Finding Writing Ideas (part 1)

Ideas for writing abound. Every writer knows that. So why do we sit at the keyboard and stare at a blank document, or worse still, play free cell until our brains are fried?

Sometimes, we writers have a creativity problem. We suffer from what I think of as constipation of the creative idea zone. Otherwise known as writer’s block, it can be debilitating. Some of us are afraid of failure, others of success. Don’t despair!  If you need some prune juice for your creativity, try these ideas.

Take a walk. Try to walk in beauty. For me, it’s along the beach. Somehow, the ocean puts my puny problems into perspective. I synchronize the beat of my heart with the pulse of the ocean. Soon, I get to a place of inner calm where the white noise in my head disappears. A daily walk can be a time of relaxation. It can also be a time to open yourself to writing inspiration.

Change your environment. Sitting at your desk, willing yourself to write, can be counter-productive. How long is it since you’ve climbed a tree, danced around the room, sat inside a cubby you built, swung in a hammock and dreamed, stared into the flames of a fire, listened to music and allowed a scenario to build in your imagination? Have a notepad handy. If your creativity needs re-fuelling, taking a break from the mundane may be your answer.

Stimulate your sense of smell. Light a fragrant candle, crush some herbs, close your eyes and sniff some of your kitchen spices. Search back in your memory for a time when you smelled wet dog, smoke, a gas, newly-mown grass, a baby’s skin, frying onions, seaweed on the shore. Can you build a story around one of those memories? If evil had a smell, what would it be?

Stimulate your sense of touch. Have a massage, a foot rub, walk over pebbles or hot sand, curl your body into a tiny space. Play the blindfold game: have someone bring you objects to examine while you wear a blindfold. Your focus is not so much on guessing what you hold, as on allowing the sensory input to stimulate your imagination and jumpstart your writing.

Stimulate your sense of taste. Try tiny drops of olive oil, vinegar, syrup, salt, or lemon juice on your tongue. Stop after two or three or if you start eating glue.

Skip a meal. Concentrate on the taste of food in your next meal. Eat slowly, savouring taste and texture. Think back to times when different tastes had an impact on you. How do tears taste? How would you describe the taste of your lover’s skin? Does ice have a taste? If anger had a taste, what would it be? Let your taste buds direct your writing.

Stimulate your hearing. Go on a sound hunt. When you hear something, concentrate on its effect on your body. How does it make you feel? What does it remind you of? What sounds in your life mean danger? What sounds mean delight? What is the most wonderful sound you can imagine hearing? Has sound been important in your life? When? Why? Could you write from the point of view of a deaf character?

Look at things in a new way. Visual stimulation is all around if we’re lucky enough to enjoy good vision. Make a picture frame and look through it Spend ten minutes looking underneath things. Use a magnifying glass, binoculars, an octoscope. Look through coloured cellophane. Put yourself at child’s eye height. Gaze upon fractals, mandalas, trompes l’oeil. Look, see and write.

Creative self-expression is essential for your well-being. You know that. So what are you waiting for? Swallow that prune juice!

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Quote of the Month

'Be who you are because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.'           Dr Seuss

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Have you been to these sites?

Funds For Writers Contest

Deadline: October 31, 2008

Theme:  The Best Advice I Ever Had, 750 words max.

More information:  http://www.fundsforwriters.com/annualcontest.htm

Happy Tales Literary Contest

Deadline: September 30, 2008

Rules: Take any literary work with a sad, disturbing, or negative ending and supply a happy, affirmative, uplifting, humorous ending. The new ending must more or less parody the idiom, style, atmosphere, and so on, of the original. Entries will be judged on the bases of humor, insight, and quality of parody. Entries should be no more than ten pages in length and may be submitted on paper or via email.

More information: http://www.humanitiesmontana.org/BookFestival/happytales.shtml

The Ultimate Garden :new release for April 2009.

Deadline: September 30, 2008

A full synopsis of the book, guidelines for submissions, how and where to send your work, and information on all the titles in development can be found on www.UltimateHCIBooks.com. Online submissions are preferred.

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(Watch for Finding Writing Ideas (Part 2) in the October Musings column, with even more practical ideas for the writer.)

Until next time, write on!