If you are a writer trying to write a Christmas story, one challenge you might be faced with is, how do you make your story fresh? Many Christmas stories revolve around similar themes.  Some of them include:

•  “Two hours to the big kiss” – If you have not read stories like this, you most likely have seen T.V. movies like them.  A man and woman are thrown together over Christmas, they have their differences, but by the end of the story they fall in love, which culminates in … the big kiss.

•  Redemption and discovering the true meaning of Christmas – The most obvious example of this is Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, but this is a theme you can see in a number of other stories.

•  Santa and Santa magic – These are the stories with elves, reindeer, and the North Pole.  These stories have magic in them where Santa makes the impossible, possible.

•  Religion – You might feel that not enough Christmas stories actually contain religion.  There are number that do though.  These stories focus on the Christmas story, prayer, miracles, and redemption.

•  Family drama – These are stories that focus on family dysfunction that is amplified during the holidays.  Some of these stories can be very serious, whereas others might be on the lighter side.

There are other themes as well, but they can all sometimes feel like they are packaged in boxes.  They can feel a bit predictable, overdone, and formulaic.  After you’ve read a dozen stories, they can all start to feel the same.  It can seem like there are only seven presents under the tree, and you have already given them more than once.  How do you come up with a new gift for your readers? Here are some suggestions:

1. First have an interesting story.

    This is really important.  Before you focus on making your story fresh and new, make it interesting.  Make sure the characters are engaging, the plot is surprising, and the story flows.  No matter what kind of story you write, you should focus on this.  It is a critical part in making any story good, and something you need before you can make it fresh.  Also, having an interesting story, will help whatever you write about feel more engaging for your readers.

2. Use the mold, but break the mold.

    Think of the “two hours to the big kiss” stories.  How do you make these new?  One idea might be to keep the general idea, but do something different with it. As an example, in these stories, the male and female leads are usually shown at the start and it can seem really obvious he, will end up with her.  You can change that around though.  Maybe the initially introduced male and female characters don’t get together.  Maybe she falls in love with his brother.  Maybe he falls in love with the girl he’s always known but hasn’t noticed.

    In another twist, you can make the couple obvious but the situation different.  Maybe instead of meeting for the first time, they could be an estranged husband and wife.  Instead of falling in love for the first time, they could fall in love again.

    This same idea applies to other themes.  Maybe a redemption story is told not from the perspective of the one being redeemed, but from the perspective of the person they are redeemed in association with.  In other words, what if A Christmas Carol was told from Cratchit’s perspective instead of Scrooge’s?  It might make for a very different story.

3. Mix it with a different genre

    One way to make your Christmas story unique is to mix it with an uncommon genre.  Ever read a science fiction Christmas story?  How about a steampunk one?  If not, something like that might be just the thing to make your Christmas story standout and not seem like the rest.  There are a number of genres you could explore.  You could keep the common themes mentioned above or do something different.

4. Add unique elements

    Imagine a Christmas story with bodybuilders.  Or one with race cars.  Or maybe one with astronauts.  Or one in Madrid.  These kinds of unique elements can help a Christmas story feel fresh, even if it is otherwise a standard type of story.  A story of redemption takes on a new element if the redeemed person is on a space station or speeding down a race track.

5.  Explore different traditions

    Different cultures celebrate Christmas differently.  Many of the Christmas stories you come across though don’t really explore this.  They might tend to focus on what might be thought of as a standard American Christmas.

    This of course is not bad, but if you want your story to be fresh, you might consider framing your story around a different tradition.  Maybe, for example, you could explore the Russian Orthodox practice of celebrating Christmas.  Depending on the calendar they use, there are some in the faith who won’t celebrate Christmas until January 7.  You could look at this and other elements such as music and food and include those in your story.  You could tell a traditional Christmas story but in a way that might seem completely new to your readers.

There are a lot of ways to make a Christmas story fresh.  These are just some ideas.  Remember though, don’t make your stories too different.  When readers read a Christmas story, they are expecting something.  They are expecting tradition.  Sure, tradition can livened up a bit, but it still needs to be tradition.  Maybe you serve pheasant for Christmas instead of turkey, but you probably shouldn’t serve squid.
​

If you are a writer who is just starting out, you may be in need of resources. Maybe you need to check some grammar information. Maybe you are looking for places to submit writing. Maybe you need a good style guide. Maybe you need a writing prompt. If so, you’ve come to the right place. Below are some resources you can use to help you get started as a writer. There are of course many more, and this is just a sampling of what is out there.

Online resources

 ♦ Grammar

      There are a number of online grammar resources. When you have a grammar question, you might just think to look it up in a search engine. While this can be effective, you might come across inconsistent results, and also, you aren’t taking advantage of the ability to learn about grammar issues in advance.
    One source of grammar information if you want to learn about grammar issues in advance is GrammarBook.com. They have over two dozen articles that you can read and learn from.
     Another place to look if you want a basic introduction to grammar is Grammarly’s Basic Grammar Rules. They have a number of categories with articles on each. You can learn about grammar, punctuation, mechanics and more.

 ♦ Databases of places to submit writing

     If you write literary writing, such as literary fiction or poetry, a great place to find magazines to submit to is Poets & Writers Literary Magazines database. It contains hundreds of literary magazines with some information about them and links to their sites. It can be a good resource for this style of writing. They also have a database of small presses if you write longer types of work.
     Another similar resource is New Pages, who provides a literary magazine listing, a contest listing, and a call for submissions section.
     If you write a variety of types of writing, you might check out the database of Writer’s Write. You can browse by category (e.g. food, mystery, or sports) to find the area you are interested in.

♦  Writing prompts

     If you are looking for writing prompts, one quick choice is the article on this blog, Developing Good Writing Habits, by M. Sakran. At the end, are thirty one writing prompts you can use for ideas.
     Not to promote my work again, but if you are looking for poetry writing ideas you might check out the Poetry Topic Ideas category on my blog, M. Sakran’s blog of and about poetry and poetry related things. There are over one hundred ideas in the category. You can find poetry topic ideas on a range of subjects such as electricity, exercise, paint, breakfast, locks, nostalgia, and many others.
     Poets and Writers, mentioned above, also has a database of hundreds of writing prompts. You can filter them by poetry, fiction, or creative non-fiction. You can scroll through and find a number of ideas.
     On the blog from Reedsy, they have over 250 writing prompts. You can pick a genre and search for ideas.

Books

♦ Style guides

     One good style guide is The Associated Press Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law 2015 from The Associated Press. While you may think it used only for journalistic writing, it can be a great resource for writing in general. 
     The first part of the book is organized like a dictionary. It contains hundreds of terms along with information on how they should be presented. Should a term be capitalized? Should a word be one or two words? Should there be a hyphen between words? If you are writing, and you have a question like one of these about a specific term, The Associated Press Stylebook can be a good place to turn.
     Another style guide you may be familiar with is The Chicago Manual of Style, Seventeenth Edition from the University of Chicago Press Editorial Staff. It is over a thousand pages long and has a great deal of information.

♦  Grammar guides

     GrammarBook.com, mentioned previously, also has an associated book, The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation: an easy-to-use guide with clear rules, real-world examples, and reproducible quizzes, eleventh edition, by Jane Straus, Lester Kaufman, and Tom Stern.
     Another grammar book you might check out is Grammar 101: from split infinitives to dangling participles, an essential guide to understanding grammar by Kathleen Sears. It covers a number of topics such as spelling, punctuation, pronouns and more.

♦  Dictionary

     As for a dictionary, you might check out Webster’s New World® College Dictionary, fifth edition by the editors of Webster’s New World® College Dictionaries. It has over 80,000 entries that you can peruse.

♦  Thesaurus

     For a thesaurus, you could try Webster’s New World® Roget’s A-Z Thesaurus by Charlton Laird and the Editors of the Webster’s New World® Dictionaries.

♦ Book of quotes

     If you are looking for quotes, one solid choice is And I quote: the definitive collection of quotes, sayings, and jokes for the contemporary speechmaker by Ashton Applewhite, William R. Evans III, and Andrew Frothingham. You can look for quote ideas by their subject category, by those categories alphabetically, or by looking up categories by synonym.
     Another option is the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, eighth edition, by Elizabeth Knowles. It has more than twenty thousand quotes.

    The above are just some resources. They are a place you can start if you are new to writing and need some information.  There is also a lot more out there for you to learn from.

Stanzas are a traditional element of poetry.  Although the definition of a stanza can vary, for the purposes here, a stanza can be thought of as a segment of a poem separated from other segments of a poem by one or more line breaks.  Using this idea, a stanza could be a single line or even a single word.  Again, this might differ from other definitions of a stanza, but it is useful as a way to look at the form element.

The following is an example of the look of a poem with stanzas, with each line represented by an *.  Each stanza (using the idea of what a stanza is above) is labeled with a letter.
 
*………………………………….A
*
*
*

*………………………………….B
*

  *………………………………..C
  *

      *…………………………….D

*………………………………….E
*
*
 

​*………………………………….F
*
*
*
 
Stanzas, in conjunction with line breaks, have many uses in poetry.

One use, is to impart “the look of poetry” to a poem.  Some readers of poetry might expect poetry to have a certain “look”.  They might expect poetry to be written in stanzas, like the example above.  Think of a poetry form, for example, like an English sonnet.  This type of structure might seem traditional to some. 

Writing poetry with a stanza structure, can signal to a reader that they are reading poetry.  If a poet wrote a prose poem, or, depending on structure, a free verse poem, the poem might not at first glance appear to be a poem to some readers.  Additionally, shorter poetry forms without stanzas, might not have that “standard” poetry look that some readers expect.

Having a poem, which “looks like a poem”, can help a poem be more effective for some readers.  It can give readers a signal about what to expect and how the work should be read.  It can alert them to the different sound a poem can have from a prose work so that they expect it initially.

Another use of stanzas, is to contain ideas.  Stanzas can be used like sentences (or maybe paragraphs) in prose writing.  They give a convenient place to talk about an aspect of a subject, before switching to another subject or aspect.  This idea can be useful both for the poet writing the poem and for the reader.

