An Idea is Like a Ghost

“An idea, like a ghost, (according to the common notion of a ghost), must be spoken to a little before it will explain itself”. – Dickens

Your Experiences of Love Thus Far

“Love begins with a smile, grows with a kiss, and ends with a teardrop.” – Anonymous

Have you heard that one before?

Write your own, a quick analysis of love. Think of what you would tell your daughter. Think of what you would tell your son. Why is it different and how can you put that together into a new thought about love and yourself?

Assume you have children if you do not. I don’t either but I can think of what I would say based on my own experiences thus far.

The Order of Events

Write down at least 10 things that you did today (or 10 things that happened to you today). Make them a short list in the order they happened, chronological order.

Now jumble the order, randomly. How would your day have been different if things had happened in the new random order?

If you change the order of events in fiction could that give your story a whole new plot or at least a plot twist?

Clear Your Slate

If you are really stuck and can’t get a word onto the page at all. Stop trying. Instead think of what is really bugging you. It could be family with too many demands and needs. It could be a job where you feel too much stress all day to even begin to unwind when you are finally home. It could be an event going on in your life, a marriage, a divorce, a death in the family or a friend, all kinds of little events too.

So write out your feelings. Don’t even start with a plan. Just start. Put a word on the page, you might even start longhand instead of using the keyboard. Pull the plug on the damn holding in all your feelings and let them bleed out for awhile. The words don’t have to make sense, spelling does not have to count. Vent for awhile, give in to being self centred long enough to spill out all the everyday clutter and poison that seems to litter our minds.

You will know when you are done, there just won’t be anything else left to write. Take a break then. Get outside, go for a drive, get coffee, whatever gets you away from the place you were as you wrote. Later, when you are back, decide if you want to read anything of what you wrote. You may just keep it for later or destroy it and get rid of all that pent up emotion. Sometimes you can get a lot of clarity from letting yourself vent thoughts and feelings.

Try writing now that you have cleared your slate.

Room to Write

Think of one kind of annoying day to day kind of task which irritates you about writing. For me it is just making myself stop all the other hundred little things I could be doing and settle down to start the writing project. Or, I could say the most aggravating thing is having a ton of material/ articles/ drawings I have as inspiration and information but I seldom take the time to organize it so that any of it is actually being used. It is a good idea to have information and inspiration around but at this point I should just dump it all and get rid of the clutter which does really bug me.

What writing related task are you putting off? Is there a way you could accomplish this and get it out of your way? Maybe pay someone to do it, or just give up and recycle it (as with all my paper stashes), or actually focus and buckle down to get it done?

Take the little things that keep you from writing out of your way. Give yourself more room to write?

Reach Outside of Your Box

Consider of a form of writing you rebel against trying, or even reading. Now use that yourself. Stretch your limits and open your mind to something you thought you could not, or would not do. Maybe you have never tried writing a poem, or maybe you never thought you could write horror or romance is just too mushy. Try something new, reach outside of your box.