Writing for Relaxation

I recently composed a guest post on the blog Leisure Views, which is run by Danny Mac, on the topic of writing for relaxation. If you are interested in reading about this topic or are interested in reading about many other ways to relax your soul, I would greatly suggest you visit his blog.

I am open to guest posting on other blogs. Just email me at mail@hearmindwrite.com if you have any requests.

Learning to Let Go

When you fall in love with anything, letting go is always the hardest thing to do. We hang on, try to look for another way, and expend enormous amounts of energy over a lost cause. The result is usually always crushing. This happens not only in relationships, but also in writing.

In my post Playing to the Crowd, I had originally written many examples of ways to turn off an audience. I loved the idea, and thought it would be great, but it didn't want to blend with my writing. I reworked and reworked my piece, but nothing would give. If I wanted to keep my idea, I knew I would have to write an essay to make it work. That wasn't acceptable, but neither was losing my beloved content. My struggle was heart wrenching, and in the end, I threw it all out and wrapped up my piece quickly not wanting to deal with it anymore.

My mistake was letting my fear of losing my content get in the way of my writing.

When faced with a dilemma such as mine you have to ask yourself a philosophical question: is one catchy sentence or phrase in a paragraph worth more than the sum of that paragraphs parts? If so, then your writing must revolve around that sentence or phrase. If not, then you must either change it or get rid of it completely. It's simple in idea, but in practice it may be harder than you think. Why? Because, letting go is sometimes the hardest thing to do.

When we let go of a piece of content, we sometimes fear we will never see it again, which is not exactly true. In writing, what we reject, can be save for later. Perhaps it didn’t work out in this piece, but it may become pivotal in another. We can even choose to write a whole piece around it at a later time.

The most important thing to remember is, in writing, letting go is not forever.

The Writing Mechanic

Not too long ago, I was sitting in my car trying to figure how to fix a big problem. My car didn't want to start. I, being an okay mechanic, ran through the usual diagnoses to the problem to no avail. Why didn't the darn thing want to start? I could only ponder at what seemed an impossible question.

My struggle that day reminds me of what writers face when dealing with problems in writing.

Pieces of writing are very similar to cars. They consist of many different parts that must all work together in order to give the writing motion. When there is a break in the reading of a piece, this motion is lost. In such cases, a writer must diagnose and repair the causes for this lack of motion, very much like I was trying to do with my car.

Like mechanics working on cars, writers must use their knowledge of their craft in order to pinpoint problems within their writing. Sometimes the problems will be obvious, and other times they will seem invisible. In cases where a problem seems impossible to work out, a writer must sometimes consult a more talented writer. Consulting another writer is not much different than taking a car to the shop. Sometimes we, as individuals, do not have the tools or expertise to fix a problem ourselves. Having another set of eyes looking at our writing only increases the likelihood that our problems will be solved. Other times, the sources to our problems may lie right underneath our noses.

When I finally fixed my car, I discovered the problem had been something I had overlooked many different times. I had spent hours trying to diagnose what turned out to be a cracked distributor cap, a part that I had examined on more than a few occasions. My one mistake was that I wasn’t paying enough attention to detail. If there is anything to take away from my experience, it is the fact that a good mechanic doesn’t overlook anything.

Copyright Basics

If you've ever written, or been interested in writing, you've probably looked into copyrights at one time or another. Why are they so important? They are the only thing keeping anyone else from stealing your hard work. So how do copyright laws apply to you?

I've attempted to compile the most important parts of as U.S. Copyright Law as they pertain to you, the average writer/blogger/whatever you are, in the most painless way possible. I am not an attorney, nor do I claim to write anything more than what the law states itself. If you have any questions pertaining to any particular cases of copyright infringement, I suggest you consult an attorney. The full U.S. Copyright Law can be found at the U.S. Copyright Office website.

So, what is a copyright? A copyright gives you the exclusive right to reproduce your work, to prepare any derivative works (films, dramatizations, musical arrangements, etc), to distribute your work for sale, and to display your work publicly.

