Confident Writing

4 x 4 Sources of Writing Inspiration: Group Writing Project Results

The moment has come. The mob, breathlessly anticipating the coming debacle, stand as one, imbuing the unholy event with the honor of their attention. The beast roars triumphant as, released, it leaps forward in anticipation of assured victory! The moment is now!

Yes, it's time to post the results of the 4x4 Sources Of Writing Inspiration Group Writing Project...

Before I post the links and the excerpts that meant the most to me, a few general reflections.  First off, there were 19 entries in total, including my own, one (inspired) non-entry from Robert Hruzek, and four contributions from Amy Palko at Lives Less Ordinary, giving her the space to explore in more depth the different kind of places that move her to write.

I was delighted to meet so many new readers and writers through this project, reaffirming my belief that Group Writing Projects are a great way to make new connections and weave our words together. 

I know that some of you found inspiration a slightly awkward topic to begin with and yes I know that one too: who am I to call my words inspired...but the answer still comes: who are you not to call your words inspired? (think Mariane Williamson)  And I am glad something about the challenge of a project and the generativity of the form helped you to overcome your awkwardness and find the right words.

4 x 4 sources of writing inspiration

These contributions hold so many ideas, sources, prompts, triggers to get us writing that I hesitate to draw general lessons... but sticking to the 4 x 4 idea I did come up with 16 sources that emerged from my reading of the entries:

Places (natural, open, wild, free); places (populated, full of people's stories); walking; our 5 senses; memories; imagination; working (the most basic of tasks: cutting the grass, cooking, washing dishes); people (writers, authors, bloggers, friends); books; poems; blogs; quotes; writing triggers and prompts; writing challenges and assignments (including group writing projects); things that unspire us - moving us to learn from them, to avoid them, to nurture our muse around them; knowing that it's time to say something important. 

Knowing that it's time to write.

So here we go.

Sources of Writing Inspiration: Contributions To The Group Writing Project

Here are the entries including short excerpts selected by me.  I wanted to include a flavour of these pieces as well as the links to tempt you to go and explore these wonderful blogs.

#1 Damien Riley at Postcards From the Funny Farm: 4 x 4 Ways To Foster Inspiration For Your Writing

That hillbilly country song “If mamma aint happy, aint nobody happy” is truth like a flood light for writers, especially if you’re a mamma I am sure! ;) Make sure your wife, kids, dog, salesman at the door etc. are all happy and satisfied before you sit down to attempt to write. 1. Play with your kids. 2. Sit next to your spouse and turn off your computer. 3. Talk. 4.Laugh and sing as you do the dishes (some of my best ideas have come doing the dishes).

#2 Robert at Reason4Smile: 4×4 lists of my writing inspiration

Quotes that encourage me to write... 3. “If you’re not prepared to be wrong, you will not come out with anything that is original.” ~Ken Robinson. This quote encourages me to be courageous, dare to make mistakes, especially when I’m writing some thought-provoking articles.

#3 Robert Hruzek at Middle Zone Musings: Sources Of Inspiration 4 x 4 Writing Project

Having traveled quite a bit, I can name several places that stand out in my memory as having been absolutely incredible adventures - and natural inspirations for many of the stories you read here...

By the way, some have made a comment or two about how me and weather always seem to be at odds with each other. While it’s true that many of my most inspirational moments occur due to some sort of weather-related phenomenon (three of the four listed above, for instance)… well, OK - they’re right *sigh*. Never mind.

#4 My entry: My 4x4 Sources of Writing Inspiration

Quotes That Give Fuel To My Fire-Breathing Writing Dragon... 3. "We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars" (Oscar Wilde)

#5 Dale over at Paragraph City: 4 x 4 Chasing Dust Bunnies

Busy myself with my hands, washing dishes or shoveling snow or mowing grass. When the machine begins to run warm in one of its familiar routines, the mind can step back and do its unconscious work. A neighbor walking by waves and asks how it’s going and I plunge the shovel into the snow pile by the driveway’s edge and push against the small of my back and grin at her and say “Fine, fine. It’s a good day” and I will have things to write about.