Stanzas can also help provide a sense of separation in a poem.  As mentioned above, they can be used to separate subjects and aspects of subjects.  Additionally, they can provide separation within a subject or aspect.  The idea might be to provide a pause, set apart an idea, to change a perspective, or accomplish some other goal of a poet.  Also, increasing line breaks or indentions can cause a separation and a pause for the part of the poem they are applied to.

Stanzas can also be usefully integrated with other poetic elements.  For example, stanzas can be used with poetic meter or repeats.  They provide a structure that other poetic elements can be applied to.

Stanzas can also help with brevity in a poem.  If a poet decided to write a poem with four, four line stanzas, for example, that structure would force the poet to contain their ideas within that form.  This might help the poet to be more concise.

Another aspect of stanzas is that they help when a poem is being discussed or examined.  They give points of reference for a poem.  When a person is discussing a poem, they can point to, for example, line four of stanza three, if the poem is structured that way.  This makes it easier for those discussing the poem to be in the same place.

When using stanzas, there are a number of variables to consider which can have an impact on the presentation of ideas.  There are the number of stanzas, the number of lines per stanza (and whether that number will vary between stanzas), the indention of stanzas and lines within stanzas, and the number of line breaks between stanzas (and again, whether that will vary between stanzas).  Also, as mentioned above, other poetic elements can be added to a stanza structure.

The variation in the variables can have an impact on presentation.  For example, a poem with stanzas with the same number of lines, no indentions, and one line break between stanzas, might seem more formal than a poem where those variables varied.  Similarly, a poem where those variables varied in a predictable way, might seem more formal than a poem where those variables varied in a random fashion.

Although stanzas have many benefits to poetry, there are some cautions to consider when using them.

First, whether a poet decides to start with a strict stanza structure, or they simply use the idea of stanzas in their poem, the containment of text within specific structures might not work well if the ideas seem fitted to the form or if the ideas disregard the form.

For example, imagine a poet was using a stanza with four lines, but one of their ideas naturally fit better in three.  A poet might extend the idea to have a fourth line, either by adding words or by altering where lines end, to fit the form, and that might take away from the expression.

On the other side, a poet might again be using stanzas with four lines, but might have some idea that naturally fits in five lines.  Because of the form, they might carry one line over from one stanza to the next.  If this is done in a way that feels awkward for the form, it can take away from the expression.  It can make the stanza structure less impactful and have it seem like something that was applied to a poem.

Secondly, stanzas, in some configurations, impart a sense of “traditional poetry” to a poem, as mentioned above.  Depending on the expression though, this might not be desired.  A poet might not want their poem to come across with a traditional sense, for the given subject they are talking about.  Think about poems about "heavy" subjects, such as political or social issues.  Depending on the presentation, these subjects might not work well with a traditional poetry form.

Third, depending on the expression, stanzas might not be the most effective way for a poet to communicate their ideas.  Depending on what a poet wanted to accomplish, a prose poem, a short single stanza poem, a long single stanza poem or a pictorial poem might work better than a poem separated into stanzas.

If you are thinking about writing poetry, you should consider experimenting with stanzas.  Used in the right way, they can have a number of benefits for both the poet and the reader.

If you are looking for some ideas, you might try:
​

• Writing a poem with four stanzas, each with four lines.  Four lines stanzas might be thought of as the most traditional, and this can be a good place to start.  The poem is of a medium length, with sixteen lines, and so isn't too short or long for expression.  Additionally, each stanza is of a medium length, which might work well for expressing ideas.  Also, this type of form works well if a poet wanted to add some other form element, like having every other line rhyme, but it doesn't require them.  This can be a good starting stanza poetry form.
  
  
• If you're not used to using stanzas but are used to writing haiku, you might try grouping a series of them together as stanzas in a single poem.  As long as the ideas are related and there is some sense of flow, this can be a good way to start if you aren't familiar with stanzas.  One idea, might be to take haiku that you have written and pick ones that go together to make one poem with stanzas.  You might have to make a few changes for the sake of flow and continuity, but this method might be a good way to ease into the stanza structure.
  
  
• If you're not used to structure in poetry, you might try writing what could be called an "un-structured experimental form".  Think of a poem with a number of line breaks and indentions, but that lacks a predictable format or meter or rhyme.  Think of a free verse poem that has been broken up.  Look at the example above with *'s for something close to the idea.
  
  This type of form can be a good entryway into using stanzas because it does not come with restrictions or the idea of a preconceived form.  A poet can write the poem how they see fit, letting the line breaks and indentations happen where they feel natural, and the stanza structure will flow naturally from it.  Additionally, after the poem is written, a poet could examine its form and look for places to add more structure, thereby enhancing the use of stanzas if they wanted to.
  
  
• If you are feeling a bit traditional, you might try writing an English sonnet.  This form has stanzas (three with four lines and one with two), meter and rhyme.  If are looking for a place to apply other poetry form elements to the stanza format in a structured way, this can be the traditional way to do so.

Cozy mysteries are very familiar. You know the stories: the amateur sleuth, solving crimes, in between running her own business and looking for romance. Have you ever thought though, what makes these mysteries what they are? What makes them cozy?

Cozy mysteries, in a way, meet certain unofficial ideas, which make them, well, "cozy". These stories contain similar elements that readers like and even expect. Sort of a cozy blanket of expectation. If you want to write a mystery, and you want it to be cozy, you need to keep these ideas in mind.

So what are these ideas? 

Well, before I get into them, a note. These are ideas. In other words, they are not rules, or even rules of thumb. They are just general characteristics that you might see in cozy mysteries you read. You are certain to find many stories that lack some or even many of these ideas. That being said, you should also find that you see these ideas, or approximations of them, in a number of the cozy mystery stories you read. You should also find that, if you use these ideas in your own stories, you will have moved in the direction of making them familiar to readers of the genre.

So here are the cozy ideas:

The protagonist
The protagonist in the story is the main good character. This person is the center of the story and the one who will solve the crime. This person isn't random though. They have some very important characteristics that help with the story and fit the general idea of a cozy mystery.

Personal characteristics 
One important characteristic of this person is that they are female. One idea behind this is to relate to the reader. If the readers of cozy mysteries are women (which in many cases they are), it can make the story more relatable if they read about someone of the same gender. They can understand aspects of her life and what she is going through.

Additionally, having the protagonist be a woman adds differences to the story in terms of relationships and how the protagonist approaches problems than if the protagonist were male. These differences can add depth and interest to the story.

A second characteristic is the protagonist's age. As a general idea, she will be in her 30s. The idea, is that she's not young, in a sense, but she has not reached middle age. She is in an in between place where she can relate to both younger and older characters. She's also at a stage in her life where some things are established, like her career, but other things, like who she will marry, or if she will, still have options open. Additionally, she's also at a stage where she has a mixture of both married and single friends of her own age.

A third characteristic is the protagonist's appearance. Generally, she'll be portrayed in a relatable way. The idea here is to create an image of the character that will be portrayed in readers' minds. The idea is to have someone whose appearance they like, as well as someone that they feel they can relate to.

A fourth characteristic is that the protagonist is single. This adds the element of romance to the story, which can be interwoven into the mystery plot.

Job
An important characteristic for the protagonist is her job. Generally, her job has to have two important criteria: it has to have a flexible schedule and it should not be law enforcement related.

The protagonist having a job with a flexible schedule can be very important to the plot of a cozy mystery. How can she investigate crimes if she works eight to five, five days a week? She needs a flexible schedule so she can look for clues and talk to suspects in the middle of the day. She also needs a flexible schedule so she can have time away from crime solving at different hours.

One way to achieve the flexible schedule idea is to have the protagonist be self-employed. This allows for a flexible schedule and also adds elements from owning a small business (such as a shop, having employees, and the idea of her profession) that can add to the story.

Debra Sennefelder, author of the Food Blogger Mystery series and the Resale Boutique Mystery series, mentions this idea, and also touches on the notion of thinking long-term when picking a protagonist's career.  She writes:

"This is one of the reasons I chose to make my protagonist a food blogger. Blogging gives her a flexible schedule and also opens up a lot of opportunity for future plots. I think it’s important to think long-term, a series can run for many books."

Another important idea regarding the job of the protagonist is that it isn't law enforcement related. Remember, in these stories, the protagonist is an amateur sleuth. They shouldn't be a police officer or a private detective. The idea is to add interest to the story, with a novice doing something a professional would, and to add relatability for readers. Readers can see themselves in the "regular person" solving crimes.

Law enforcement relationships
In these stories it is important for the protagonist to have a connection to the law enforcement in her area. How can she let the police know about clues if she can't talk to them? It would be awkward for her to stop some random officer she meets and say, "I know you don't know me, but you know that murder last week? Well, I have some clues."

To accomplish this connection, the protagonist will generally have a friend on the police force. This person can take many roles. They could be a detective, an officer, someone in the district attorney's office, or something else. The main idea is that this person is a friend of the protagonist, is willing to listen and help them when it comes to crimes, and has enough influence on the police force to be heard and have action taken.

To foil this positive relationship, these stories will also generally have an adversary to the protagonist on the police force. This person isn't necessarily an enemy to the protagonist, but they are someone who slows her efforts. It could be that they don't like an amateur getting involved in police work or it could be something more personal. This person is generally portrayed as good in the sense that they believe in law enforcement, but they are also portrayed as a hindrance to the efforts of the protagonist to solve the crime.

Solving the crime
In these stories, it's the protagonist who solves the crime. While she gets help from others, it's her who makes that final connection. In her efforts to solve the crime, one thing you'll generally see is that she uses skills from her occupation or some involved hobby to help solve the mystery. Author Debra Sennefelder, writes the following about how her protagonist solves the crime:

"I like to think Hope Early, my protagonist, is a collector of information most people think is irrelevant. It’s with those pieces of information she’ll make the connection between the murder and the murderer."

The crime

In these stories, the crime is murder. It's not theft or vandalism or something else. It's murder.

Murder is a strong element of these stories. It tends to be portrayed as a very defined crime (taking place at a specific place and time and for a specific reason), it tends to be a personal crime (as opposed to one committed without a personal connection) and it tends to be something that leaves clues.

Another aspect of the crime, in terms of the flow of the story, is that it happens very quickly in the story. In some stories you read, the murder will literally take place on the very first page. In other stories, it might be in the first few pages. Generally, it will happen by the end of the first or second chapter.

