Here’s to a Livelier Lively Muse

I confess. These last few years I’ve been struggling with creating and sustaining a regular blogging practice. Scores of writers and artists and coaches create lively, entertaining, interesting, and beautiful blogs and they make it look so easy. I want one, too. So when I saw a post on Facebook that my friend and talented artist Jane LaFazio had signed up for the self-study version of Blog Triage with Cynthia Morris and Alyson Stanfield, I signed up, too.

The first assignment was to describe the people I want to visit and read my blog—age, background, geographic location; all those demographic details that help us define our readers. This is what I wrote:

Writers or those who want to write aren’t of any certain age or background, they don’t live in any particular region (except, perhaps in their imagination; the world of ideas and language), all races and many degrees of coolness; experienced, inexperienced, semi-experienced. Pajama-wearers, stilettos, Vans. Keyboarders and writers-by-hand. There’s no demographic that invites immediate links to images of style or culture or geographic location. We’re primarily English-language speakers, that’s something besides writing we have in common.

The assignment asked what other interests readers of my blog and I have in common. I created this list, which is pretty much the basis of what I’ll be blogging about.

  • How-to’s, why-to’s, when-to’s and what if’s about writing and writing practice
  • Tips and suggestions and guidelines and probably some exercises.
  • Writing accoutrements, cool places to write, great programs and apps.
  • Books about writing and events that celebrate writing and books.
  • All things writing practice, including evocative prompts.
  • Gossip. Not mean-girl gossip, but fun, interesting notes on all things literary.
  • Quirky, interesting things about writers and books and the writing process.
  • Writing retreats and contests and places to go to write and meet other writers.
  • Guest posts and interviews with other writers.
  • Interesting items about libraries, bookstores, and other writing-centered places.
  • Excerpts and examples of good writing and links to even more.
  • What else? I’ll ask. I hope readers will tell me what interests them. (Will you?)

Are they comfortable with the blog format? the teachers ask. Probably many more than me; I’m still learning, exploring. And I expect some are in the same place as me—wanting to know more, but still a little shy. And there are those who I’ve been learning from all these years.

Will they comment? I hope so. I’d like The Lively Muse to be a place where dialogues can begin, where I can hear what others have to say, discover new and interesting stuff, and expand my community. I’ve been part of a vibrant in-person writing community for more than twenty years; I want to expand it to include this exciting, though sometimes overwhelming, tsunami of social media.

So, here’s my commitment to creating a more vibrant, more interactive, and much more frequently posted to, blog. Here’s to a livelier Lively Muse.

Are you a regular writing practitioner? Do you hang out in the blogosphere? I’d love to have your comments, thoughts, opinions.

Thanks for taking the time to read.

Midge Raymond on Everyday Writing

This is the first time The Lively Muse has hosted a guest blog I couldn’t be more pleased to have as our premiere guest, author, teacher, publisher, colleague and writing pal Midge Raymond. If you’re a short story aficionado, you probably already know about Midge’s award-winning collection, Forgetting English. And if you like books about writing from darned good writing teachers, then you’re going to love Everyday Writing. Here’s a sample:

Everyday Writing for Summer

By Midge Raymond

As writers, we’re told that in order to succeed, we must write every day—but of course this isn’t realistic or feasible for most of us; we have families, day jobs, and other responsibilities that can get in the way of a daily writing practice.

And in the summer? It’s even more difficult: The kids are home, the weather’s lovely, and everyone’s in vacation mode (writing, while a luxury, is still hard work, which makes sitting in the chair all the more daunting when the sun is calling).

I wrote Everyday Writing to help busy writers connect to their writer selves every day—even if they’re unable to sit down to write every day. What I’ve found is that it’s not necessary to write every single day, but what is necessary is to think like a writer every day. This means opening your eyes and ears just a little wider than the next person—to take in everything happening in the world around you, including in your own inner world, all of which provides the richest material you’ll ever need.

Here are a few prompts to get you started. I’ve designed these prompts especially for the beginning of summer, which is one of the more challenging seasons in which to stay focused (note: you can easily do these in a beach chair with a sand-covered notebook).

Enjoy—and happy writing!

Five-minute prompts

–       Write for one minute about each of the following: watermelon, sand, moon, chlorine, ice.

–       Write about the very first time you saw the ocean.

Fifteen-minute prompts

–       Write about the best summer you can remember. Be as detailed as possible, from who you spent your time with to what was going on in your life at the time. Was this summer a recent one, or was it in the distant past? (Note: Fiction writers can apply this exercise to one or more of their characters.)

–       Write about a favorite summer food or beverage. When was the last time you enjoyed it, and what was your first memory of it? Then, write a scene (either from your own life or that of a fictional character) in which this food or drink features prominently.

Weekend prompt

–       Write about the last time you did something, whether it was play the piano, ride a horse, or smoke a cigarette. Is this something you chose to give up, or something that simply faded away? Do you miss this activity? Why or why not? Be as detailed as possible, and write for as long as you can, letting this prompt lead you wherever it wants to take you.

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 Midge Raymond is the author of Everyday Writing: Tips and Prompts to Fit Your Regularly Scheduled Life  and the story collection Forgetting English , which received the Spokane Prize for Short Fiction. Her work has appeared in TriQuarterly, American Literary Review, Indiana Review, North American Review, Bellevue Literary Review, the Los Angeles Times magazine, and many other publications and has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize. Visit www.MidgeRaymond.com to subscribe to her free email newsletter for writers.