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6 Benefits of Traveling for Writers

Posted on August 18, 2012 Written by Pinar Tarhan

traveling writer — Image via travelingchic.com.

I know I have been away for a while, but I am back with more inspiration, stored energy and happiness as well as writing tips.

I was in Sweden for 5 days for the Herrang Dance Camp, where I danced, danced and danced, and then I was off to Norway for 10 days to see some old friends. While my on-and-off internet connection didn’t allow me to publish while I was there, my notebooks got full of ideas. One of those ideas was the benefits traveling provides to writers so here we go:

1) Inspiration – for both fiction and non-fiction. Traveling brings more muses than I can count. The scenery, the languages, culture, meeting new people, visiting the new and revisiting the old, seeing old friends…Not to mention experiencing my first (swing) dance festival. I’m bursting with ideas and like most writers, the more ideas I have, the happier I am.

2) Potential to sell (travel) articles and make money. Naturally, travelling brings many ideas for travel markets, whether be in print or on the web.

I took as many pictures as I could- it was easier, faster and more detailed than writing things down every time I wanted to take a note of something. So now I have many pictures to derive ideas and slants from. I’m also organizing a big list of paying travel markets which I’ll happily share once it is finished.

3) Motivation to write and sell more productively. It’s easier to get caught in the latest social media article, Facebook status update or what to write in the blog that is fun, but doesn’t really make you money.

But once you’ve spent 2 weeks in 2 expensive countries, you are back with a rested and fresh mind, as well as more motivation to work more efficiently and concentrate on gigs that will make you money. After all, not only did you spend a lot, but you were also reminded of how awesome traveling is.

So there is a chance you will be planning your next trip before you get back. I know I did. So more money means more traveling which brings more ideas and inspiration, making you a happier and fitter writer…Yes, traveling has its perks indeed.

4) Fitness. Oh, about the fitness. I’m a 27-year-old female who was going abroad for 2 weeks, to a much colder climate (the temperature was an average of 17 Celsius in July!) and trying to make sure I didn’t exceed the 20kg limit my ticket allowed me. I didn’t want to pay extra, plus carrying more than 20kgs is not exactly fun.

But trying to get everything you need (since it is a camp, I needed to bring my sheets and stuff), plus a few things you want (make-up essentials, party clothes)…let’s just say I lost some weight just packing and repacking and then trying to zip it all up.

I always get fitter in the process of packing. Not to mention all the power-walking I had to do at the airport to catch flights, buy gifts and window-shop…Then of course there is all the walking you have to do while sightseeing and voila!!!

Despite all the candy I sinfully consumed, I am back having lost 2kgs. Yes, I love traveling.

(To be fair though, I did dance like crazy for 5 days, and there were 2 concerts in the second week.)

5) Authenticity if you want to write a story with characters from those countries and/or stories taking place there. It’s amazing how much your vocabulary can improve when you pay attention. You can also notice the tones, attitudes, approaches and interactions.

6) Extra writing time. While I didn’t do that much writing, I still took advantage of the time between flights, waiting for the plane to take-off or the 15-20 minutes I needed to relax my body. It’s not much, but because you don’t have the time for distraction, it is efficient. Plus it feels a bit more fun, given the change in location. Somehow I got the best idea on how to start my novel while I was in Sweden, while I wasn’t thinking about the novel…which, by the way, takes place in New York. Inspiration is a funny thing.

Traveling is great for so many reasons, and even more so for writers. I don’t know where I’ll go next, but I can’t wait to do it again. How is your relationship with traveling?

Plain Old Writing Fun: My Favorite Cartoons on Writing

Posted on July 15, 2012 Written by Pinar Tarhan

There are many writing-related cartoons that make me laugh. And not because they are hilarious or tragicomic, but they also have a level of truth to them – OK, sometimes the truth level is scarily high:))

I hope you can all enjoy the cartoons below. I’m planning to make this list a series, collecting the funny stuff whenever I see it.