#6 Amy Palko at Lives Less Ordinary: Imaginary Places

A look back at

those special places in children’s fiction, which evoke that part of ourselves we set aside in order to grow up.

#7 Amy Palko at Lives Less Ordinary: Virtual Places

For me blogs are like an extension of the blogger who produces them. I often feel as though I’ve been invited into their (virtual) home for a brief while, and when I leave I take with me a new way of thinking about something. Blogs don’t just offer me a great source of entertainment, but they alter my perception. So here are a few of the blogs that I know will offer that inspirational spark...

(check the post to find them - some gems!)

#8 Amy Palko at Lives Less Ordinary: Unpopulated Places

Beachcombing: There is something just so magical about strolling along the strand line, hoping for that serendipitous find. Because you never really know what you’re going to find as you work your way through the detritus washed up on the shore.  That fantastic element of beachcombing is that the connections you make between what has been washed ashore can often seem completely random, but later appear to be a part of some larger thought.

#9 Amy Palko at Lives Less Ordinary: Populated Places

Airports: I find the arrivals gates at airports incredibly emotionally charged places; all that anticipation as folk stand around waiting for their much missed loved ones to negotiate their way through customs, and finally exit through the sliding doors, pushing their overloaded trolley, expectantly glancing around for a familiar face amongst the crowd. Stories abound in places like this. If you don’t find inspiration at a busy airport, you’re just not trying!

#10 Marcia at Tumbled Words: 4 x 4 Writing Challenge - Inspiration and Writing

NaNoWriMo - Making the decision to try writing my first novel when I had only written a handful of stories. I wrote strictly by instinct - no plan. Have yet to go back and finish it, but it was the most remarkable feeling every day of those 30 days I have ever had, and each time I pick it up, the feeling returns.

#11Holly at Re:Thinking, Teaching, Writing:  4 x 4 Writing Inspirations

Working at relatively mindless, repetitive tasks helps my mind to wander. Greek cooking seems especially good for this, rolling koulouraki or stuffed grape leaves for Easter dinner, but I’ve done other things as well: working in the dish room at college, scraping catsup-soaked remains into the garbage disposal, peeling dozens and dozens of hardboiled eggs all day, or outside pulling weeds in the garden, down on hands and knees, scratching soil loose with cultivator, then ripping weeds out by their root hairs.

#12 GL at What Would Dad Say: 4 x 4

As I drive to work. Most of the topics come to me as I drive to work. Something I see must trigger something in my writing oblganta part of the brain…because more often than not, when I get to my desk, coffee in hand, I start on the blog. It never takes more than 15-30 minutes. (writing hint: make up words as you go along if you need to.)

#13 Good word editing: 4 x 4 - Farmers, Ferries, Fools, and Faithless Chihuahua Dogs: Sandwiched Between Two Walts are William and Wendell

When I’m lost for words, I can always find inspiration from the words that came before me...
On my first trip to NYC, I only had 8 hours. Still, I managed to buy a copy of Leaves of Grass from the Strand and find a bench in the middle of the Brooklyn Bridge that replaced the Brooklyn Ferry Walt took. I read the poem aloud to my friends, and surprised us all by weeping toward the end. If you’re a writer, remember. It avails not–time nor place. I am with you. Just as you feel, I felt. Our words carry a bit of the eternal in them.

