Three Non-Writing Tips to Get You Writing

When I started writing, I wished I had someone in my life who could tell me exactly what to do and where to begin. Lately, I’ve been talking a lot on radio, podcasts, and television about how to get started as a writer. Even if you are an established writer and feeling stuck, or only have a few minutes a day, dipping into these non-writing activities will bring you one step closer to your writing goals. 

TIP #1: Read Resource Books. This will immediately place you inside the writing community and you will get a view of the writing life. Whether you are just starting out, or years into a project, the right books can guide and embolden you, encouraging you to persevere as you learn the ins and outs of writing and publishing.

The Artists Way by Julia Cameron. This book is the perfect resource if you’re looking to pursue a creative dream. Julia offers numerous activities and pearls of wisdom to help you gain self-confidence and harness your creative talents. 

On Writing by Stephen King. Stephen King says that writing isn’t about making money, getting famous, getting dates, getting laid, or making friends. In the end, it’s about enriching the lives of those who will read your work, and enriching your own life, as well. In his book, through relatable stories and much humor, King talks about rejection, perseverance and the writing life in general. 

Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott. This book tells you exactly what it takes to be a writer. It’s a guide, a companion. And when you are overwhelmed and don’t know where to start,  just remember this story that Anne tells in regards to how her book got its title.

“Thirty years ago, my older brother, who was ten years old at the time, was trying to get a report on birds written that he’d had three months to write. It was due the next day. We were out at our family cabin in Bolinas, and he was at the kitchen table close to tears, surrounded by binder paper and pencils and unopened books on birds, immobilized by the hugeness of the task ahead. Then my father sat down beside him, put his arm around my brother’s shoulder, and said, ‘Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird.’”

The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles by Steven Pressfield. According to Pressfield, the more important a call or action is to our soul’s evolution, the more Resistance we will feel toward pursuing it. This book is a wonderful resource to galvanize any artist or visionary. 

TIP #2: Subscribe to Newsletters and Listen to Podcasts. This is a great way to get involved in the writing community and become part of an ongoing literary conversation. Inspiring and instructive newsletters and podcasts are a powerful resource to get educated. I’ve been following the writers listed below for years.

Lisa Cooper Ellison is a writing coach, editor and freelance writer. Lisa is a warm and generous teacher, and I highly recommend her services as well as her newsletter. There you will find personal stories detailing her author journey, craft essays, and articles on the writing life. 

Zibby Owens is what’s known as a bookfluencer. She is a writer, podcaster, publisher, mother and CEO, and just watching her in action and seeing all she accomplishes is motivation enough!! One of Zibby’s initiatives is to bring books to readers, and she features authors— established and emerging—on her podcast, Moms Don’t Have Time to Read Books. The conversations are priceless as writers reveal the highs and lows of their writing journey and share intimate details about their lives. Zibby’s newsletter and podcast make you feel like you’ve dropped in on some close writer friends. 

Jane Friedman – Jane is the author of The Business of Being a Writer and works to help writers and publishers flourish in the digital age. Recent essays include: The Secret Ingredient of Successful Openings, Weaving Flashbacks Seamlessly into Story, Which Social Media Platform Is the Best, Want to Write a Great Novel? Be Brave.

Dan Blank is the founder of We Grow Media. Dan is the podcast host of The Creative Shift, where he discusses practical advice with writers and artists. His weekly newsletter arrives on Friday mornings and some recent subjects include: Is Being on Social Media Worth It for a Writer? Flipping Marketing from Fear to Joy, Author Platform and Book Launch Essentials and Every Reader Counts. 

TIP #3: Read What You Want to Write

Whether you want to write fiction or nonfiction, a short story or novel, reading fosters ideas, sparks imagination, and leads to inspiration. You may form an opinion or feel moved by something you read, and a beautiful sentence or an exquisite metaphor can be a springboard, a spark, to grow your own thoughts. In my case, I decided to link my individually published short stories after reading Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout and A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan. Both books are told in stories and their structure is what inspired me to link my fiction. The result was a short story collection titled, Life and Other Shortcomings. In addition, Nathan Englander’s That’s What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank and Philip Roth’s The Conversion of the Jews were influential in showing me how to write about Jewish themes with humor. Jonathan Tropper’s This Is Where I Leave You was also motivating, as his novel—involving a quirky, dysfunctional Jewish family—is witty. His book resonated with me as I was writing about similar themes of marriage, divorce, family, friendship and Judaism. While I worked on my forthcoming novel, The Marriage Box, Tropper’s book illuminated what I wanted to emulate in terms of pace and style.