The idea here is to move the story along. The solving of the murder is the main idea. If there is a lot of background and backstory before that happens, the main aspect can get diluted. Information about these things can be interwoven into the story, but they are done so after the main plot of the story starts.
 
Edith Maxwell, author of the Quaker Midwife Mysteries, the Local Foods Mysteries and, as Maddie Day, the Country Store Mysteries, among other works, echoes these ideas about the timing of the crime. She writes,

"The murder is the inciting incident for the entire story. If the suspense leading up to a murder in chapter ten is good enough, then later is okay. But the amateur sleuth needs a reason to get started investigating, and unless someone she's close to disappears in a suspicious manner, or there's another reason for alarm, "dropping the body" is useful early on."

This idea touches on another important aspect of the crime - the protagonist will have some connection to it. The protagonist needs a reason to get personally involved in the investigation of the crime. This might come from the protagonist or someone they know knowing the victim, or it might come from the victim being killed at some location related to the protagonist. It might also come from the protagonist or someone they know being accused of the crime. There are other possible connections as well. The main idea here is to give the protagonist an initial reason to get involved.

Lastly, another important aspect to the murder in these stories, is that they aren't graphic. In many cases, the murder will have happened before the reader arrives, so to speak. The first sign that it happened, will be the protagonist finding the body.

Even at that stage, there will often not be graphic elements. The death will be described with little detail and the scene will not be graphic. There will not be descriptions of wounds, blood, trauma or so forth.

The big three: the sidekick, the sage and the love interest
In cozy mysteries, besides the protagonist, there will generally be three other important characters: the sidekick, the sage, and the love interest.

The sidekick
The sidekick is the protagonist's partner-in-crime (solving). This is their best friend. This is the person they go on adventures with. 

This person is very important to the story. They are a friend of the protagonist. They support and help the protagonist. They listen. They give advice. They give a person for the protagonist to tell clues to. They also provide another person to help with crime solving. 

Author Edith Maxwell, says this about the sidekick role,

"My protagonists each have a close friend, whether sidekick or not. Rose Carroll in the historical Quaker Midwife Mysteries has quirky, unconventional postmistress Bertie Winslow. Cam Flaherty, my organic farmer in the Local Foods Mysteries, has her Brazilian locavore friend Lucinda DaSilva. And Robbie Jordan in my Country Store Mysteries (written as Maddie Day) has her aunt Adele, an energetic senior citizen. The friend is someone each of these main characters can bounce ideas off, someone to gently remind her of her weaknesses, and most important someone to have fun with. The two must care about each other but not have identical goals."

Author Debra Sennefelder, writes,

"The sidekick character is a perennial favorite of mine. When creating the sidekick character for my protagonist, I wanted to make sure he was funny, incorrigible and has access to information my protagonist didn’t have."

The sage
The sage is a person who provides wisdom, advice, comfort, and a voice of caution to the protagonist. This person is often older than the protagonist and might take the role of their mother, aunt, family friend or something similar.

This person listens to the protagonist and supports them. They provide a voice of reason and a voice of comfort.

Unlike the sidekick, who supports activities both in spirit and by actually taking part, the sage will be a person who advises against action and says to be careful. They are supportive, but in a different way. 

The love interest
A love interest is very important to the cozy mystery story. The protagonist can't work and solve crimes all the time. She needs to go out and have fun.

The protagonist's relationship with the love interest will have a few attributes:

First, it will develop slowly. It might take two stories before they date, two more before they are a couple, and another two before they get married. 

Second, it will be cleanly portrayed. Remember this is a cozy mystery. The protagonist has morals and the love interest respects that.

Third, it will be uncertain. There will be an element of wonder for the reader if the couple will get together, how that will happen, and when will that happen.

Fourth, the love interest is generally a supportive person. While he might be a voice of caution, he wants the protagonist to like him. If she asks him to help with something, while he might protest, he will help, even if he doesn't think it is the best idea.

Fifth, unfortunately for the ultimate love interest, he might have some competition along the way. There might be one or more competitors who come and go in the stories. The protagonist and these fellows might go out for coffee a couple of times, and have a few dates, but nothing more. In the end, the love interest will be chosen.

All those other people (but one): the police force friend, the police force adversary, the adversary, the victim and everybody else (but one)

The police force friend and the police force adversary
Both of these people were mentioned above. They are important elements to the story. They can generally be seen as continuing characters. In some stories, the adversarial relationship between the protagonist and the police force adversary will lessen over time as the police force adversary comes to respect the abilities of the protagonist.

The adversary
This person is not the villain of the story, but rather just a general point of difficulty for the main character. This person is a polite enemy. This is the person who says nice things, but in a way that sounds insulting (e.g. "Your hair looks great. I'm glad you finally decided to color those grays.")

This person causes minor problems and is a general annoyance, but isn't too bad and doesn't cause real problems.

The victim
While it may seem strange, this person isn't that important to the story. There are a few reasons for this.

First, this person generally dies very early on in the story. Once this happens, they generally stop playing a direct role in the story.

Second, this person is only examined at a distance. In other words, this person's house is looked at, people they knew are interviewed, places they went are checked, but the person themselves isn't seen or spoken to.

Third, the focus of the mystery tends to be who the villain is. The victim is known. The villain isn't. The attention therefore tends to be on the finding who the villain is.

Everybody else (but one)
There are lots of other people in the story. There are shop owners, acquaintances, the mail carrier, and a number of others. These people come and go and generally fill out the story.

Sometimes these people can serve as literary devices. They might foreshadow things or show some sort of symbolism. They can also be used to speak about social issues or different groups in a subtle way.
​
The villain 
This person is the "but one" from above. This person is who the mystery has been leading to. This is the murderer. This is the villain.

Somewhat strangely, the villain isn't too central to the story. One aspect of cozy mysteries, is that the reader shouldn't be able to figure out who the villain is halfway through. Because of this, the villain sometimes doesn't have much attention paid to them until the end of the story.

Generally, when the protagonist makes a list of suspects, the villain will not be on it. Early on, the villain will not seem to have a motive for the murder. Additionally, they will seem not to have much of a connection to what happens.

Generally, the villain is a character who just "floats" through the story. They appear at the start and every now and then, but they don't seem to be that important. They don't seem to be critical to the plot. They just sort of pop in and out. They are almost easy to ignore.

The characteristics of the villain makes their identity a surprise to the reader.

In terms of surprising the reader though, there is one exception: the reader isn't betrayed. Imagine if you were reading part two of a cozy mystery. In part one, the protagonist's mom was a nice, pleasant woman. In part two, she murders someone with a hammer. It doesn't fit right?

In these stories, while the protagonist (and other characters) might be betrayed, the reader isn't. Someone the reader loved from one story, won't be evil in the next.

One reason for this, is that it changes the tone of past stories if there are more than one story. As readers sometimes read stories out of order, if they read story five and find out the mailman is a murderer, how can they like the mailman if they go back and read about how nice he is in story two?

Secondly, betrayal of the reader can cause mistrust of the author. If the reader feels like "the wool was pulled over their eyes" regarding a character, they may not believe character personalities later on.

The town: a tiny hamlet
In cozy mysteries, the setting will generally be a small town. This is important for a number of reasons.

First, everybody has to know everyone else. Cozy mysteries focus on relationships and connections. It isn't possible for the main character to have a connection to everyone in the town, if the town has two million people. It is possible if the town has two thousand.

Second, is the idea of specific connections. The main character has to know the sheriff. They have to know the mayor. They have to know the newspaper editor. The main character often talks to people who have very specific roles, and it wouldn't be plausible for her to know all these people in a large city.

Third, is the idea of "the". There is "the" bakery. There is "the" mechanic. There is "the" doctor. Having "the's" can be very important to a cozy mystery plot. It narrows things down. How can the protagonist find out who fixed the victim's car if there are a hundred mechanics in town? It makes the story too hard. It is much easier if there is only one, and this is much easier in a small town.

Fourth, is the idea of distance and time. Cozy mystery stories sometimes move quickly. The protagonist can visit ten places in a day. This can be difficult if all of those places are an hour apart or she has to spend time in traffic. Having a small town alleviates these issues. Additionally, the protagonist needs to be able to make quick trips to multiple locations. Also, she needs to be able to walk places. This allows her to see the town, come into contact with people, and maybe find clues. This wouldn't be possible if she had to drive everywhere.

Fifth, is the idea of relationship histories. The main character went to high school with the fire chief. Her mom used to date the mayor. The veterinarian went to college with the sidekick. Histories like these can be important elements in the story and are more difficult to have in a large setting.

Sixth, is the idea that place is important. In cozy mysteries, the town of TinyHamletville is important. The characters care about the place. The characters have a history in the place. The characters have a connection to the place. The place almost becomes a character in the story. It can be easier for the characters to have this connection if the place is small and personal.

Seventh, the town will have a quaintness to it. The stores will have signs on shingles hanging outside of them. There will be a town square. There will be buildings that are hundreds of years old. Bridges will have names. Buildings will have names. Trees will have been planted by the town founders. You get the idea. The setting will generally be a quintessential small town. This adds character to the story in a way that differs from a large city.

In an interesting twist on the small town idea, author Edith Maxwell has this idea:

"Small towns are good, but I can think of a couple of successful series where the "village" is a neighborhood in a big city, and that works, too. Think of Leslie Budewitz's Spice Shop Mysteries, for example, which are set at the Pike Place Market in Seattle, or Cleo Coyle's Coffeehouse Mysteries in New York City. Whether town or village, the setting provides a cast of regular characters who recur in each book naturally. Often the protagonist is an outsider in the town, and that makes her a better sleuth."

The three p's of focus: people, place and plot
In cozy mystery stories, there are three main focuses. The three p's of focus are: people, place and plot.

People
The connections and relationships between characters are very important to cozy mystery stories. They are a big part of investigating the crime and are also important to subplots in the story.

Rather than looking inward on characters, the focus is on looking between them. How people relate to each other, what they feel about each other and how the perceive each other, are all central to the story. Readers learn about characters by how they interact with other characters.

Author Debra Sennefelder has this idea about the protagonist interacting with characters:

"A lot is revealed of a protagonist when the reader sees her interact with other characters. This peeling back the layers of the protagonist helps readers identify with the character."

