Sharpen Your Tools!

          There’s a story about about a man chopping wood with a dull axe. He’s working feverishly, but making little progress. A friend suggested he stop to sharpen the axe. He refused, insisting he doesn’t have the time to stop and sharpen the axe. The friend pointed out that once the axe is sharp, it will cut better and the man will be able to cut the wood faster.

          Having the right tool for the job is important. Perhaps even more important is keeping those tools in good condition, ready to do the work they were designed to do. With a well-maintained toolchest, the work, whatever it may be, can be done promptly and efficiently, with little frustration and angst.

          As writers, our tools, besides pen or keyboard, are our mind, our ability, our knowledge. It is important to “sharpen” those tools. There are so many aspect to staying sharp. We need to work at developing our voice, crafting believable characters, writing dialogue. We need to hone our observation skills or increase our vocabulary. We need to learn to write engaging query letters and synopses. We need to learn to write faster or deeper or . . . The list goes on. It can be overwhelming.

          But, just as any large task can only be finished by working on one aspect at a time, so only one “tool” can be sharpened at time. The trick is to keep all the tools in good condition so they are ready to use when it’s time.

          For me, at this moment, I need ideas. I’m stuck, inhibited by emotional inertia and I need to just get busy writing. It really doesn’t matter what I write, just that I re-establish the habit of writing. So, to sharpen that idea-generating tool, I’m going to re-visit several websites I’ve used in the past.

• Creative Writing Prompts
  This one has a page full of numbers. When you hover your cursor over the numbers, a pop up window appears with the short prompt.
• Creativity Portal
  This one has picture prompts.

          These next few are more generic sites which include writing prompts with other writing instruction and encouragement.

• WritingFix
  This one has several lists of writing prompts, sort by type., such as right-brain prompts and left-brain prompts.
• The Writing Site
  This site has lots of articles related to writing.

          At the opposite end of the writing cycle is being able to present our creations to others. Whether we are describing the story to a friend or pitching it to an agent it’s important to hone the ability to describe and create enthusiasm for our project. I recently came across Pitch University. Listed in the right sidebar is a series of lessons, most of which I’ve not yet read, on how to sharpen this tool of pitching.

          As I’m finding new beginnings and creating new stories, I think it might also be helpful to look towards “the end,” or pitching what I create. It will help me keep the entire project in mind. I’m creating, finishing and publishing a story. Not just generating ideas and new beginnings.

          What are some of the tools you want to sharpen? And the resources you use to do so?