Sometimes it’s hard to get started and doing any action, even a non-writing task, is progress. It’s a way to dip your toe in the water before jumping in. Writing can feel overwhelming and scary. We imagine we have to write the next great American novel, and so we write nothing at all. Take the pressure off of yourself. Just do one small action every day. Baby steps. It’s still movement and, and you’ll get there.

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Corie Adjmi grew up in New Orleans and started writing in her thirties. Her award-winning fiction and personal essays have appeared in dozens of publications including North American Review, Indiana Review, Huff Post, Medium, Motherwell and Kveller. Her first book-length publication was a collection of short stories titled Life and Other Shortcomings. The collection won a number of prizes including an International Book Award, an American fiction award and an IBPA: Benjamin Franklin Award. When she is not writing, Corie does volunteer work, cooks, bikes and hikes. She and her husband have five children and a number of grandchildren, with more on the way. She lives and works in New York City.

Find out more about her on her website https://corieadjmi.com/

THE MARRIAGE BOX

Casey Cohen, a Middle Eastern Jew, is a sixteen-year-old in New Orleans in the 1970s when she starts hanging out with the wrong crowd. Then she gets in trouble—and her parents turn her whole world upside down by deciding to return to their roots, the Orthodox Syrian Jewish community in Brooklyn.

In this new and foreign world, men pray daily, thanking God they’re not women; parties are extravagant events at the Museum of Natural History; and the Marriage Box is a real place, a pool deck designated for teenage girls to put themselves on display for potential husbands. Casey is at first appalled by this unfamiliar culture, but after she meets Michael, she’s enticed by it. Looking for love and a place to belong, she marries him at eighteen, believing she can adjust to Syrian ways. But she begins to question her decision when she discovers that Michael doesn’t want her to go to college—he wants her to have a baby instead.

Can Casey integrate these two opposing worlds, or will she have to leave one behind in order to find her way?

“The Marriage Box is a brilliant coming of age story that moves swiftly between the worlds of New Orleans and the Syrian Jewish community in NY. Our heroine, Casey, is flawed, kind and so vivid. We fall in love with her as she grapples to balance her need for independence with the comforts and constraints of tradition. I can’t remember when I last enjoyed a story so much: I laughed, I cried, I learnt, and couldn’t wait to turn the page to find out what Casey was going to do next. The Marriage Box is an absolute delight!” —Ariana Neumann, New York Times best-selling author of When Time Stopped and National Jewish Book Award and Dayton Literary Peace Prize winne

“Corie Adjmi’s fabulous novel The Marriage Boxis an unputdownable tale of Old World traditions-meets-New World desires. Adjmi doesn’t hold back in this coming-of-age tale of a young woman who loses herself early on, shaped by a destructive past. The writing is rich, immersive, and seamless. You will root for Casey as she forges her own way in a patriarchal world. A must-read.” —Lisa Barr, award-winning author of Woman on Fire, The Unbreakables, and Fugitive Colors

“Adjmi has written a fascinating story of culture and custom and the choices that go along with it. Compelling and compulsively readable; I found myself rooting for Casey Cohen as I flipped through the pages, finishing in one single sitting. A must-read.” —Rochelle Weinstein, USA Today best-selling author of This Is Not How It Ends, Somebody’s Daughter, Where We Fall, The Mourning After, and What We Leave Behind

“I couldn’t put The Marriage Box down. Alternately funny and heart-wrenching, but always deftly observed, this is a fast-paced coming of age story that will stick with you.” —Jen Spyra, author of Big Time and former staff writer for CBS’s The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

PREORDER HERE

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Category: How To and Tips