#14 Shari at Blog About It with 4 x 4 sources of writing inspiration

Permission to mess up: When I know it’s okay to write badly, then I can get beyond the voice that says Don’t even try. 1.When it’s only a first draft and there’s time to revise 2. Writing in my journal knowing no one will ever see it 3. When I can’t think of anything productive to write and I have to begin the action of writing 4. When I’m taking notes collecting information, my thoughts and ideas

#15 Shelly at This Eclectic Life: Sources of Inspiration in Four Part Harmony

Lost in a crowd. I’m a people watcher; a voyeur. In a casino, I’m not gambling, I’m watching the gamblers and “living” through their eyes. I’ve been known to follow people around just to watch their expressions and listen to their voices. On a crowded city street, I’m that maniac who is looking you right in the eye. I’m not a stalker, really! My storytelling is peopled with folks I have seen in real life. It’s “character study.”

#16 Glenn at My Little Piece Of The Internet: 4×4 Group Writing Project

Four books (of many) which made me want to be a writer: 2. No Country For Old Men, by Cormac McCarthy: Proof that great writing does not have to be obfuscated by grandiose language, complex syntax, or even commas. I loved the movie, I loved the book, but it was the style which had the greatest impact on me.

#17 Bob Loch at Backyard Conversations: My 4x4 Assignment

Sounds... I am in awe of the sounds that accompany an early morning fishing trip. The splash of the boat in the water as the ripples spread across the glass surface and thump an old tire against the dock. There is the hum of a small 5 horsepower Johnson motor propelling you to that secluded spot that is cradled between a wooded shoreline and brown thicket of reeds. The red wing black birds call out as your reel wines, finishing with a plop of your bobber in the water a few feet away.

#18 Catherine at Sharp Words:  4×4 inspirations for writing

Random thoughts while driving. Three times a week, most weeks, I spend about two hours driving through some beautiful countryside to my official office, and then another two hours home again. Although the driving bores me, and I have to listen to the radio or CDs while I drive to keep me alert enough, I’ve found that my imagination goes off on its own little trip. Sometimes I wish I had a voice recorder to keep track of the stories that write themselves in my head! Things I see (particularly the changing of the seasons) or hear on the radio are also good catalysts, especially for short stories and poems.

I hope you all enjoy exploring these posts and learning something about the sources of our inspiration to write.

---

Thanks and Credits

There was a small prize for this competition, drawn randomly from the entries.  The Writer's Block goes to Catherine at Sharp Words.

Thanks again to Valeria Maltoni The Conversation Agent for inspiring me to take a tag and turn it into a group writing project - Valeria, I'm sure you'll enjoy seeing where your words and this conversation have gone...

The opening quote is from Robert Hruzek's non-entry (#19): What Inspires me?

No group writing project this month, but if you'd like to add your words to the Confident Writing mix send in your one line answer to the question: what does powerful writing mean to you? More details here.

Photo Credit: Bitzi's Photostream on Flickr

Joanna Young, The Confident Writing Coach
Because our words count

Group Writing Project Reminder And Other Goodies

Group Writing Project

A quick reminder that I'm running a Group Writing Project on your sources of writing inspiration. 

It's a very simple format: 4 x 4 sorts of things that inspire you (people, places, books, words etc).  You can find out more here with my contribution and introduction to the project.   The deadline is midnight (your time) this Friday, 28th March.  Don't forget to let me know if you take part!

Guest Post

I wrote a guest post last week for Brad Shorr at Word Sell.  It was inspired by his ultimate word nerd challenge, and my piece in turn inspired him to start a new series of cartoons called Foozle and Fribble (!)

My piece is A Plain English Guide To Writing With Difficult Words.

Writing Tournament

Confident Writing has been included in a writing tournament being run at The Writer's Resource Center. I don't have to do anything extra (I think!) , but competitors are being assessed in terms of archives, design, usability and navigation, purpose, personality and 5 most recent posts so it's a good way of keeping us all on our toes.  I'm up against The Renegade Writer in the first round.

Weekly Edition Of Confident Writing From Feedblitz

You can now get a weekly summary (the headlines and links) of what I've been writing here.  It comes by e-mail direct to your inbox.  If this sounds like the delivery option for you, sign up here.

Authority Blogging and SobCon08

Don't forget, if you want a chance to win your ticket to SobCon08 you need to write your piece on why you're the next authority blogger by March 31st.

