On this day, when reminiscing about the tragedy of September 11, 2001, my emotions are once again awakened. I was moved while watching original footage of the attacks on the television. It would be impossible to fathom what thoughts, fears, prayers, bravery, and sheer determination that occurred in the minds of the passengers. During the moments, beginning from an initial onslaught of terrorism to the ultimate loss of life, American citizens were realizing their fate as the events transpired, ending in an instant upon impact.

Ernest Hemingway said, “The most essential gift for a good writer is a built-in, shock-proof shit-detector. This is the writer’s radar and all great writers have had it.” By this Hemingway signalled the vital importance of honesty and truth in creative writing- and these two are not easily found, least of all by the writer in the very act of writing.

For years, the only time I read poetry was when it was assigned in a class. Then I’d read it, knowing I wouldn’t understand it, and, with an expression on my face as if I had just bit into a lemon, I would prove myself correct. I didn’t get it. What delineates a good poem from a not-so-good poem? How is one to know what to write about? Do poems always have to rhyme? What is a haiku, a limerick (besides the adult versions you’d hear in a pub), and why bother writing, or reading, poetry at all?

So many things have changed over the years. So many times I have looked in the mirror-my reflection staring back at me. Those dark brown eyes that aren’t light enough. Or big enough or slanted enough.

Writers, and creative thinkers in general, can easily get lost in their thoughts. These mind-wanderings are requirements of our creativity. But every now and then we need to live in the world we write about.

Every person consists of several layers, starting with the thin veneer you see on the surface, then tooling down deeper and deeper to the core which remains hidden to many. But a novelist’s task is to penetrate these layers. This must be one of the most enjoyable challenges in fiction writing: building up a character in layers, through what they say of themselves, what others say of them, through their actions and words, through thoughts, hopes and dreams, through references to former events and relationships. And the task which is most difficult and testing yet carries the most excitement is knowing what to reveal, how much and when. The fiction writer uses real life as a springboard, and then plunges into the water, passing through the shallows, into the depths of character creation.

For new writers the best route to publication remains via a good literary agent. But how do you go about finding the right one? Here are some essential first steps.

It’s a never ending quest to find that one thing that everyone likes. Something that would appease any man, woman, or child the world over. Every single person is different though, and I doubt there is any one thing that every single person likes.

Ever wonder why we call the day after Thanksgiving, the first shopping day for Christmas, Black Friday. I think there’s more to it than originally thought. Follow me as my mind meanders through the relevance of the term, and how it may have come to be.

A few years ago, when I took my first creative writing class from a local community college, we were suppose to keep a journal. When we were out at various places or at family functions, we were invited to write down impressions. That could be anything from descriptions to actions to pieces of conversation. I had trouble keeping up with my journal because what I observed stuck with me, especially if it was significant enough that I spent an extra moment seeing, hearing, tasting, feeling, or smelling the experience and locked it away. But I don’t think I have used any of those details in my stories. Could be all those snapshots of sense stimulation are still filed neatly in my brain. Somewhere…

The task is: write a novel of at least 50,000 words in a month; and by the word “novel” we must mean, of the course “the first draft of a novel.” For I have not yet ever created a novel in a month; but in nine days time I will have done that very thing; and therefore I consider myself qualified to write the article.

As a creative writer with over 10 years experience in traditional and new media publications, I have found 2 effective strategies for building my portfolio, reputation and client-list. I share these 2 secrets of creative writing success in the article below…