Bucket List

By Leesa Ostrander

 

An article on WritesDigest.com titled, “5 Things That Should Be On Every Writer’s Bucket List” http://www.writersdigest.com/online-editor/5-things-that-should-be-on-every-writers-bucket-list gives five things writer’s should have on a list of must do.

The five must do list is: do something bizarre just to write about it, self-publish something, find a mentor, edit your favorite novel, live poor for a few months (or years).

I agree with the list, each has valid necessity.

The first I have done. I had to do a norm disruption project in college. The assignment was to go against a norm and write about the reaction and outcome. One of the examples I did was trying to convince a grocery store clerk that my change was hers. This was 15 years ago. I enjoyed writing on the frustrated reaction of the clerk. I wonder how this situation would play our today. Expanding on this list item, I have not done anything crazy just to write about it. I feel that I am missing some fun in my conservative, shy state of being.

The article mentions to self-publish anything. This action builds confidence even if you already published. Self-publishing can be blog posts, newsletters, website content and other forms of technical writing as well as creative writing. I picked up King County Library systems 2012 poetry finalists book. My daughter read the full book and exclaimed, “Whoa, these poems are in a book!”

Next, find a mentor. YES! Please! It is important to have a guide, even if you are an experienced writer. It is good to have another person to help guide in the creative process and give another point of view. A mentor can also help build confidence by giving more knowledge in your writing toolkit.

Now, the next list item I have done and find I have to put some books down because I spend more time correcting than reading. Edit your favorite novel can be daunting if they author is wonderful with a solid editing and publishing company behind them. Yet, I still find errors in top author’s books. If you are not looking for errors then edit a section where you rewrite for better flow, different meaning or using different words for the same outcome. This can also fit into a daily writing practice  list item substitution.  

Lastly, live poor for a while. Living outside your means or with less money coming in than going out does give a different perspective. You get creative on how to make everything work. It also creates an avenue of learning a lesson and understanding being humble. When humble creativity flows at a different level and understanding.

What do you or would you add to this bucket list?