Enjoy!

cartoon on rejections and publishers — From Wayne E. Pollard’s Bo’s Café Life blog. One of my favorites, as many writers do inevitably ask this question…

writing cartoon on writer's block — Writer’s block goes wayyyyyyyy back..Image via toonpool.com

Speaking of writer’s block…And having our own jargon :)…Image via non-writer cluelessness-brainstuck.com

bo-sell-out-literary-fiction — It’s all about writing what you feel is right. Maybe it would be a sell-out for a literary author to write mainstream, but trying to write poetry or literary fiction would be just as supercial for me. So this one really made me smile. What a sell-out is depends from writer to writer…Image via boscafelife.

writer muse — Usually a fast-approaching deadline has the same effect on me. Image via fishink.us

Am I The Only Writer Who Doesn’t Like Poetry?

Posted on June 28, 2012 Written by Pinar Tarhan

Chicken Poetry — Not to contradict my own title or anything, but I actually enjoyed this “joke” on poetry. Apparently I do enjoy poetry humor or funny poetry.

I have never heard from another writer that he/she doesn’t like poetry. Frankly, I haven’t met that many people who openly admit that they don’t like poetry either. This may make me look bad, but it is OK. I’ve always been honest with you. Here it is: I don’t enjoy poetry. And I really tried to like it.

Right from elementary school, my teachers pushed poetry as the noblest medium. From middle school and onwards, I had the chance to read many, many poems by a diversity of poets, in very different styles and I just couldn’t enjoy it. They just didn’t resonate with me.

For some reason, poetry never sounded natural to me. I always sensed a touch of pretense, the desire to show life more painful than it had to be, the desire to sound profound and educated and charismatic rather than sincere and heartfelt.

I am not saying the poets who wrote those poems weren’t sincere. I’m however saying that they did feel artificial to me, and after all, whether or not you like something mostly (if not entirely) depends on how it makes you feel.

I have never been a fan of short stories either. For me, a story just doesn’t end in a couple of pages. I know there are a lot of different kinds and word counts and styles, but the effect for me is the same. I don’t get to know the characters enough, I don’t have the time or the opportunity to get to care about them. As a result, I end up forgetting all about it. Best case scenario, I remember how powerful the idea was. But I still have a million questions in my head about characters, the backgrounds, the motives. Not that all questions should be answered, but I’d like to have at least a couple answered.

I’m in no way looking down on these genres or lacking respect towards them. I am just saying that with so many flavors the tea comes in, I just don’t enjoy them all.

How do you feel? And it is completely OK if you always felt close to some or all types of writing. Feel free to share what kind of writing you feel the closest to and why.

Entering a Writing Contest for the First Time Ever

Posted on March 31, 2012 Written by Pinar Tarhan

Confession: I am a writing contest virgin. In fact, just a couple of days ago I was going to publish a list post about why I didn’t like writing contests. But then I read about a writing contest that eliminated the most annoying thing(s) on the list, so I decided to give this contest my best shot.

First let me tell you about what I don’t like about writing contests, and then tell you about the one I liked enough to enter.

1) There are fees. Yes, I know this is very typical, and in a way, reasonable but I don’t write short fiction or poetry. There aren’t that many contests about novels and screenplays. Some fees are reasonable, but some are just ridiculous.

2) There are limitations to who can enter. Many writing contests are open to residents of a certain city, country or at best- a continent. So even if there are a lot of contests taking place for all kinds of writing, not everyone can enter all of them.

3) They don’t accept entries online by e-mail- which in this day and age is one of my biggest pet peeves. Online entry forms or e-mail submissions aren’t just easy for the writers, it is practical for the judges (and the environment) as well.

4) The deadlines aren’t reasonable (for me.) If I’m 40 pages into a novel and they only want completed manuscripts, I won’t be able to make it.

I’ve read about many competitions and their rules, including the ones organized by Writer’s Digest, whose website, magazine and store are among my favorite writing resources. But when it came to the competitions, I just couldn’t see the ones that appealed to me – until a short while ago.

The Writer’s Digest Contest – Deadline: May 1, 2012

The contest has many categories including spiritual writing, personal essay, magazine writing and movie/TV script writing. You pay $25 for your first entry- and if you make your multiple entries during the same transaction, you pay $15 for the others.

I might submit more than once piece for one category, depending on I can finish everything before the deadline. But fingers crossed for my first time. I’m looking forward to it.

What were your first times like?