Hope this round up is useful for those of you who are busy, busy, busy...

Joanna Young, The Confident Writing Coach
Because our words count

PS Sorry there's no audio post this week - I'm totally blocked on the podcasting front and thinking through where to go with it.

4x4 Sources Of Writing Inspiration: Group Writing Project

I was tagged a few weeks back by Valeria Maltoni at Conversation Agent in a post she called "Revealing Yourself To Others" (gulp!)  The idea of the tag was to share some secrets about yourself, set out in a 4x4 format: four headings, each with four things.

Valeria added her own twist to this by revealing things that were about her business perspective rather than personal revelations (an approach I broadly share, especially for those of us writing business blogs). 

Her tag came with a twist and a challenge too, to see if I could turn it into a group writing project.

Well, I can't resist a challenge and I thought it might be fun to see where this one takes us. 

Like Valeria I've taken the format and applied it to what I'm working on here at the moment: the theme of writing and inspiration.

My 4 x 4 things are all about sources of writing inspiration (or its opposite),  or words and writing that have inspired me.  Have a look at them first, then I'll explain how the project will work:

My 4x4 Sources of Writing Inspiration

4 Places That Demand I Write

I have a strong sense of place - it's probably my most powerful source (and not just for writing).  The places that have worked the most magic are:

1. Skye: inspired my first book (Short Walks on Skye)

2. Arran: inspiring photos just now - the words will follow

3. Mexico: inspired my first blog (Unfolding Stories)

4. Places In Between Places: trains, ferries, bus journeys... always get the words to flow

4 Unspiring Things That Dampen My Writing Inspiration

I wasn't sure what the opposite of inspire was (more on this next week).  But I came across this shorthand form of "uninspiring" which seemed to capture the mood for me.

1. Things that are labelled as 'motivating', 'inspiring', 'inspirational'.  I resist being told what to think, do and feel.  This was my main reservation about pursuing "inspiration" as a theme for this month.

2. Seeing my words come out as cliches, knowing I'm trying too hard.  = time for a break.

3. Getting stuck in 'broadcast' mode, talking not listening - both when I do it, and when it feels like others are too

4. Language of necessity: should, have to, must

4 Quotes That Give Fuel To My Fire-Breathing Writing Dragon

1. "At the centre of your being you have the answer; you know who you are and you know what you want" (Lao Tzu)

2. "It is never too late to be what you might have been" (George Eliot)

3. "We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars" (Oscar Wilde)

4. "You were born with wings.  Why prefer to crawl through life?" (Rumi)

4 Poems That Inspire Me To Live Life On Purpose

1.  "Let's Take A Break" by Stephen Dobyns

I think I stumbled across this in a newspaper.  I cut it out and kept this verse above my civil service desk for a very long time before I made my exit to some exotic land.

"Let's take a break.  Let's exit to some exotic land
Where fat mice snooze beneath sombreros and at sundown
Owls swoop from the palm trees crying: Quien, quien?"

2. "Wild Geese" by Mary Oliver

This poem saved my bacon.  I'll tell you about it... some day.  Here's the last few lines:

"Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting -
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things."

3. "Late Fragment" by Raymond Carver

Requires no explanation.  Here's the whole poem:

"And did you get what
you wanted from this life, even so?
I did.
And what did you want?
To call myself beloved, to feel myself
beloved on the earth."

4. "Entirely" by Louis MacNeice

I keep this verse pinned up on my noticeboard.  I hope I'll get the message eventually.

"And if the world were black or white entirely
     And all the charts were plain
Instead of a mad weir of tigerish waters,
     A prism of delight and pain,
We might be surer where we wished to go
     Or again we might be merely
Bored but in the brute reality there is no
     Road that is right entirely."

