Think Sideways

Yay! day off! feels so good .. and sleepy :)

I've been writing & editing. I need to finish a vid I'm working on. I don't think I'll be doing any of that today though. Too sleepy. As you probably know already, I've been struggling with finishing some projects so I sought out something to help with that. I enrolled in an online writing course called "How to Think Sideways," and registration is open until September 8 so I'm giving it a little plug. I know there are a lot of writers on LJ who might find this beneficial. I'm only into the sixth week of it, and the course is self-paced so I can go my own speed. Sadly, some weeks I don't have a lot of time to read the materials (yay for self-pacing - I get to it later as time permits), but the course has been interesting so far regardless. If you decide to sign up, I suggest doing all the assignments even if they don't seem to apply toward you & your writing or you don't get how it's going to help. The course is supposed to help you to get in touch with your muse at will and not at the whimsy of your muse. *g* It's a different way of thinking & approaching stories for some people, and it's an invaluable excercise in the way a professional writer like Holly does it.

It's geared toward fiction writers (book authors), but the information can be applied across most (if not all) disciplines, I think. Although I have several projects I'm working on (still trying to finish last year's nanonovel, working on web series idea), I'm following the course, step-by-step to come up with a previously unimagined project on a deadline. Already I've found a few little tricks that can be used with my current projects. :)

From the site ..

Would you like your writing to take off in directions that surprise even you?

With this self-paced course, "How to Think Sideways", full-time author Holly Lisle can help you whip your muse into shape with proven techniques that will open the floodgates of your creativity.

Every writer has read a book and wondered how the author came up with that plot twist, seemingly from left field. With this course , Holly is not only going to stimulate your idea generation, but will show you how to do it on a deadline. She will also show you how to effectively plan your projects as well as walk you through the beginning, middle, and ending sections of your novel.

Lee Masterson, an author from Australia, had this to say about the course:

"Holly, I've been writing professionally for a living for the past 9 years and your Lesson 1, Break the Thinking Barriers, made me think long and hard about what I've been doing all this time and what I'd rather be doing - and why I haven't been doing it all this time. Thank you for the wake up call - and thanks also for the brutal honesty."

This course, delivered in weekly lessons, includes:

- Monthly video that covers the month's main topic
- Weekly lessons with assignments
- Weekly technique demonstrations
- Monthly checklist of all steps to take
- A monthly Q&A made up of questions taken from the course forums
- Private workgroups (optional)
- Class discussion forum to interact with other students

Writers spend hundreds of dollars taking courses to learn more about their craft. At $47 a month, "How to Think Sideways" goes above and beyond, showing you how to make the most of your imagination.

This course is only open until Monday, September 8th, so enroll now.
Click here to find out more.

I also put some photos up on ImageKind if anyone is interested in taking a look. :)

I think I will go do a little research on an unrelated topic now. lol





* cross-posted from LJ