Place
This idea was mentioned above in reference to the importance of the small town setting. Place is a big focus of cozy mysteries. The characters interact in a place that seems to grow and develop with the characters. The idea of specific buildings, streets, homes, parts of town and so forth are all important to the story. How they look, how they feel, and what they mean to the characters all has an impact on the story.

Plot
This is the main idea of the cozy mystery genre: who did it? This is the river that the story flows along. This is what readers are reading the stories for. This is the mystery of the mystery.

The plot in cozy mysteries is a central focus and the main motivation of what's happening. This can be different from other genres, such as romance for example, which might focus on whether or not two characters get together. Cozy mysteries focus on the plot of solving the mystery.

Some story elements
In addition to what's already been mentioned, cozy mysteries also have a number of other elements. Some of them include:

Downtime
The protagonist is busy. She works. She has a friends. She might have romance. Also, there's that solving a murder thing. She needs some rest.

In cozy mysteries you'll sometimes see downtime for the protagonist. She might have some tea, read a book, play with the cat, go for a walk, or something else. The idea here is to give the reader a break in the action. It can also be a place to review details. Cozy mysteries can focus heavily on plot, and so it can sometimes help to have a break so the reader can gather their thoughts about what's going on.

Lack of action
Epic martial arts battles! Jumping from a helicopter, onto a speedboat, and then to another speedboat! Leaping (in slow motion) from a building, right before it bursts into flames!

What do these things have in common? While they might be in the next action movie you see, they won't be in the next cozy mystery you read.

Cozy mysteries, are, cozy. Because of this, they are not known for their heart stopping action. Some might have no action at all (there won't be a fist fight or a speeding car in sight) and some that have action have very muted action (there might be a three line fight scene with one punch).

A lack of action isn't a detriment to these types of stories; it's just that action isn't part of them.

Details
Details matter in cozy mysteries. Places are described in detail. People are described in detail. Things are described in detail. 

The details add authenticity, richness, and character to the story. They can also be symbolic and contain plot elements.

Clothing
Clothing can be an important element in cozy mysteries. It's not that people are extremely fashion conscious, rather, it's that clothing can reveal character elements.

In a cozy mystery, what someone wears, and how they wear it, can say something about the person. Think of a woman wearing a red dress to a funeral or someone showing up for work in the same clothes they had on the day before. These, and other examples, reveal things about characters.

In cozy mysteries clothing will be noticed and commented on.

Full names
In cozy mysteries, you might notice the peculiar occurrence of full names. Characters aren't spoken of by a nickname or just their first name. When they are mentioned, their full names are used. There are reasons for this.

First, it can help the reader be clear about who's who. Sometimes names in stories can be mixed up. Was it Jan or Jane who is the florist? Using full names can make sure everything is clear for the reader.

Second, full names increase the ability to have hidden meanings in names. Maybe a character is named William Anderson, because he has a strong will and a son who will play a role in the story (will and son – William Anderson). Using just first names makes these hidden meanings harder.

Third, it adds uniqueness and character to characters. Authors don't want readers to be distracted with unusual names or names that are hard to say. One way to have unique names, while avoiding this, is to use full names.

Content
This is actually a big element of cozy mysteries and was mentioned above in reference to the murder and the love interest.

Generally, cozy mysteries will be light on content that might seem inappropriate for some. Don't look for curse words or depictions of drug use for example. Cozy mysteries tend to be "safe" stories in terms of content.

The end
When it comes to the end of a cozy mystery, there are few things you should keep in mind.

No reveal until the end
One element that you will see in cozy mysteries is the idea that the solution to the mystery isn't revealed until the end of the story. This means that there won't be some way the reader could have figured out who the villain was before that point. It will also mean that that person won't be a suspect (or at least a strong one) earlier in the story. The person won't seem to have a motivation or a strong connection to the crime.

A summation
At the end of a cozy mystery, you might read a summation. This is where the protagonist or the villain details what actually happened. It could be that the protagonist is explaining it to someone, or the villain is telling the protagonist what they did.

The protagonist rescues herself
At the end of a cozy mystery, the protagonist may be in some peril, usually at the hands of the villain. In these situations, the protagonist rescues herself. She fights the villain or escapes from the room or stops the machine or whatever. She isn't rescued. She isn't a damsel in distress.

Two exceptions to this idea are that the protagonist might get some help from one of two of the big three (her sidekick or sage can pop up right at the right moment and hit the villain from behind) and the idea that the police might show up right after she rescues herself. 

When the protagonist rescues herself, she will sometimes use her special skills to do so. In some way she'll use something from her job or hobby to get herself out of the situation.

Writing your own cozy mystery stories
As cozy mystery blogger Marie McNary writes, "Cozy mysteries are a great way to escape the real world."  As you read through the ideas above you probably started thinking about ideas for writing your own cozy stories. 

As you write your own stories, keep the ideas above in mind. Using them, or ideas close to them, will help you make your mystery a cozy one. That being said, remember they are just ideas. You can always write a story that goes against the ideas above and it can still be good and still be cozy. These ideas are just a place for you to start as you develop elements for your own story.

If you are thinking about writing your own cozy mystery, you might start by writing about a few elements as writing exercises. It can give you ideas and help you develop skills for the genre.

Some elements you could write about for exercises are:

•  The protagonist. You could write about all the elements of her character. You could describe her, her job, her history and her relationships to others. You could even do some research and learn about a profession or hobby that you don't already know about.

•  The sidekick. This person is essential to the cozy mystery story. They mesh with the protagonist, but they have key differences. They might have different personalities or interests. Write about this person's character, and their attributes, and write how they differ from, but still blend with, the protagonist.

•  The small town. Think of the setting of a cozy mystery. Think of the town, what it looks like, and what places are there. You might even make a simple map and mark different locations. You could write short descriptions of each.

•  The crime. Although it may feel a bit odd to think about how someone commits a crime, this is obviously a big part of cozy mysteries. Write about someone who does away with someone else. Write about their motivation, how they commit the crime and how they try to get away with it.

•  The victim. This person can be a bit overlooked in a cozy mystery. As mentioned, they appear at the beginning, and then they aren't there anymore. That being said, learning how to develop this person is important. The story will follow different aspects of their life as the crime is investigated. Write about this person, their life, and particularly, different qualities of their life that could be investigated (e.g. where they went for fun, who they were dating, what places they would never go, and so forth). These ideas will be woven into a story you write and it can be good practice to think about them.

Keep in mind, as you write and read cozy stories, that you can interact with others who like the stories.  As cozy mystery blogger Marie McNary mentions, "If you would like to discuss cozy mysteries with others, there is a vibrant cozy mystery community online!  Facebook book discussions and groups provide a safe and fun place to interact with other cozy mystery readers, fans, and authors."

Edith Maxwell:
Agatha- and Macavity-nominated author Edith Maxwell writes the Quaker Midwife Mysteries, the Local Foods Mysteries, and award-winning short crime fiction. Called to Justice, Maxwell's second Quaker Midwife mystery, is nominated for an Agatha Award for Best Historical Novel. As Maddie Day she writes the popular Country Store Mysteries and the new Cozy Capers Book Group Mysteries. Murder on Cape Cod will release in January, 2019.

Maxwell is president of Sisters in Crime New England and lives north of Boston with her beau, two elderly cats, and an impressive array of garden statuary. She blogs at WickedCozyAuthors.com, KillerCharacters.com, and Under the Cover of Midnight (midnightinkbooks.blogspot.com). Read about all her personalities and her work at edithmaxwell.com.

Debra Sennefelder:
Debra Sennefelder, author of the Food Blogger Mystery series and the Resale Boutique Mystery series, is an avid reader who reads across a range of genres, but mystery fiction is her obsession. Her interest in people and relationships is channeled into her novels against a backdrop of crime and mystery.  Her website is debrasennefelder.com.

Marie McNary:
Marie McNary runs an interactive cozy mystery community called A Cozy Experience. You can find out more at cozyexperience.com. 

As writers, we often paint a picture with our words.  We want readers to be able to see our stories in their mind's eye.  We want a movie to play and carry them along as they read our words.  This idea applies equally to fiction, non-fiction, poetry and everything in between.  We want readers to see what we're saying.

While it may seem like a pun, a useful tool in painting pictures with words is color.  Using color in writing can be an excellent way to help your readers create the picture you want them to see.

Color can be used in different ways in writing.  Obviously, it can be used as a descriptive adjective.  You can write what the color of something is.  You can describe clothing, hair, flowers, buildings and many other things using color words.  You can stay simple and use colors like red, blue and green or you can be a bit more exotic and use colors like mahogany, indigo and jade.

In chapter two of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum, color is used numerous times.  It is used to describe a green area by a brook (and contrast it with prairies that were gray in color), the clothing of some of the munchkins (blue), the dress of the good witch (white), the silver color of the shoes, and the brick road of yellow.  The colors help paint a picture of the place and people and also appear to contain symbolic elements.

Another important way to use color in writing is through the use of symbolism.  In poetry, literary writing, and other types of writing, color can be used to symbolically represent things.  A character might be wearing sky blue to convey the idea that they are free in what they do.  A person might be wearing green to symbolize the jealously they feel.  A room can have dark colors to forebode something tragic that will occur.  Color can be used to set tone and convey messages in writing.

In Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, there is a brief scene at the start of the story The Naval Treaty, which shows an example of using color symbolically.

In the scene, Holmes is doing an experiment.  He is testing a mixed liquid with litmus paper.  He indicates that if the paper stays blue things are fine, but if it turns red it means someone will die.  When Holmes tests the paper, it doesn't just turn red, but crimson.

The color blue can be seen as peaceful and calming.  This symbolizes the idea that if the paper stays that way things are alright.  Red can represent danger and warning.  If the paper turns that way it means something bad.  To exaggerate the point, the paper does not turn just red, but crimson – the color of blood.

You can also use colors to convey emotion.  A character can be red with anger or green with jealously.  They can be scared yellow or they can blush pink when they are embarrassed.

As an example, also in The Naval Treaty, towards the end of the story, a character's face turns white with surprise when they see something unexpected.

Depending on the style of writing, a writer might also use actual colors in their work.  They might have text of different colors or, if they are printing their work, they might use colored papers.  If writing is online, different background colors could be used.

An example of using colored text can be seen in an experimental poetry form on my blog at: msakran.wordpress.com/2016/12/16/experimental-poetry-form-acrostic-colors.  The form combines acrostic lines of color words with text in those colors.  For example, there is a line where the first letters of the words in the line spell the word "blue".  The text of that line is also colored blue.  If a poet used the form, and wanted to take it a step further, they could have the meaning in each line relate to the color that the line is.
 
When using color in writing, it is important to make sure that the colors carry their own weight.  The colors you use should help paint the picture of the story and add something to the message you are trying to convey.  The colors you use should be able to stand with a purpose.

Here are some ideas for using different colors in your writing.  These are just some colors and some ideas, but they can be place for you to start thinking about using color in your writing.

Red:
  Nouns – roses, a red dress, a red snake, blood, apples
  Emotions – anger, romance
 Symbolism – danger, allure, being in debt (i.e. "in the red" or "red ink"), mistakes (e.g. markings on reviewed or graded papers)
  Text – You could use red text in your writing in a number of ways.  As an example, you might have writing that represents something like an essay.  It could be a poem or something in a fiction story.  If you wanted to use red in your writing, you might have the essay "corrected" with red markings and text.  You could correct words, show mistakes, have comments and so forth.  The markings could be constructive or critical.  They could be honest or biased.  In a poem the markings could be used symbolically.  In a fictional story they could be used by a character to show how their paper was graded and the implications of that.

Green:
  Nouns – plants, money, emeralds, eyes, insects
  Emotion – envy
  Symbolism – jealously, greed, exoticness, hiding (as in camouflage), illness
  Text – An idea might be to use green text for noble writing in a fantasy setting.  Think, for example, of elves in a fantasy fiction story who send a royal letter on a parchment scroll.  The text might be in green.  This could be worked physically into a printed story or into something online.

Blue:
  Nouns – sky, water, eyes, blue skin (e.g. a person lacking oxygen or an alien character), blueberries
  Emotions – sadness, calm
  Symbolism – sorrow, peacefulness, a traditional color for boys, vastness
  Text – An instruction that used to be more common was that forms should be completed "in black or blue ink".  The use of blue ink might be seen as being different while still conforming.  Blue text might also convey this idea.  It might also be used for a signature or could be used for links in online content.

Black:
  Nouns – clothing (e.g. black suit or black dress), obsidian, ink, storm clouds, night sky
  Emotions – being formal, depression
 Symbolism – seriousness, loss, death, style (e.g. tuxedo or "little black dress"), profit (i.e. "in the black"), nonconformity
  Text – This is obviously the standard color for text.  It could be altered with text effects such as making the text bold or italicized or through different fonts or font sizes.  It could also be paired with different colors of paper.  The alterations or pairings can decrease the standardization of the color.

Orange:
  Nouns – the fruit of the same name, sunsets, some animal eyes, reflectors on slow vehicles, fire
  Emotion - joy
  Symbolism – brightness, extroversion, energy
 Text – Orange text might be used in something representing an advertisement.  A writer could work an advertisement into a fictional story or even a poem.  The idea might be to show the reader what the ad actually looks like, rather than just describing it.  The orange text can make the ad stand out.

Brown:
  Nouns – wood, soil, some rocks, some animal fur, wood stain (as in finishing wood like for a floor or furniture)
  Emotions – worn out after working, connected to the earth
  Symbolism – nature, back to basics, simplicity
  Text – An interesting way to use brown text in writing would be to symbolize someone writing with mud.  Imagine a person is in a wilderness setting.  They need to leave a message on a rock or on a piece of paper, but they have nothing to write with.  One solution might be for them to dip their finger in mud and write with that.  A writer could symbolize this type of writing by using brown text for what the person writes.  They could use a standard font and just say that the person was writing with mud, or they could use a font that more closely resembles a person writing with their finger and use that for an increased effect.

Purple:
  Nouns – some clothing and robes, some makeup, some flowers, some tropical fish, the color of some mountains under certain conditions
  Emotion- relaxed
  Symbolism – royalty, elegance, decadence
  Text – Purple text could be used for royal writing, for example in a fiction setting where only royalty can use purple ink.

Yellow:
  Nouns – caution signs, the sun, dandelions, gold, school buses
  Emotion – scared
  Symbolism – cowardice, fear, warning, brightness, positivity
  Text – Yellow text can be used to highlight writing.  It can, in a contrasting way, be used to have writing that is a bit hidden, as yellow text might look on a white background.

Now that you have some ideas, you might be looking for some writing prompts to give you some practice in using colors in your writing.  Here are some below:
​

• Describe five people at a party.  Use colors for things like their hair, clothes, makeup, jewelry and so forth.  Have each person be a distinct character and use the colors to convey their characters.  Have the colors each character has combine together to paint a picture of the person's emotions, personality, motivations, ideas and so forth.  If you wanted to experiment with colored text, you might think of which color was most associated with each person and write their descriptions in that color.
  
  
• Think of a scene where people are about to feel sad, but they don't know it.  Write the scene right up to the point where they will feel sad (for example, right before they get unexpected bad news).  Use colors to portend the idea.  Describe the place, the weather, the people, objects and other things.  You might also try using blue text.  Although the scene isn't sad yet, use colors to help set the tone that will come.
  
  
• Write a poem filled with joy.  Some ideas might be a person just had a baby, a child just got a puppy, or someone got an unexpected positive surprise.  Write the poem in metaphorical language.  Don't explicitly say what it is about.  Use colors to convey the idea of what it is about and the joy that is felt.  Try experimenting with bright colored text for the poem.
  
  
• Think of a bland place.  Something like a bureaucratic office in a large corporation.  A place that's boring and procedural.  Use colors to describe the place and set the tone.  Write about the place as if it has a personality.  Consider using beige text for the description.
  
  
• Think of a place that has contrasting colors.  An example might be a hospital.  A hospital is filled with sterile white and beige, but it also has bright colors like flowers and staff scrubs.  Describe a real place that has this contrast.  Write how the colors function side by side and how the emotions and ideas are conveyed.  Write like you are writing about the place for something that is nonfiction.  You might consider using one color of text for one part and another color for the other.

​There are many things in life that we understand, but have a hard time defining or describing.  

For example, what is happiness?  What does it mean to be happy?  As people, we know what happiness feels like and we can describe happy moments, but if pressed to put "happy" in a box, it can be difficult.  It's a feeling; there aren't really words.

The same can be said of love.  We all have experienced different kinds of love in our lives.  It could have been romantic love, the love of a parent for their child, the love of country or the love of a place.  There are other things too—like loving a song, loving a certain kind of food or loving an idea.  Love goes many different places.

Because love can be hard to define or describe and because it can apply to so many things, it can be hard to write about it.  How does a writer show love in words?  How does a writer create emotion with text on a page?

The most obvious answer might simply be to say it through dialogue.  One character could say they love another.  A character could say they love a place.  They could say they love a song.

Although this can work, and can be necessary at times, as some in relationships will attest, it's often not enough.
There are a lot of ways a character (either in fiction or poetry or possibly in nonfiction. depending on facts) could express love through dialogue. One character could compliment another character.  They could say they understand how another character feels.  They could say they will stand by another character.  They could talk about something being their favorite.  They could talk about a place feeling like home.

In an interesting twist, a character could express love, by not saying something. Imagine a character has something they are self-conscious about.  If another character, who loves them, doesn't say anything about it, but speaks as if it isn't there, it can be an expression of love.

Despite this though, again, as some in relationships will attest, sometimes words aren't enough.  Love needs to be shown. 

Love could be shown in so many ways.  

In terms of romance, think of a male character who loves a female character, but has a hard time saying it.  Maybe, before the female character takes a road trip, the male character does all sorts of things for her car.  He changes the oil, the wiper blades, the air filter, etc.  He even packs tools and emergency supplies.  His actions, although they might not look romantic, are an expression of love.

A subtle twist on showing love through action can be seen in My Joe: A Reflection by Phyllis M. Babrove.  It is a short story that appeared on pages 17-19 in the June 2017 issue of Edify Fiction.

Although there are many expressions of love in the story, a subtle one can be seen at the beginning, in the memory of the main character.  After more than sixty years, the main character can remember with detail the day she meet her husband.  She describes the scene very specifically.

While remembering may not seem like an action, it is.  The character had over eighty years full of memories and yet kept the specific details of this one in her mind.  Not only must the moment have been significant for her, but also the results of it.  The character loves her husband so much that she consciously remembers this specific moment.  Her remembering is an action that expresses her love.

In terms of loving a thing or an idea, imagine a character who loves a type of music.  Rather than overtly saying that or having the character say it, the character could instead be shown to be frequently listening to that type of music.  They could also be shown doing things like wearing t-shirts for various bands, going to concerts, having stickers related to the type of music on their car, and having various ornamental items related to the type of music.  A similar idea applies for food, entertainment programs, and places, as well as other things.

In terms of friendship, there are a lot of ways one friend can show another they love them (as a friend).

One example would be if a character did something with a social cost for another character they love as a friend.  Imagine a group of people in a story is making fun of someone in the story.  If the friend of the person being made fun of stands by the person, even if it means they too get made fun of, that is an expression of love.

An example of one friend showing how much they love another friend through their actions, can be seen in my novel The Finch.  You can read it on my website at www.msakran.com/the-finch.html.  

In the novel, the main characters Georgia and Hugo are best friends.  Early in the novel, Hugo gets hurt in an accident: he is temporarily blinded by a bright light and his eyes are hurt.

Later in the novel, Georgia is kidnapped.  When Hugo tries to rescue her, he comes to a situation where he feels his only choice is to temporarily blind her captors.  This causes Hugo an ethical dilemma: how does he do something to others, knowing the pain of it himself?

Hugo has the dilemma, but chooses to temporarily blind the captors for the sake of his friend.  He loves his friend Georgia to such an extent, that even though it goes against his ethics, he does what he feels he has to, in an effort to save her.  After Georgia is rescued, she finds out what Hugo did for her and sees the strong emotion in it.

One way to express various kinds of love in a story is through sacrifice.  Sacrifice can be a very strong expression of love.

There are many examples.  The classic example might be someone enduring physical pain for someone else.  Think of a character taking a bullet for someone else, or pushing another character out of the way of a car, only to get hit themselves. Other examples might include a person working long hours to support their family or someone being a caregiver for someone who is ill or disabled.  Other further examples might be a person giving up something they want or doing without for someone else.

An example of sacrificing for love can be seen in the Bible story of Jacob and Rachel.  Although there is a lot to the story, one part of it is that Jacob agrees to work seven years to be able to marry Rachel, and he ends up working fourteen.  He made a large sacrifice to marry her.

Another way to show love—and this may seem counter intuitive at first—is to show sadness.  If a character loves a piece of land (maybe they are a farmer in a story) and that land is ruined (maybe by a fire), if the character is shown to be devastated by what happened, that can express the love the person had for their land.

In another situation, think of a character by a hospital bed.  They are by another character who is critically ill or injured.  If they are shown to have sadness at the situation (they are crying, rocking back and forth, can't sleep, and so forth) that sadness can show the love they have.

An example of love shown through sadness, can be seen in the way Tiny Tim's family reacts to his death, in the premonition of its potential occurrence, in Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol.  A number of things happen in the scene that express the family's sadness.  Some of them include: the family being together, the quietness of the children, the tears in the mother's eyes, Bob Cratchit's walking slower without Tim, the children comforting their father, Bob visiting Tim's grave site and mentioning a commitment to do so, and Bob explicitly grieving over the death.

Love can also be shown in writing through the setting you create.  Obviously, a romantic setting, such as with a candle lit dinner, roses, soft lighting, etc. comes to mind, but there are other settings as well.

Think of a well-tended grave or memorial site in a story.  Although this can obviously feel sad, assuming the tending is done by someone who loved the deceased, the appearance of the site can express love.

Another example of a setting, that is a bit lighter, might be a party for someone in a story.  Imagine the decorations, the cake, the gifts, the music and all the people.  The entire setting, and the entire scene of the party, are expressions of love for the character in the story for whom the party is for.

If you are writing poetry, you might wonder how you can express love, when the style of writing can be so different from prose.  One way is to use one of the strengths of poetry: expression through metaphor and symbolism.  

Because of the nature of poetry, you can express love in many less than overt ways.  Colors, descriptions of music, references to characters in literature, symbolism through objects, and so forth can all be used to show the love a person has for someone or something.

On my blog, there is a poem that expresses an idea of love both overtly and through symbolism.  You can read it here: msakran.wordpress.com/2014/08/04/a-poem-flowers.

In the poem, a little girl picks flowers.  She then proceeds to give them to her cat, the fish, the dog, her dolls, to pictures, her brother, the floor, her dad and finally puts some on her mother's grave.  The girl loves so many people and things, and shows this love through the flowers she gives.  

Although there is quite a bit to the poem, here is some of the symbolism and how it reflects ideas of love:

The girl in the poem picks brightly colored flowers in spring and picks as many as she can hold.  The season and brightness of the flowers reflects the brightness of her emotion and the idea that she picks as many as she can hold reflects the extent of it.

The girl's cat purrs when it gets flowers, a sign the cat loves the girl.

The girl puts flowers on picture frames as a way to indicate that she loves the people in the pictures.

She hides the flower for her brother because she cares about him, but doesn't think he will like the gift.

She drops flowers on the floor to show she loves the house.

She gives her dad five flowers, more than is noted for anyone or thing else up to that point, to show that she loves him to a great extent.
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She visits her mother's grave and gives her mother all the flowers she has left.  This shows that her mother gets all the love that remains in the girl.

If you are thinking about how to show love in writing, you might try to write from a few prompts as way to practice and get started.  Here are some you can use:

•  Write a scene about a couple who are splitting up, but who are obviously still in love.  As you write, think about the contrast of actions and feelings.  Also, think about the contrast of the result the characters expect (they split), with the result they might want (they stay together).

•  Write a poem about the relationship between a parent and a child.  You might try to write at different time periods, such as when the child is an infant, a small child, a teenager, a young adult and an older adult.

•  Write about a setting or a place that you love.  Focus on descriptions that show the emotion you have.

•  Write about a character who sacrifices something for another character they love.  You might write about a small sacrifice (one character gives another character the last of the candy they have) or a large sacrifice (one character gives a kidney to another).

•  Write a scene where one character loves another (either romantic, friendship, or love of a relative for another).  In the scene, show the love the person has only through their actions and setting.  Don't have the person speak.

Sometimes when you are a writer, there is the question of when to write. Do you write when you feel like writing, or do you try to write according to some program?

This question might come up at many times during your journey as a writer.  Let's say you have a blog.  Do you post according to a schedule, or do you only post as you have ideas?  Let's say you are writing a novel.  Do you write a certain amount each day, or do you only write when you are sure of what you want to say?  

​Additionally, apart from projects, as a writer, you might wonder if there is value in writing regularly, even if only just for the activity of doing it, or if you should only write when you have something particular you want to express. 

The importance of good writing habits

Writing, in some ways, is like exercise.  You can exercise according to a plan, but you can also organically incorporate physical activity into your everyday.  We've all heard the examples of taking the stairs, parking farther from a building, and walking around at work.  A similar notion applies to writing.

If a writer finds time to write on a regular basis – not necessarily for a project or according to a schedule, but just generally – they can derive many benefits.  Regardless of what the writer writes, they can gain from the activity.

​First, and quite simply, writing regularly, helps keep a writer a writer.  It can be very easy with the demands of home and work and other obligations, to put writing off.  If writing isn't part of your career, it can seem like something that can be put on the back burner and taken care of later.

Writing regularly though can help prevent the sort of "lag in writing" that can come from these situations.  By finding time to write, let's say fifteen minutes a day, five days a week, a writer can keep themselves, in essence, a writer.  By making writing a priority, a writer can make sure they do it.

Second, writing every day can help keep a writer in practice.  Writing is a skill.  It's like doing magic tricks or maybe martial arts.  If you don't it for a while, it's not that you'll forget, but you might not be as fluid or as able as you once were.

By writing on a regular basis, a writer can keep that part of their mind that deals with words, ideas and creating fluid and active.  They can, in some way, keep themselves limber for the task.

Third, writing regularly can be an outlet for expression.  Think of keeping a diary or a personal blog.  Writing on a regular basis can be a way for you to get what is inside, out.  It can be a way for you to express what you think and feel.

Fourth, writing on a regular basis is a great way to promote creativity.  You can come up with all sorts of ideas when you have to put something down on the page.  While not everything you write will be a gem, you might be amazed at the diamonds in the rough you discover.  

You can think of your own starting points for writing or you can use prompts.  At the end of this article, is a list of thirty- one writing prompts that can get you started.

The pros and cons of a writing schedule

In addition to writing on a regular basis, you might, as a writer, also consider writing according to a schedule.  The difference between the two, is that, when you write regularly, you might write a variety of things, for a variety of reasons, at a variety of times.  When you write according to a schedule, you are writing a certain amount, at periodic intervals, with the intention of achieving a goal.

I personally have written, and still write, according to a schedule.  I have written novels where I made an effort to write two thousand words a day, five days a week.  I've also done something similar with poetry books and poetry submissions.  Also, I post almost every weekday on my blog.

There are some good and bad things about writing according to a schedule.

Pros

On the good side, writing this way can be a means to finishing a long project.  One impediment to writing something long, like a novel, is the actual writing of it.  Seventy thousand words, are a lot of words.  While you may be able to come up with ideas and outlines, the necessary task of getting enough words on the screen still remains.  There is no way around it.

Writing according to a schedule. though, can help you get through the marathon of the task.  If, for example, you write two thousand words a day, five days a week, for ten weeks, then you will have something that is at least as long as a novel.  It might not be done, it might need a lot of work, it will definitely need editing, but you will have something done.

This benefit shouldn't be overlooked.  Writing something long can sometimes seem overwhelming.  It can be very hard to take that first step up the metaphorical mountain.  Writing according to a schedule though, can help you get to the top.

Another benefit of writing according to a schedule, is that in addition to helping you complete longer works, it can also help you more methodically accomplish smaller goals.  

Let's say you have a goal like getting thirty short stories published.  By writing according to a schedule, you can help yourself move toward this.

If you write when the feeling comes to you, or only when you have the time, it might take a while to get to your goal.  Instead, if you write according to a schedule, let's say three stories a week, you'll increase the chance of achieving what you want.

While not every story you write will be accepted, by writing according to a schedule, you will at least get enough of them out there to have a chance of achieving what you want.  As the process goes on, you'll learn from the experience of the task, and hopefully more of what you do will go through.

A third benefit of writing according to a schedule is that it can help teach you to write more quickly and get things done.

Sometimes, as a writer, there can be times when a piece takes hours, days or even weeks to complete.  If something is important, like a personal short story, or an article about something you are passionate about, there can be a sense of wanting it to be perfect.

The problem with this, is that it might mean you spend too long on the piece, and maybe, you never get it done.

Writing according to a schedule can help with these problems.  If you set a schedule that says you are going to finish what you are working on this week, then, if you stick to the schedule, you will finish it.  While what you end up with may not feel perfect or be exactly what you want, you were able to get it done, and in a reasonable amount of time.

While you may worry that writing this way can cause your work to lack in quality, there are a couple of strange truths about writing that should help you feel better.

One strange truth of writing, is that people generally can't tell how long you spent on a piece.  Look at this article.  Did it take me an hour to write, or days?  Since people can't inherently tell how long you took to work on something, don't feel like you have an obligation to work a long time. 

Another strange truth of writing, is that sometimes you can work on something for an inordinate amount of time, only to have it rejected by every editor you send it to.  Other times, you work on something for twenty minutes and it gets accepted the day you sent it.  Sometimes that's just how it works out.

Both of these truths should make you feel better about getting something done more quickly according to a schedule.

Cons

While there are benefits to writing according to a schedule, there are cons to it as well.

For one thing, writing according to a schedule can make writing feel like a chore.  When you have to write it can take away from the feeling of wanting to write.

Secondly, to some degree, it can impact the quality of your work.  Let's say you are writing a novel.  You get to a part where you aren't sure what should happen.  Instead of stopping and coming back later when you have an idea, you decide to stick to your schedule.  Your schedule says two thousand words today, and that's what you write.  You look for places to elaborate, you explain, and you extend scenes.  You do what you can to make your scheduled goal.