How do I attain one? You attain one simply once your work is written, and you do not need to register your work the U.S. Copyright Office. Also, the copyright symbol © does not need to be included in your work, nor does any notice of copyright, although in any case of infringement, the inclusion of a notice of copyright makes it hard for the person infringing upon your rights to claim that they simply didn't know better.

Does this apply to contracted work? If in your work contract it was stated that your work was "work made for hire" then you have no copyrights to that work. In this case, all copyrights go to the contractor.

Can a minor attain copyrights? Yes, but in terms of business related to the copyrighted work (if you are going to make money off of it), State laws regulate such matters.

How do I defend myself from copyright infringement? First off, go see a lawyer. Secondly, even though you do not have to register your work to attain a copyright, in most cases you must register your work before you file a suit of infringement.

Does this mean I can't use any parts of a copyrighted work? Not exactly. The law permits what is called "Fair Use" which allows some usage of copyrighted materials, which can be found in chapter 1, section 107 of the law. The law states that copyrighted work can be reproduced "for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright." Also, using parts of an original work for a parody work is permitted. There are no guarantees that you will be protected under the fair use clause in a copyright infringement case. You should always seek permission to use copyrighted material.

What are the penalties for copyright infringement? In short, you may have to pay money, and in some cases a lot of money. Also, any equipment used to reproduce and distribute copyrighted works can be seized, which means computers, printers, vehicles, anything. Simply put, don’t infringe!

I hope you have found this helpful.

Playing to the Crowd

Growing up, I would often hear teachers say that newspapers were written to read at a sixth grade level of literacy. I used to think, "Jeeze, are people that dumb?" Were newspaper companies really bringing down their writing to compensate for the illiteracy of America? Maybe.

What I failed to grasp then was that newspapers are written at that level because they aim to reach the widest audience possible. Writing at a higher level would only alienate part of this audience, which would be counteractive to their intentions. In hindsight, it makes perfect sense.

Just like newspapers, our primary motivation for writing is to get a targeted audience to read our work. Whether we write the best pieces on the planet, or the worst garbage ever composed, our success usually lies within our ability to cater towards that audience. Our failure to do so can often lead to the alienation of our target audience.

So how can we avoid alienating our audience?

The only way to do so is by getting to know them. We can read articles written for them, communicate with them directly, and even put ourselves in their own shoes. The more we try and understand them, the more successful our writing will be.

Don't Struggle

"I don't know what to write, I just can't think of anything," said the struggling writer.

There are times when working through writers block is akin to pounding through a granite slab. Sometimes the end product will be as beautiful as Greek sculpture, or will end up a pile of dust and rocks.

If you want to avoid the latter, here are a few tips to help you out:

1. Don't write about something you aren't interested in. If you don't care about your subject matter, it will usually show in your writing. If you aren't interested, move on to something else. Not only will it ease your pain from writing about the subject, but it will also ease the pain of anyone who has to read the bi-product.

2. Narrow your focus. Although it may seem a good idea to have a broad perspective on a topic, it usually lends to bland and shallow writing. Instead of trying to include the whole world into your writing, focus on something smaller. You will have less material to pull from, but you will usually find your writing to be sharper, and you won't have to worry about fitting the whole world onto one page.

3. Ask yourself some questions. If you are having trouble writing about a certain subject, then step out of your role as a writer and become a critic. Ask yourself what the important issues are in the subject matter and which ones are worth pursuing or if the subject matter is worth writing at all. Finally, always be sure to ask yourself if you are writing about the real issues at hand. Sometimes the real issues might be completely different than what you had previously suspected.

4. Step away from your computer/paper and pen. If it seems that you just don't have the energy to write, then simply don't do it. Go take a walk in the park or clean the house. Taking a break from writing is a good thing, and you may just find an inspiration to write when you are doing something else.

May's Music to Write

Here are some tracks to get the creative juices flowing: