Tag: poetry

Conquer your next creative adventure in 5 easy steps

by Maja Todorovic, posted in Read, write, lead!, Write, create, innovate!

Erich-Fromm

If you have many diverse interests like me, you know how is sometimes hard to stick just to one thing you are doing and it’s so easy to get distracted when something new or more attractive appears. There are certain practices you can employ in order to stay on track with your project: meaning you will finish your project – not postpone it for “some better days”.

Step 1: Sign a ‘contract’ with yourself

First what you want to do is to make a pact with your self that you will try to follow your creative endeavor till the end. You might not be satisfied with the results, but everything we do has a room for improvement so we want to step back from unreachable perfectionism that doesn’t serve us and give our best to finish the project. Try to think from the end, what is it that you would like to achieve? Think also of your reasons for doing this project – you can even write them down and put them where you will read them often as a reminder. They will give you inspiration to deliver your project on time and fuel your passion along the way.

Step 2: Give your project a place to live and breathe

As you need time, you need space where you can get comfy and cozy while enjoying your creativity. It’s of great importance to stage your environment for creativity and allow it to freely come to you, in undisturbed and relaxed space. By secluding that little corner where you can work, it is going to be much easier for you to continue your work, follow up where you previously stopped if you don’t have to move your books, ketches or tools in order to do  something else. Your project needs place where to live, breathe and be nourished.

Step 3: Define your achievable goals

Here, you want according to your busy life and routine to set some realistic goals, like time frame in which you would like to finish the project; some milestones maybe you would like to achieve. Keep in mind that as you begin to work, like for example on your new novel, you probably won’t be delighted with your first draft – there will be many trials and errors before you tap into  your creative flow and you become satisfied with the end result.

Step 4: Give your project a structure

This is highly linked to a previous step – if your creative adventure is in writing, try to write a synopsis of that initial idea, give it some structure that you can refine along the way and adapt as new ideas and developments come into play. Having that line you want to follow will make sure you don’t drift away from initial idea and get lost in your own creativity.

Step 5: Try to avoid other people mistakes

As you prepare for work, my final advice is to research you creative topic and see what other people have done or are doing. Not because something similar already exists, but we can avoid many pitfalls from gaining wisdom from other people experiences; something may or may not work for us – as long as we are informed and gather information is going to be much easier to make some choices and decisions when it comes to our creative projects.

The last thing I can say is: enjoy creating 🙂

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7 tips for improving your creative writing skills

by Maja Todorovic, posted in Read, write, lead!, Writer's creative bites

budington kelland

As a writer, you don’t want to be just good or average. You want to be better; you want to improve your skills and you want to have your own recognizable style. Well, all that doesn’t happen overnight. It takes courage, perseverance, consistency in your writing attempts – no matter the rejections, lack of time or inspiration. Your writing can improve with practice and I will share here some tips you might find helpful:

1.Don’t find time – make time for your writing

As I said in the above introductory paragraph, it’s of great importance that you schedule regular time for your creativity, every day. When you have an idea, jot it down – don’t ignore it and let it flourish on your paper. You never know when inspiration will strike, so be prepared with little notebook by your side.

2. Don’t fear rejection

Show the world your creative power – maybe through blog, writing platforms or even through writing journals and open competitions. It’s a great way to practice your writing, refine your own style and maybe your story, poem, article gets published and recognized by editors – you don’t have anything to lose.

3.Join the community

There are many forums and other forms of networks where you can practice along with other fellow writers as response to different topics and prompts. It’s a great opportunity to get feedback about your writing and share your struggles and accomplishments.

4. Challenge yourself

As a poet you might try short story writing. It will provoke your thinking, channel your ideas in different directions. The more you step out of your comfort zone, the more your writing will mature and grow.

5.Read a lot; and then read some more!

Reading is a prerequisite to any good writing. It will not only enrich your vocabulary, but it will give you confidence that you can write too; that you can improve your writing skills and that there is experience and emotion residing inside of you, a story that needs to be told and shared with the world.

6.Feed your soul with some art

Visit museums, exhibitions, go to concerts and listen to music; dance and sing – enjoy other expressions of creativity as it can further inspire your writing. Diverse emotions that come from different senses can generate a feeling that we are creative beings and sometimes that is all you need for writing ideas to spark and come forth into your consciousnesses.

7.Don’t try to invent hot water – every time!

What I mean by this is that many writers are afraid that they are not original enough; that something similar already exists, that every story and poem is already written and told. But I want to remind you that you are unique person with unique points of view and unique experiences. No one can steal and copy that. As long as you are true to yourself it will be reflected in your writing.

How do you work on improving your writing? Please share your experiences in the comments below.

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