I’m sorry to say that Alaska has the worst drivers in the world.  Truly.  I lived in SoCal for a number of years and I would take the LA drivers all day long over the Alaska ones.  What’s the problem with Alaska drivers?  They lack precision.  How is this related to writing?  Lack of precision in writing is equally frustrating.

• Not using turn signals.  Rude, and completely unfair to others trying to navigate the road.  Do you signal your intentions for your readers?  Is the title for your piece appropriate and likely to give the flavor of where you are heading?  Making your readers aware of your intention with the story is courteous and makes for a pleasant reading experience.  it also allows them to make decisions for their next move.  Do they continue reading or do they yield to other drivers writers?
• Not making full use of the on-ramp.  That half mile stretch is designed to allow drivers to get up to highway speed for an easy merge.  Are you taking too long to get to your point?  Frustrated readers will only hang with this for so long before they blast past you, giving the single-fingered-Alaskan-salute as they thunder by.  Readers want action.  Give it to them early.
• Driving 50 in the fast lane.  Get your story moving or get it the heck off the freeway.  If you’re going to play with the big boys and girls then strap in and have your chops up to speed.  Never put anything out there that is less than your best work.
• Don’t park like an idiot.  If you’re going out into the public, pay attention to how and where you park.  Are you taking up two spots while on Twitter or Facebook?  Make it easier for other folks to enjoy their trips to these stores by pulling in, getting your business done and then getting the hell out.  Promote your writing whilst displaying courtesy to others that may be looking for a spot.  Being a parking hog could get you some nasty notes on your windshield.
• Cutting the corner on a left turn.  The quickest way to wreck your writing is to cut corners.  Shoddy research leads to shoddy writing.  Being less than precise with your written words can come back to haunt you.  Lazy turns become habit and before you know it, you cut at the wrong time and wind up in the writing ditch.
• Not knowing (or ignoring) the rules of the road.  This all encompassing snare gets folks all the time.  If you don’t know the rules of the writing road then by God you better learn them.  Read up on proper grammar and punctuation.  Practice and rewrite as necessary.  Like the Officer says, “I didn’t know” is a piss-poor excuse.

So, there’s my take on this.  Do yourself a favor and learn to be precise.  Don’t be one of “those” drivers.

Hi folks.  Today I’m offering up a cool guest post from Alexis Bonari.  The fear of writing is something that a lot of writers face and she’s provided us with some great tips.  Let’s give her a warm welcome!

First of all, thanks to Tumblemoose for allowing me to share with his audience. Which leads me to my first tip…

1.) Get an Audience

As a new writer a few years back, I just wrote without any thought of the outcome. There was no audience to keep in mind. Since there was no audience to keep in mind, my mind drifted away. This led to discouragement and lots of wasted time.

Your audience can be your best friend, your cat, a family member… anyone. The audience does not have to know that you are writing for them. It’s only a mental technique so that you stay focused and get in the rhythm of writing.

2.) Find your Writing Rhythm

With music, a song does not have to be a chart-topper in order for it to have rhythm. 1,2,3,4 and 1,2,3,4 over and over. That’s a simple 4-count beat of music theory. In your writing, try to keep your rhythm, or pace, constant without concern of grammar, spelling, or anything that causes a break in your pace. To be honest, I’m listening to music right now, rocking back and forth in my chair, keeping my pace. It works! Quick Tip: I find it best to listen to music I have never heard before. It keeps me from singing along or thinking of the past.

3.) Show your Audience and Do Not Ask for Feedback

Since we are dealing with Fear, it’s best not to demand any critique of our work as our insecurities are already high. Allow for the audience to comment if they wish. If they say anything positive or negative, it is simply a tool you can use to go back and revise. If they say nothing, then leave it at that and move to your next assignment..keep that rhythm!

4.) Know that You are not Your Writing

You are a unique human being, who just happens to write. Anything that you write will not change you as a person. I believe this awareness separates the fear of a damaged ego from the simple reality of a person that writes. I hope that’s not too existential!

Oops..there goes my fear that you may not like me if you don’t understand what I’m trying to say

5.) Healthy Living

There have been countless days where I’m extremely below my normal productivity levels.

Thinking back, I can always notice that I did not follow through with a list that I consider to be part of a healthy lifestyle. Here’s my list:

• -Going to sleep around the same time.
• -Getting up around the same time.
• -Drink lots of water.
• -Eat Fruit and Vegetables with meals.
• -Move around…get away from my computer screen!
• -Talk to someone about what’s on their mind, not mine.

Are you neglecting any of these? I sure am!

Now it’s time to eat

Bio: Alexis Bonari is a freelance writer and blog junkie. She is currently a resident blogger at onlinedegrees.org, where she does in-depth research on topics such as  Education Tax Credits. In her spare time, she enjoys square-foot gardening, swimming, and avoiding her laptop.

OK folks, not a vampire in sight on this site.  If you arrived here looking for that then head back over to Amazon or go Google Stephanie Meyer .  Enjoy!  This post is going to describe Twilight Writing – a method of bring into the light perhaps some of your most profound thoughts.  This method is described in the book With Pen in Hand: The Healing Power of Writing by Henriette Klauser.

The book itself is a wonderful guide to using writing to help pull you through most any traumatic life event.  The advice is succinct and positive.   And while the chapters do specify particular methods for particular events, there are some other great writing tools incorporated throughout.

Consider:

Have you ever been vexed with a problem and while your mind was able to circle around it, the more you concentrated on it the more distant it became?  I know I have as well.  I’ve had the same thing happen with a phone number or when trying to remember a name.

Then, just as I was falling asleep, the problem’s resolution flashed into my head.  I’ll bet this has happened to you at some point.

Is this some cruel trick of human physiology?  Well, kinda.  But not really.  What has happened is that your subconscious was able to break through the surface clutter of your conscious never-ending-worrisome-wordtrack.  The human brain has an amazing capacity for problem solving.  The data that is needed is in there – we just need to peel the layers to get to the answer.  Try and peel those layers consciously and you’ll end up with a pile o’ peels and little else.

So the obvious answer is to write while you’re sleeping.

Okay, I’m kidding!  Get back here…

Chances are you may have seen dentists offering something called “Twilight Sleep”  Essentially they put you in a place where you’re not quite under but not quite awake.  This zone is also naturally a part of your normal sleep cycle of falling asleep and waking up.  This is where you can practice your twilight writing.  This is where you can access your powerful subconscious.

While drifting off

This kind of writing is best done via pen and paper you have adjacent to your bed  – unless you have a tendency to fall asleep while stumbling at the computer (just.one.more…stumble…).

As you start to drift, pay attention to your thoughts.  Start writing them down, coherent or not.  Don’t worry about penmanship, grammar or crossing the “i”s and dotting the “t”s.  If you’ve been chewing on a problem all day then most likely the answer will be revealed now.

This is also a great time to pose a question to let your subconscious work on it overnight.

Upon awakening

Important point here, folks.  This is not when you “get up”.  When your eyes open, start writing – very first thing.  Before you go to the bathroom, before you get coffee, before you mumble “good Morning” to anyone or anything.  It’s important to gather your stuff before you get up and start your day.  Write as stated above.  Don’t worry about anything other than getting the words down.

I know it’s a little out there, but hey, what have you got to lose?  Give twilight writing a try for a week and see if it doesn’t provide you with post ideas or maybe the solution to some problem.

What say you?  Have you tried this before?  If so, what kind of results did you achieve?