Feed your creativity! Do things which make you happy, feel happy, and remind you to take your childlike wonder with you!
You’ll need it.
Go through the looking glass, Alice.
Go through the looking glass.
With Love & Ink
JBHarris
Have you written today?
If not, you should.
#DoIt365Continues
With Love & Ink,
JBHarris
I am a writer.
I am a storyteller, poet, essayist and one who uses art to speak truth to power.
I am a teacher. An encourager.
I am a support and a push.
I do my work, as Baldwin said, so when I am needed, I’ll be there.
I am here to entertain, encourage, impart and remind.
My hope for this series was to bring light and support to all of you. My hope is something would be said (or written) to encourage you all not to quit.
If no one told you over this 30 days that they were proud of you, I am proud of you.
Keep going.
#HappyWriting
-JBHarris
Follow the fabulous Magnolia C. Carter (The MCC to those in the know!) on Instagram at: @theemagnoliacarter.
Magnolia C. Carter is a passionate writer. She is present, dedicated and aware of how demanding writing can be! When asked about her writing journey, she will smile and say: “This is what happens with boredom and an overactive imagination.”
Her inspirations come from three things, “the three M’s” as she calls it: music, men, and mischief. Magnolia says that her mission with her writing is to ‘get everything out.’
When asked about her favorite thing to write? “Erotica…and hoetry.” When asked what hoetry is, she describes it thus: “Hoetry is the full expression of female sexuality…without regret.”
Well, now.
When asked how she defines success as a writer, Magnolia says she’s unsure. “Success is a weird term to me. I think the fact that I’m even writing is success! Successful writers are those that keep writing.”
So far, there is one book of poetry that Magnolia published under her mother’s maiden name, Read (like the color—RED)-Possession And The Nine-Tenths (available on Amazon and Kindle). With all the writing she’s doing, she’s starting her website, and two collections of poetry brewing—and a novel—Him, Her & Me. “I’m just getting it done.”
When asked about writing advice, Magnolia keeps it simple. “Best advice? Get it off your head. Then deal with it when it’s done.”
Indeed. Deal with it when it’s done.
Character development: How are you going to develop them?
Just like you must have an idea for the structure of you story, the same goes for your characters, their settings and even the scenarios they find themselves in. The key thing to remember is watch out for troupes what will limit the growth of your characters; stereotypes that will stunt other characters and not give them depth; if you are writing cross-culturally (a white writer writing Black character for example), make sure that you have invested time and effort into seeking out someone from that culture/ethnicity/background to read your work!
Why? Blind spots.
You don’t want a work to be offensive to other people when it does not have to be! Having someone read for cultural sensitivity will allow for feedback in a safe space where you can ask questions, get feedback and revise as needed! Your characters are brought to life your imagination—and that imagination may represent a real person. Write wisely.
Note: For sensitivity read-throughs, contact Anette King through her site, The Blurb Diva.
What Do You Want To Show?
The hardest thing in this process pathway from getting what is in your head to and in the world outside of it, is converting thought into image. Since the onus of what is in your head, hiding in your imagination, is up to you.
IT IS UP TO YOU.
As a minority writer, you control the narrative, the story that you want to tell. No one else. Do not allow the world around you to adjust your lens. Let no one distract for what it is you want to show! What you have to tell, what is on the inside of you, can only be told by you. As James Baldwin said: “Fire the imaginary White man that sits on your shoulder!”
Don’t fall into troupes—they are only formulas! In the hand of any good scientist or alchemist, a formula is a tool. It is meant to be used, reconstructed and re-evaluated to suit the needs to those who have the wherewithal to change what they see in front of them.
Do not be discouraged by those who can’t see what you are creating. Do not be dismayed by those who cannot support what you are creating! They are not your concern! What you must be concerned with is what you want to show the world! What is on the inside of your head? What part of that do you want to share with the world? Is there more you to come? If so, keep going.
See you next week!
Bookmarks are a writer’s best friend.
When you are in the middle of a work, organization is key. It will keep you on task, help you focus, and remind you that your help is truly at your fingertips.
Organization will always prepare you for success.
Keep writing.
With Love & Ink,
JBHarris
Your imagination is powerful, but your imagination is not enough.
There is nothing wrong with you as writer following your intellectual curiosity and seeing what you come up with! Look up new words! Find a YourTube rabbit hole and see what comes up!
Research the world around you.
One of the greatest things about writing is that you are always in this constant state of researching, asking questions, and figuring out what fits where.
Intellectual curiosity is an open door, don’t lock it.
With Love & Ink,
JBHarris
The pages are yours. They belong to you. They are yours to command.
To comment on. To cry on. To bleed through. To cut the way through and towards. Pages mark your journey, count your steps towards progress!
Fill them. Be merciless with their filling! Bend them to your will.
Always.
With Love & Ink,
JBHarris
I leave you with this simple refrain:
“Do what you love, love what you do.“
What do you love?
With Love & Ink,
JBHarris
JBHarris Writing Services 