4 x 4 Sources Of Writing Inspiration: Group Writing Project

I hope that gives you an idea of the format this project will follow... Here's how I think we can make it work.  To take part:

• Share 4 lots of 4 things on the theme of writing and inspiration
• You don't need to follow these headings: there are zillions of possibilities (4 blogs, 4 books, 4 authors, 4 people, 4 teachers, 4 pieces of music, 4 paintings and so on)
• But please stick to the format of 4 x 4 and the theme of writing and inspiration
• Post your contribution by 28th March (midnight, your time)
• Let me know you've written your piece, by linking to this post, leaving a comment on the post, or contacting me

I'll then publish a set of links to all the entries in early April, and, depending on how it turns out, will try and find some way to publish a compilation of the material you come up with. 

Because that is what I think might be most interesting (and yes, inspiring) about the project - the chance to learn more about each other, to find what inspires us, to learn what helps us to write, what sources we turn to, what resources we already hold.

I'm also offering a small prize (based on a random draw of entries), a book again - can't resist them.

This time it's The Writers' Block: 786 Ideas To Jump-Start Your Imagination by Jason Rekulak.  A useful resource for those times when we're running low on inspiration.

I can't think of any more 'rules' (I don't like rules, most unspiring), but should add one thing - this started life as a meme, so if you want to play your own version of 4x4 based on anything you want, please do.  That's the idea of memes after all. 

But if you want me to include the results in the final group writing project you'll need to follow the guidelines set out above.

Okay, I think that's everything.  I look forward to learning more about what inspires you to write!

Joanna Young, The Confident Writing Coach
Because our words count

21 Inspiring Stories: Group Writing Project Results

Writing has allowed me to express my deepest thoughts, sorrows and joys without censure or fear of recrimination. Pen and paper beckon me and as I unite them, I am still awed by the power and passion they produce.

Karen Swim

I have just finished reading the contributions to My Love Affair With Writing, the group writing project I ran here last month, and I too was awed by the power and the passion of the words you produce. 

There were 21 entries in total, listed below along with a short extract from each contribution.  I have lifted the words that 'spoke' the most to me from your piece - I am sorry if it's not the words that you would have chosen, but I guess that's part of the writing and reading cycle...

I took the piece that 'spoke' the most to me, that moved me the most, as my criterion for selecting the winning entry.  (The prize is a copy of Natalie Goldberg's Writing Down The Bones.)

My choice was "My Love Affair" by Karen Swim at Words For Hire.  This is a beautifully written, deeply personal piece and I know it represented a stretch and a leap for Karen to publish it online. For me this represents what is good and precious about blogging - creating the space and the encouragement for people to share their words and spill their spirits.  Thank you Karen, for sharing your words with us.

Learning From Writing

I have learned a lot from running this project: some new insights into the lives of old blogging friends, meeting new readers, discovering new blogs, learning what's important to you about writing.  There were some fascinating themes that emerged for me:

• the importance of reading - especially the books we read as children
• the influence of teachers and parents on our writing dreams and ambitions
• how writing runs like a thread, a current, through many phases of our lives
• pleasure in the business of writing and writing for business
• delight in helping others to craft, shape and transform their words
• enjoying the physical act of writing
• how blogging so often gets our words to flow

I wonder what will be the strongest learning points, the most important ideas, the sources of inspiration that you draw from these pieces? 

I hope you will be able to find the time to read, reflect and comment on the contributions - there are some real gems here that are worth a good look.  I know 21 links is a lot to follow so you might want to bookmark this post and return  in slower time to the ones that are intriguing you the most.

Thanks to everyone who took part: your words made me laugh, smile, cry, nod with recognition, and remember why it is that I do what I do - because our words count.

---

Contributions to My Love Affair With Writing

My Love Affair With Writing by Brad Shorr at Word Sell Inc:

The more I read, the more I wanted to write. And it wasn’t just the pleasure of word craft, either. I loved the clacking of the typewriter (I used my mother’s manual, olive drab Smith Corona); sipping coffee and smoking a pipe as I pondered over my words (yes, I was smoking a pipe in junior high..)

The Twists and Turns Of A Lifelong Affair by Alina Popescu at Words of a Broken Mirror:

Writing tormented me in such a way, I thought I will never find my way back to it. I missed it every moment of every day, I wanted my love affair back, my means of expression, my outlet, proper chambers for my thoughts and ideas.

My Love Affair by Karen Swim at Words For Hire:

My lover calls to me in the light of the early morning as the moon drifts higher in the sky and the smoke from nearby chimneys drifts gently into the clouds. I curl my toes in glee as I sink into his familiar warmth knowing he will always be there.

Writing, Life and Me... A Love Triangle by Marcia McLees Bogaert at Meeaugraphie:

I recognized my need to evoke emotions in others, especially those that had stuffed theirs in a sack somewhere. Blogging followed, NaNoWriMo took away any chance of escaping writing’s hold.  I can no longer go a day without fingering the keyboard. It is my connection to me, to emotions, to reason, to humanity.

The Way The Light And Shadow Falls by Damien Riley at Postcards From The Funny Farm:

I know there are many people nowadays that want to become rich and famous through blogs or other writing endeavors. They meet in back dining rooms of Denny’s and share their writing with groups that critique and supposedly “help” one another other get published. To those I would clarify that even though payment is nice: if compensation were the main reason I chose to write, I wouldn’t be doing it at all.

To me the best payment is the therapy it provides along with positive feedback. Writing and being read makes me feel “seen” and “heard.” Writing in my blog every day is like sitting with a good friend on a country front porch talking about the way the light and shadow falls on things.

On Writing by Em Dy at Pulse  (written earlier this year but submitted as a contribution):

But now I'm writing again, daily even, as what I promised myself I'd do when I started this blog. And now, the words flow continuously, one after the other. This blog is about finding the groove back.

A Reciprocal Affair by globalized at My Little Piece Of The Internet

When I write, I stretch beyond what I already know; I delve into new topics, track new trends, examine issues from different viewpoints and biases. I enter a different world, where my words and words alone represent me, where I can reach out and connect and network with people I could never meet in real life.

My Love Affair With Writing by Sandra Gail Lambert at Sandra Gail Lambert:

If this were a love affair with a woman, my friends would be having an intervention...My bookeeper friend would would want to know how much money I had been spending on making the relationship work.  Frequent computer repairs, the new computer, printer ink, postage, conferences, books, more printer ink - this would all be mentioned with increasing despair.

Intimate Details Of My Love Affair With Writing by Shamelle at Enhance Life:

A few months ago, I was a bit obsessed with what other "popular" bloggers were writing. Here I was spending a fair amount of time on my writing, but didn’t see any positive results from a numbers point of view. I tried to imitate their writing style. You know what, it didn’t work! The numbers told the same pathetic story. I suppose, a partner knows when their better half is trying to be someone, he/she is not. I gave that up and just concentrated on being me, before it led to a break up!

Why I Love To Write by Robert Hruzek at Middle Zone Musings:

The fact is, that day literally changed my life. After that, I began reading voraciously. I particularly liked science fiction, because it exercised my imagination in ways very few other genres could. I realized that speculating about what was beyond my experience was something to be cherished and valued.

My Love Affair With Writing by Deb at Three Weddings:

Words are constantly circulating in my mind, forming sentences and paragraphs and stories. I liken it to the musician who always hears the music in his head. When he sits down to the piano the music flows to his fingers and out for the world to hear.

My Love Affair With Writing by Lillie Ammann at A Writer's Words, An Editor's Eye:

Throughout my life, I always dreamed of writing “someday.” Then at age 45, I suffered a stroke as a result of a chiropractic manipulation. I knew then that “someday” had arrived. It took a couple of years for me to recover sufficiently to be able to sit at a computer to type, but as soon as I could I started my first novel.

