Topic: Try Something New
We are always willing to try a new recipe. Why shouldn't we do the same with our writing? Many recipes teach a method. Ingredients can be interchanged and substituted to create many different, wonderful dishes. The same applies to our words. If you're a bit intimidated by trying something totally different, try the substitution bit.
I suppose what we would do in the substitution method is stick to our usual format and select a subject or topic that is foreign to us. Maybe we've never done a humorous piece or a romantic poem. Humorous romance sounds like it might be fun! Seriously though, try something different.
Maybe we've always written free verse. It might be time to try another type. Can we create a concrete image out of what we've written? Would a tanka or haiku be better suited to our mood today? How about taking something you've already written and paring it down into a haiku or tanka? Doesn't that sound like fun? This is a great exercise in discipline.
Whatever you attempt, please make it a serious effort. You might find that you've got a real knack for such things. I like to think that I have a knack for writing articles. Whether that is really true remains to be seen. I should try submitting an article somewhere. This is just one more thing to add to my "to do" list.
I realize that much of the stuff I write in this blog becomes repetitive. Most of it is stuff we don't evern consciously think of most of the time when we write. I am simply trying to raise an awareness for everything that goes on when creating a written page. The more aware we become of these items, the more natural it is to incorporate them into use. At least, I hope that is true.
For instance, how much attention do we give to transition. Transitional clauses help us to shift our focus from one issue to another or one place to another. They help to keep our readers moving forward in a smooth motion. We can't effective jump around from one thing to another without providing some kind of transition. Please overlook the fact that this is exactly what I have just done. Any way, the more we are aware of these items, the more effective we become is using them. Also, knowing why we use them helps a great deal. Knowing gives a reason to our madness.
So, try something new. Pay attention to how all the pieces fit together.