours.
From Blog To Book – the From-To Writing Method

From Blog To Book: The From-To Writing Method series. Now available as a printable workbook on Etsy

So what do you say? Would you like to get that book finally written?

Happy Writing!

Lynne

Book Bites – 3 – Sickly Smirk

Here’s another Book Bite from the novel I’m writing. The working title is ‘Lies and Deception’ about a small town church in rural Canada. In this scene, Maddie suspects something’s wrong at the house of their new friends when she catches a sickly smirk out of the corner of her eye. She convinces her husband to leave.

A forest road with Autumn colours of yellow and brown.
Country road – Image by janeb13 on Pixabay

“Unsure if she actually saw what she thought she saw, Maddie flung the door open and almost tripped down the steps. Running to the car she shouted to Tom, “Go! Go!” Tom was bewildered by her behavior but decided the best thing he could do was just leave and hopefully she’d explain herself later. Maddie glanced in the mirror to see Carter in the doorway, watching her intently. That same sickly smirk on his face.”

Sleezy looking guy with a smirk on his face
Sickly Smirk – Image by prettysleepy1 on Pixabay

I wrote my first draft for NaNoWriMo 2018 and I hope you’ll keep in touch as I continue my revisions.

If you missed the other Book Bites you can catch up here.

Til next time, know you are loved by the One who created you in His image.

~ Lynne

Book Bites – 1 – The Mansion

The Mansion

I really like previews of an upcoming movie, don’t you? They usually get me excited for the release of it in theatres and I immediately start planning when I’ll go. I’m revising the novel I wrote for NaNoWriMo and I thought you might like a few Book Bites before it’s published, like a movie preview but without all the noise. I hope you enjoy them!

new white mansion
photo by skeeze

This one’s near the beginning of the story and introduces two main characters, Maddie and Tom. The working title is ‘Lies and Deception’, set in a small town church in rural Canada.

“Maddie and Tom pulled onto the circular driveway of the large home, barely missing a pink trike, and parked beside what they decided was the side door. The front entrance looked like a door only the prime minister would use with its tall, ornate, double glass doors and huge planter urns. Maddie decided the side door was more appropriate seeing as she hadn’t worn her ballgown.”

If that didn’t quite grab your attention, stay tuned. I’ll be posting more Book Bites as I revise. (Follow along here)

If you follow along I’ll also have a playlist for you before my book’s published too. I love playlists!

Til next time, know you are loved by the One who created you in His image.

~ Lynne

Writing Fantasy || Foreshadowing

How to Write Foreshadowing in a Novel

Your characters have a backstory, a personal history that will shape their life in your novel. They have childhoods, education, loves, conflicts, careers. All of these must be present in your character building for you to see where you need to foreshadow an event. When the event happens, your reader should be able to look back and think, “Oh ya, I kinda saw that coming”, but still be blown away when it happens.

Writing Fantasy, Foreshadowing. photo by Ryan McGuire

Keeping Track of Where Your Characters Have Been

To keep track of the timeline in your novel use a paper calendar with large squares, create one online using excel or an app, or use sticky notes. If you have room, put these on your office wall. If something epic happens to Lucy on Friday, you need to leave ‘Easter Eggs’ (metaphorically) or have Lucy experience something similar before the epic event. Put a few ‘Easter Eggs’ in the days, months or years leading up to the event. This gets the reader anticipating something and committed to turning the page.

Examples of Foreshadowing

It doesn’t matter that your protagonist was a ballerina as a child unless she’s a ballerina when we meet her in the story as an adult, or there was a traumatic dancing accident which will haunt her throughout her life and shape her future. The foreshadow leads to an event or a realization in her life later.

One of my favourite old movies is Whatever Happened To Baby Jane? A nasty crotchety old woman is just plain mean to everyone. You have to know there’s something in her past that made her change from the beautiful little girl she used to be. As the story progresses, we see her relationship with her sister whom she lives with and cares for. It’s in the dialogue and flashbacks that we learn what happened to Baby Jane.

By far one of the best movies of foreshadowing is Sixth Sense written by M. Night Shyamalan. The entire movie is leading the viewer creepily towards a shocking truth. I didn’t see it coming until near the end. I believed everything until then and was blown away by the ending. I had to go back and watch it again to get all the clues that were left like tiny breadcrumbs. Now that’s foreshadowing at its best!

Where do you need to add a breadcrumb of information that will have your reader saying, “Wow, I didn’t see that coming! Wait – yes I did!”

 

Til next time, know you are loved by the One who created you in His image.

Lynne

 

Resources

Whatever Happened To Baby Jane?

Sixth Sense

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