While this means you reach your required word count, it might make the quality of your work suffer.  Places might sound wordy, there might be distractions for the reader, and you still haven't gotten to the point, in the place where you were writing.  The same issues can arise with shorter pieces.  If you are cranking things out, so to speak, they might not always be the best.

Another con of writing according to a schedule, is that it can lead to burnout.  When you write more than you feel like, and according to a calendar or a clock, it can leave you feeling drained.  You might not be creative and you might feel stifled.  You might be better served to take a break from what you are doing.

Words of wisdom from other writers

If you are looking for some advice about writing regularly or writing according to a schedule, here are some words on the subject from accomplished writers.

Charity Bishop, editor of Prairie Times Magazine and author of a number of books including The Usurper's Throne and Ravenswolde, has this to say,

"Find out the time of day you are most able to focus, and carve out time to write. It may be 5am. It may be 10pm. But somewhere inside you is a time you can train your mind to focus only on your writing. People write books one day at a time, and each day you choose to write, you become closer to your goal of finishing a book. Do it daily or as often as you can, and learn from the mistakes other writers make so you do not have to make them on your own. Reading books and paying attention to simple things like grammar, sentence structure, and where quote marks go, as well as where you don’t feel the story works, is valuable in learning to build your own style. If you’re weak with dialogue, read it aloud as you write it, to see if it feels natural. If you’re weak in building a sensory world around the characters, practice by describing a scene from a movie and figuring out how to weave actions or set pieces into the narrative. Inspiration is for amateurs. Writers write, whether inspiration shows up or not, simply to hone their craft. They learn to push through their blocks – a block is a realization that the story has headed in the wrong direction. I often go back to the place it ‘worked’ and then take it in a new direction and the block disappears."

Frederica Mathewes-Green, author of a number of books including Welcome to the Orthodox Church: An Introduction to Eastern Christianity and Mary As the Early Christians Knew Her, derives her inspiration for writing from her faith.  Her advice can help if you are searching for what to write and a reason for doing so.  Speaking of the Lord, in reference to writing, she says in part:

"A habit of keeping always near him opens a channel of communication, so to speak, through which he can alert us to what we need to write and how.  It's rather a different way of looking at writing from the one in which a writer (or artist in any medium) has the primary obligation of expressing himself, letting his artistic consciousness speak."

"what we write comes from the depths of our soul and is communicated by means of the talents we've been given"

Christine Klocek-Lim, is the author of two novels, Disintegrate and Who Saw the Deep, a number of chapbooks and a full length poetry collection.  She edited Autumn Sky Poetry Daily and has won, been a semi-finalist, finalist and nominee, for a number of awards.  She says,

"Balance leads to creativity. As a writer, that means putting down words each weekday and exercise. Many of my writing problems are solved when I run or hike or do yoga. My mind opens up, and the movement is good for my body. The mind mulls over words even as the body does other things. This is the beginning of the process. The act of forming words is the middle. Revision is the end."

New Year – New Writing

With the New Year upon us, now might be the time to start a writing program for yourself.  As noted in the benefits above, writing on a regular basis can do a lot to help you move forward as a writer.  Now is a great time to start.

There are a lot of ways you could start a writing program.  Some ideas include:
​

• You could start keeping a daily journal or diary.  This could help you to be better at recording events and emotions.
• You could start a blog with regular posts.  Depending on the type of writing you post, this could help you in that area.
• You could start a large project, like a novel or a collection of short stories.  If you set a schedule and quotas for yourself, you can do a lot to move toward at least completing what you want.
•  You could write on a daily basis from writing prompts.  There is a list of ideas below.

31 Writing Prompts

If you're looking to start writing on a regular basis, here is a list of thirty-one writing prompts (one for every day of the month!) to help you get started:

1.  Write an essay supporting a point of view, such as about a political or a social issue.
2.  Write about feeling hungry or thirsty.
3.  Write the same story from different points of view.  For example, write a story about a dog going to the vet, from the point of view of the dog, the owner, and the vet.
4.  Write about a time you were very ill.
5.  Design a character that is the complete opposite of yourself, including dress, motivations and beliefs.
6.  Write at least one paragraph on the taste of grass.
7.  Write a story containing ten things that are blue.
8.  Write about victory.
9.  Write about defeat.
10.  Write about feeling angry.
11.  Write a story with a despondent character.
12.  Write a back and forth argument between two people about some issue.
13.  Write about being arrested.
14.  Write a fictional story, with yourself as one of the characters.
15.  Write a personal story, but without using the word "I".
16.  Write a detailed description of something, like a piece of fruit.  Describe things like color, texture, smell, etc.
17.  Write a story with two endings, one happy and one bad.
18.  Design a fictional culture.  Write about their history, their technology, and their social structure.  Think of aspects that are unique (e.g. they don't wear the color blue) and write reasons why (e.g. only politicians are allowed to wear blue).
19.  Write an essay supporting a point of view that you don't necessarily agree with (but not something you are extremely opposed to).  For example, if you aren't a vegetarian, you might try writing an essay supporting the idea.
20.  Write what it would be like to live on half the salary you currently earn.
21.  Write about significant moments.  Some examples might include, the moment a person finds out they have a disease or the moment a person finds out they got a job.
22.  Write about living in a climate different from your own.  For example, if you live in a cold, dry place, write about living in a warm, wet place.
23.  Write about experiencing a natural disaster.
24.  Write about being homeless.
25.  Write about winning the lottery.
26.  Write about experiencing an event without one of your senses.  For example, if are a person who can hear, write about what it would be like to go to a party after recently losing your hearing.
27.  Write a description of something expressing one of the senses of it to someone who lacks that sense.  For example, write what Christmas day smells like, in a way that someone who couldn't smell would understand.
28.  Write about someone with a certain condition experiencing the progression of time.  For example, write about a person who in unemployed.  Write what they experience after one month of being unemployed, after three months, after six months, and after a year.
29.  Write a paragraph on paper with your non-dominate hand (assuming you aren't ambidextrous).  Then with your dominate hand (or by typing) write what that experience was like. 
30.  Write a letter that you would put in a time capsule.
31.  Write about someone meeting you for the first time.  Write what they would have as their first impression.

​M. Sakran is that guy who walks those dogs.  He is usually found standing by the side of the road while one of his dogs plays in a ditch and the other wonders why he isn't getting a treat right now.  When not catering to canines, he tries to be a writer.  He's had over seventy items published, including a collection of poetry called First Try, and has also self-published an eBook called Understanding: poems with explanations.  You can find his poetry related blog at msakran.wordpress.com and his website at msakran.com. ​

At some point in your writer's journey, you may consider having a website.  There is a certain expectation of it, it can help expand the audience for your writing, it can be used as a general marketing tool and it can help promote books and other writing items for sale.

Before you consider starting a website, you should consider the pros and cons.  Interestingly, in many cases, they are two sides of the same thing:

          •  Technological difficulty
          •  Cost
          •  Effectiveness
          •  Content
          •  Versus a blog

Technological difficulty
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Pros
Starting a website isn't as difficult as it might at first appear.  Using a hosting service and the platform they provide, a person can start a website without too much difficulty.  It isn't any harder than learning how to use any other software.  You don't need to know any computer coding to be able to have a website.  As an example, I created and have maintained my site, at www.msakran.com, without typing any coding.  Many hosting platforms offer built in templates, so often it is as simple as picking a pre-designed layout and writing the text to fill it.

Cons
While having a functional website without knowing any computer programming is not that hard, there are limitations if a person does not know how to work behind the scenes.  Depending on the platform that you are using, getting things to look or function exactly how you want, without knowing the mechanics of coding, can sometimes be difficult.  You may find yourself making compromises because of the limitation.

Cost

Pros
Having a website can be free in a direct sense (you still have to pay for things such as an internet connection).  If you want a basic site, with a subdomain as your domain (i.e. yoursite.hostingsite.com instead of www.yoursite.com), no site email (i.e. your email address would be yourname@emailprovider.com instead of yourname@yoursite.com), possible ads placed by your hosting service on your site, as well as other limitations, you don't have to spend any direct money at all.

For a small monthly fee, anywhere from $5 and up per month, you can have your own registered domain (i.e. www.yoursite.com), no ads from your hosting service, and various features such as unlimited storage and the ability to imbed videos.

Cons
Although you can have a website for free, there are some downsides.  Having a subdomain as your domain might not look as professional as you want and having placed advertisements can detract from your site.  Also, some of the restrictions, for instance limited storage, can be a hindrance.

If you go the other route, and pay for a site, the costs can add up if you decide to add features.  Registering your domain, having hosting, having site email and having added features can quickly add up in cost. Additional costs may be incurred as traffic to your website increases.

Effectiveness

Pros
If you have a website, you want it to achieve something.  You might want to get your work out to a larger audience, market yourself as a writer, or market something you have for sale.  A website, used effectively, can help you do all of these things.

A website gives you an online presence.  This allows people to find your work.  When people find your website, or you tell them about it, it can improve your image as a writer.  A website also gives you a platform from which to inform people about your work and potentially sell it.

Cons
While a website can be helpful in promoting a writer's goals, it does have some limitations.

First, building an audience can take time.  When you first start out, you might get very few views per month.  It might take years for you to build a sizeable audience.

Second, while a website can improve your image as a writer, it only does so to a point, and only if the website is effective in conveying an image that interests your audience.  It’s only a piece of what goes into a writer's image.

Third, while you may get traffic on your website, that traffic doesn't always generate sales.  There is a large step between a person viewing your site and them making a purchase.  It's often a step that isn't taken.

When you are trying to promote yourself as a writer, whatever your goal, a website is a piece of the marketing puzzle.  There is much more that you could and should do.

Content

Pros
One of the benefits of having a website, is you get to decide what is on it.  You can decide all of the text, visual elements, any sounds, and so forth.  It is all up to you, and within certain restrictions (such as not violating copyright or the terms of your hosting agreement), you can do what you want.  Also, since you are in control, you can change things whenever you see fit.  

Cons
One downside of being able to decide all of the content – is that you have to decide all of the content.  Deciding what goes in the header, in the footer, in the graphics on each page, on the home page, on the about page, etc. can be somewhat daunting at first.  There are a lot of decisions to make and a lot of empty spaces to fill.

