Instructionals: How to Begin A Piece of Writing

This is the first article in my "Instructionals" series! I hope to help you become a better writer by offering step-by-step advice and helpful resources along your first writing journey.

Why do you want to write?

This is a major question, because it helps you to set goals. If you have a story you want to tell, then your main goal will be to tell the story as accurately and as entertainingly as possible. If you want to teach a lesson, then you want that lesson to be clear and understandable, and, possibly, as artistically conveyed as you can. Are you writing for yourself, or someone else (audience)? Understanding these things will help you set guidelines for your first (or second, or third, or infinite) writing project.

I suggest putting a brief answer to the question "Why do I want to write?" on the wall above your desk, at the top of your computer screen-- somewhere nice and visible. When you get frustrated, look back to the answer; why do you write?

Shock Absorbers

Lifestyle is a word we use to describe the way in which we live. Where we work, whether we go to church, how busy we are, and what we do to relax are all a part of our lifestyle. We find houses, cars, and even jobs and schools based on the lifestyle we want for ourselves. Many people dream of that white-picket-fence lifestyle, with two-and-a-half kids, one dog, two cars, a nine-to-five job, and a middle-class economic status, and some of those people have achieved their optimal lifestyle.

This month, my family moved to Cypress, Texas, and I am realizing all the differences between this suburbian paradise of Houston, and the quaint, tropical town of Lakeland, Florida. In Houston, people are always busy. The traffic is horrendous at all times of the day, the map of the area is far too big to remember, and the rows of cookie-cutter housing and identical streets goes past the horizon in all directions. It takes at least half an hour to go anywhere, and there must be a school zone on every other block. When people say the 'suburbs' they are talking about right here, in Cypress, Texas.

Keep Calm and Carry On

Forgive me for interrupting your awesome day, but I wanted to share with you a bit of inspiration and fun!

I recently came across this poster, and decided to find out its history. It really quite interesting, and you can find the complete article here.

This poster was originally created by the UK in 1939, during WWII. It had a very small distribution, but was used to raise the morale of the troops, along with two variations:

Book List : "Anthem" Part 2

Here are the videos from the second half of Anthem, by Ayn Rand.
Click here to see our vlog: SweetCranberrys
Click here to see the videos from Part 1.

My video from Monday, August 27:

The Potter's Clay Waste Bin

"The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposing ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function." - F. Scott Fitzgerald

In our American culture, we have been told since we were little that you can be whatever you want to be. If you were born a janitor living off of welfare, you still have the opportunity to be the President of the United States if you want. As my youth pastors pointed out this morning, though, that hasn't always been the case. Before the 1700's, if your father was a carpenter, you were too. And if you were a girl-- you were just out of luck. Even in communistic countries, freedom of choice is nonexistent. The concept of free will is a new development.

Candle Inspiration

We are moving in a few weeks, and we've been burning out our candles so we don't have to put them in storage. As any excellent picture moment, I whipped out my mom's Nikon D90 and snapped some pictures. Of course, I heavily adjusted them in iPhoto. Enjoy :)