My Waltz with Words by Michele at Writing The Cyber Highway:

I smile each time we have a secret date. It’s the sneaky part that’s fun, when only we’re awake. I cherish the times I hear those whispering rivers of words that speak to my heart, stir my emotions, bring laughter, tears, and makes me think. I feel like a schoolchild, tiptoeing to the kitchen, lifting the lid off the cookie jar and taking the first bite from that scrumptious chocolate chip cookie.

5 Business Tips You Can Profit From by Cath Lawson at Catherine Lawson:

Business writing can be a fantastic way to make more sales. Whether you’re writing for your own business or copywriting for someone else, it’s one of most profitable ways to make money from words.

I expected business writing to be boring. In fact, I thought my last business had brought an end to my love affair with writing. No more writing fiction for pleasure at 4am in the morning – my whole day was dedicated to my business. But I soon discovered that business writing can be creative and it can also bring in amazing profits.

My Love Affair With Writing Began In Childhood by Amy Palko at Lives Less Ordinary:

Now, I don’t know whether it was her interest in my dreams, her faith in my ability to communicate them, or just the sheer relief that she was so unlike the teacher that had sent me to her office, but her words lit a fire in me. I started to write epics… Ok, well 5 page stories, while my classmates struggled at 2. I began to be known for my stories and my writing. It felt good. It still does.

Aloha In A Love Affair With Writing by Rosa Say at Managing With Aloha Coaching:

Aloha-filled writing is that which is a transparent view into the writer’s mana‘o – the personally felt beliefs, thoughts, and convictions borne of their values lived in their context (sense of place)

Simply said, aloha writing is ‘me, myself and I’ writing...

This is not about ego. It is about the indisputable fact that there is no one else on the planet who is exactly like you. There never was, and there never will be. Your aloha is pure you.

My Love Affair With Writing by Chris O'Byrne at Online Arts Marketing:

I love the process of communicating with someone through the written word and it often seems that I can communicate more clearly through writing. As with Natalie Goldberg, I often feel that writing can be a deeper vehicle of meditation for me than zazen. Writing helps me reach a place deep inside of me that is often hidden from other forms of meditation.

To My Muse: 10 Reasons Why I Love You by Joanna Young at Confident Writing:

I love the way you respond when I thank you for a word, a phrase, a beautiful idea.  You're like a cat being stroked, arching your back, rubbing your head against my hand, purring in delight at my thanks and your own brilliance.
And I love the way you stalk off, cat like, when I ask you to come up with some clever words.   Proud, haughty, independent, refusing to perform on demand.

Write On Wednesday: My Love Affair With Writing by Becca at Becca's Byline:

Words.
Which she tapped out on the old typewriter, her fingers gaining strength as she got older, taking on more than just made up stories, words which spoke to her feelings about justice and peace and the future of this world she was growing up in.

Why I Love Writing by John Crickett at Business Opportunities and Ideas:

I love writing, I have far too many business ideas, I provide consulting to businesses, I’m a techie with lots of Internet marketing experience and experience running Internet businesses - I should be blogging about business! So now I run this blog about business opportunities, business ideas and any other business related topic that interest me. I Love it, I get to write about business topics that interest me and I’m continually learning while I do

You Know You Love Writing When You Don't Have To Keep It by Rosa Say at Talking Story:

It’s the love affair with the act of writing, and not with what I may have written. I write, and I am in love with writing, because writing helps me think, reason, and decide. It helps me make sense of things, and bring them to more clarity. Once I do, I can get on with life and move on to the next thing I’d like to think about, reason through, and decide upon or even better, create.

---

The Group Writing Project was part of a month long focus on writing Leaps and Bounds.  The theme for this month is inspiration.  Please do subscribe to the feed to see where it takes us!

Joanna Young, The Confident Writing Coach
Because our words count

Are Your Hearts Beating Faster? Group Writing Project Reminder

Just a quick reminder about the Confident Writing group writing project.

Taking my inspiration from Valentine's Day and the timeless theme of love... the challenge is to write about: My Love Affair With Writing

And remember - you don't need to be a 'writer' to join in.

To take part all you need to do is:

• Write (or otherwise create) a blog post on the subject of My Love Affair With Writing
• Post your piece by midnight on 28th February (in your time zone)
• Tag it "my love affair with writing" to help me keep track of the entries
• Link back to this post (to help me keep track of the entries)
• Keep it within the boundaries of decency :-)

In return you'll get:

• A link to your piece when I publish the round up (in early March)
• The chance to connect up with other participating bloggers and writers
• The opportunity to write about writing 

There's also a prize on offer - it's Natalie Goldberg's Writing Down The Bones, a book to strengthen or inspire a lifelong love affair with writing. 

I know that some of you already have the book - which is a sign of a good book if ever there was one, and a suggestion it might just make a fabulous gift for someone.  Your chance to spread some l-o-v-e.

---

Many thanks to Jacob at Group Writing Projects for plugging the project - for those of you who like taking part in these writing projects don't forget to check out his new site!

---

The Group Writing Project is a contribution to the theme of writing leaps and bounds, this month's focus at Confident Writing.

Taking part might... represent a leap for you, rekindle your love of writing and inspire some writing leaps and bounds, or help you learn from what motivates and inspires the words of others.  I know it'll motivate me, and I can't wait to read what you come up with.

Joanna Young, The Confident Writing Coach
Because our words count

Photo Credit: fotologic

Group Writing Project: My Love Affair With Writing

We're taking leaps and bounds with our writing at Confident Writing this month, which means it just has to be time for another group writing project.

Group writing projects can be a great way to stretch our blog writing muscles. 

Taking part can be an easy and effective way to:

• raise your profile
• meet other bloggers
• get links, trackbacks and comments
• generate ideas for new topics
• experiment and have some fun

Taking my inspiration from Valentine's Day and the timeless theme of love... the challenge is to write about:

My Love Affair With Writing

I'm hoping this won't need much further explanation...

You can write straight or serious, happy or sad, short or long (well not too long, we are talking a blog post here!) 

It might be a love affair that's lasted many years, a brief flame of passion or the heartbreak of unrequited love. 

Maybe you're at the start of a new relationship with your words, or looking back on lifetime of fulfilled writing. 

It's up to you.

You don't need to be a "writer" to join in

I know that many of you love to write, want to write, long to write regardless of whether or not you think of yourselves as "writers". This group writing project is for everyone, whatever label you give yourself or others give you.

Forget the labels.  Forget the definitions. 

Just think about the act of putting pen to paper.  Of dreaming up sweet phrases in your mind.  Of moving your hand, quietly, insistently, across the page. 

And write about that.

To take part all you need to do is:

• Write (or otherwise create) a blog post on the subject of My Love Affair With Writing
• Post your piece by midnight on 28th February (in your time zone)
• Tag it "my love affair with writing" to help me keep track of the entries
• Link back to this post (to help me keep track of the entries)
• Keep it within the boundaries of decency :-)

In return you'll get:

• A link to your piece when I publish the round up (in early March)
• The chance to connect up with other participating bloggers and writers
• The opportunity to write about writing (bliss)

I'm also offering a prize (a book, what else?) based on the entirely subjective criterion of which entry I love the most. 

It's Natalie Goldberg's Writing Down The Bones, a book to strengthen or inspire a lifelong love affair with writing. 

If you've already got the book it's a chance to give it to someone you love, who loves to write or whose writing you love.

 

---

The Group Writing Project is a contribution to the theme of writing leaps and bounds, this month's focus at Confident Writing.

Taking part might... represent a leap for you, rekindle your love of writing and inspire some writing leaps and bounds, or help you learn from what motivates and inspires the words of others.  I know it'll motivate me, and I can't wait to read what you come up with.

Joanna Young, The Confident Writing Coach
Because our words count

Photo Credit: fotologic