Additionally, since you are in control of your content, and there isn't necessarily a filter, there could be the issue that you might put content that you might later decide wasn't the best choice.  There are a variety of reasons why this could happen, and although you can change the content, you can't change that it was there.

Versus a blog

Pros
If you are considering having a website, you might also be considering having a blog.  If you think of a blog as having the conditions of a free website (a subdomain as the domain, possible ads from the hosting service, limited functionality, etc.), a basic paid website can have a number of advantages.  It also has advantages simply from the structure.

A website, depending on circumstances, might give a more professional appearance than a blog.  Because of the higher level domain and general difference in look, it can sometimes convey better.  To some people, a blog is perceived as something anyone might do, whereas a website is seen as something more substantial.

Also, a paid website, without ads and more functionality, might just work better for a writer.

One main advantage of a website versus a blog is in the amount of ongoing effort.  A website can be structured like a brochure.  It can be something that is made once and only updated as necessary.  By contrast, a blog, by its nature, requires much more frequent updates.  Because of its chronological nature, posts need to keep happening on a blog to keep it up.  

Even if a website is updated with more frequency than a brochure-type site, it still might not match the possible daily frequency of updating a blog.

Cons
Again, considering a blog like a free website, one con is that a website can cost money.  To have a website, that "looks like a website", it might cost $5 to $10 per month on the low end.  With added features, it can be more.

Another thing to consider, is that while setting up a website is not as technically difficult as it might seem, it is more involved than setting up a blog.  For example, with a website that has its own domain, you'll have to go about registering it.  You don't have to do that with a blog, that has a subdomain as its domain.

Also, with setting up a website, there might be many more content and style choices to initially make.  You might use a website template, where you just have to fill in certain spaces, or you might start with a blank screen.  There can be a lot more to initially setting it up.


If you do decide to have a website, two things you'll have to think about, among others, are: what should you put on it, and how can you promote it?

What can go on your site?

At first, you will probably want to go with the standard pages.  You might have a home page, an about page, and a contact page.  You'll have a menu of some kind and information in the footer.  You would then add other pages and elements depending on how you will use your site.

For example, you might have pages for items you sell.  Depending on how things are structured, you might actually be selling them through those pages.

You might also have pages with samples of your writing for readers to read.

You could also have a page of links that go to various sites related to the writing that you do.

Additionally, you could have a page with a site map.  This can help people find content on your website that might be layers deep.

You might also consider having videos, sound, various graphics, maps, calendars, forms as well as other types of items.  There are various options available depending on what you want, the platform you are using, what features are available and your computer skills.

How can you promote your site?

There are many ways that you can promote your website.  There are too many to describe here, but here are a few:

Search engine optimization: By focusing on this, you can raise your site up in search engine results for certain terms.  This can help people find your site. Although there is a lot to search engine optimization, some basic ideas include: having relevant terms on your website in relevant places and context, filling in the metadata for your pages appropriately, updating your site regularly, and having people link to your site.

By lines and other mentions: If you are the kind of writer who gets items published in magazines and on websites, this can help you promote your website.  When you get an item published, often the publisher will have some paragraph about you after the item.  They might also mention you on their website as well as on their social media pages.  In these various mentions, they might mention and link to your site, which can help promote it.  Additionally, the content that you have written serves as a sample of your work, and can help promote you as a writer.

Social media: If you have social media pages these can be tools for promoting your website.  With social media you can reach and interact with a potentially large number of people.  If done appropriately, you can use social media to let people know about your website.

Word of mouth:  Although it may seem old fashioned to use word of mouth to promote something that is technologically based, it can still be effective.

Search engine advertisements: Search engine advertisements are ads that come up in search engine results.  Although they can be structured differently, one way they can work, is that someone searches for a term that you have designated and your ad appears in the search results.  If they click the ad, you pay a fee.  The fee could be only a few cents, or could be very high depending on circumstances.  You can use this tool to direct people to your site.

As you think about whether to have a website or not, there is a lot to consider.  Among other things, you'll have to consider the technical aspects of it, how much you are willing to spend, how effective your website might be, how a blog might be an alternative, and what type content you would have.  If you do decide to have a website, you'll have to come up with content for it and promote it.
​
Hopefully the above has provided a starting point for this process.

When writing formal poetry, two important poetic elements to consider using are rhyme and meter.  

Many poets may be familiar with end word rhyming. For example, if you look at the first two lines of the following poem, you can see that the end words "day" and "way" rhyme:

Now with joy sing aloud on this day, 
with bright sounds and bright tones show the way

When utilizing rhyme in a poem, a poet can experiment with different patterns. As examples, if a poet were to write an eight line single stanza poem, they might use one of the following rhyming patterns:

1. AABBCCDD      2. ABABABAB      3. ABCDABCD      4. AABCBCDD

The first poem has a pattern of rhyming couplets. The second poem has an alternating rhyming scheme. The third poem has a four count pattern, where lines one and five rhyme, lines two and six rhyme, lines three and seven rhyme and lines four and eight rhyme. The last poem combines the couplet structure of the first poem and the alternating pattern of the second. In this poem, the first two lines rhyme, the last two lines rhyme, and in the middle of the poem, there is an alternating rhyme.

Obviously a poet could write a poem that didn't contain any rhyming scheme. Depending on the subject and tone of the poem, this might be preferred. One aspect of rhyme that makes it useful for poetry though, is the idea of expectation of sound. When a person is reading a rhyming poem, once their mind recognizes a rhyming pattern, it can make the poem flow more easily, as the reader unconsciously expects certain sounds at the end of lines.
 
Meter, another poetic element, is in some sense, the beat of a poem. In the English language, certain syllables in words, as well as monosyllabic words in sentences depending on how they are read, are more stressed than other syllables and monosyllabic words in sentences. The combination of stressed and unstressed syllables is what makes up meter.

One form of poetic meter, is anapestic meter. Anapestic meter is a meter where one unit (called a foot) is of the form: unstressed, unstressed, stressed. It is the form of meter that you might hear in a limerick.

If you look at the two lines from the poem above, they were written in anapestic meter. Here they are with unstressed syllables marked with - and stressed syllables marked with /:

-       -       /     -      -/        -    -      /
Now with joy sing aloud on this day, 

-       -           /           -       -          /         -        -     /
with bright sounds and bright tones show the way

As can be seen, each line has three anapestic feet.
 
Below is a full poem that has one stanza, with eight lines, with each line having three anapestic feet. It utilizes rhyming pattern 4 from above.

Now with joy sing aloud on this day, 
with bright sounds and bright tones show the way, 
for the sadness of life can abound, 
and the darkness of night might persist, 
but with joy there can be a new sound, 
as with light all the dark you resist, 
and the hope of the world it does grow, 
as the way with your song you do show. 

At first, meter can be difficult for a poet. They might feel like they don't "hear" the beat. There a few ways to help with this. 

The first is to read poems written in a known meter, with the beat of the meter in mind. A good choice to learn anapestic meter would be to read limericks, which can be written using it. Read the poems with the beat of bum – bum – BUM in your mind. After a while it will flow naturally.

A second tip, if you are writing poetry with meter, is to utilize a dictionary. Dictionaries sometimes come with the syllable stress of words marked. This can help when using multisyllabic words in a poem.

A last tip would be to work with only one meter at a time. It can be very awkward, for example, to switch between anapestic and iambic meter when writing poetry. Once your mind gets used to a poetic beat, stick with it until you are ready to change to something new.

Like rhyme, meter can help with expectation of sound in a poem. If you have a poem with a beat, it can help the reader to flow through the poem, because their mind is expecting the next sounds. If this is combined with a predictable rhyming pattern, the effect can be enhanced.

When writing in anapestic meter, there are a few things to be careful of.

First, some words have more than one choice for which syllable is stressed. A good example might be the word record. A RE-cord, with the first syllable stressed, is a noun. It is a notation of information. By contrast re-CORD, with the second syllable stressed, is a verb. It means to document something. 

The distinction is important when writing in anapestic meter. If a poet uses the wrong use of the word, or the reader reads the word with the alternate stress, it can throw off the meter of the poem, reducing its effectiveness.  For example, read the line:

And the time and the ways hit record

If this line was alone, a person might pronounce the last word as re-CORD. It would mean the subjects of the line are pressing a button that will re-CORD the events. This would fit the anapestic meter and make sense in the line.
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If a poet however, had a different meaning in mind, for example, by starting the next line of the poem with the word "elevations", the poem would still make sense (the subject of the poem reached a new height), but the reader might read the poem incorrectly. If the reader did read it correctly, with the correct use of RE-cord, the meter would be thrown off.

Poets should also be careful not to feel like a form is restrictive. Sometimes when a poet writes in a form, it can feel restrictive to them. They want to use a certain word, but can't, because it doesn't fit the form. A poet might decide to abandon the form for that instance and pick it up later in the poem. For example, consider the line:

And the time and the ways abandon 

In this line, the last word, abandon, does not fit the anapestic meter. The middle syllable is stressed instead of the last. A poet might like this word though and decide to use it anyway.

There are two reasons not to do this though. The first is, if a poem has meter, and that meter breaks at parts, the poem can feel awkward to read, like a song with an off-key note. 

Secondly, the restrictiveness that comes with form can actually promote creativity. Using the line above, if a poet liked the word abandon, but couldn't use it because of the meter, they might instead replace it with something like "do neglect". This would fit the meter, it goes with the general idea of abandon, and it might take the poem in a new direction.

If you're a poet, you should think about writing rhyming poems with anapestic meter. It can give you a chance to experiment with different rhyming schemes and it will help you improve your use of poetic meter. Once you get accustomed to it, you'll find it can add a new dimension to your poetry.

As an idea, you might start with limericks. Depending on style, limericks can use anapestic meter and can have a simple rhyming pattern. Limericks are familiar, and can be a good place to start. Here is an example limerick:

O' the dog his big tail he did wag, 
for with joy he did have a big gag, 
for he stole first one shoe, 
then with glee he stole two, 
and with speed he ran off with her bag.

WRITING PROMPT: Now, it's your turn! Pull out that notebook and experiment with the concepts explained here. Try to create your own limerick using anapestic meter and a simple writing pattern with a holiday theme.