The holidays are behind us now and most of you have reluctantly returned to work. Your bodies might be sitting behind a desk or working on the manufacturing floor, but your minds are somewhere else. Somewhere far, far away...lost in imagination.
Imagination is a writer's greatest asset. Novel writers use imagination to create characters, shape plot, and write dialogue. Poets make imaginative thoughts and visions come alive on the page. Copywriters and other non-fiction writers use imagination to create advertising or write articles. A writer's imagination is undoubtedly the most used tool in her/his repertoire, but how many writers use this tool in their 'real' lives?
Now, I'm sure you've often thought about what your life would be like if you were free to write. Most of us have from time to time. You've imagined what it would feel like to have your first article accepted, or your first novel published. There's your book on the New York Times Best Seller list. There you are on Oprah! Great feeling, right? But have you thought about your day to day life? How would you structure your daily writing activities? What would a day in your writing life be like?
Here is an exercise often used by Lifestyle/Creative Career Coaches to help their clients get a feel for living the life they dream of. This exercise can be used by anyone, but we are going to model it here for a writer:
Imagine you no longer have to work an outside job. You can now stay home and write to your heart's content. Drawing on the things you know about yourself, what would your perfect day be like? What time would you like to get up? Would you take some time to relax over coffee or breakfast before starting your day, or would you go straight to your home office? Where is your office? Is it in a room in the house, or outside (such as in a detached garage)? Do you work at a computer or writing desk, or do you take your laptop or a notebook and wander outside to write in good weather? How long will you write? You might have a set schedule, or you might write so many words/pages before stopping. Or you might not even write first thing in the morning. You might use that time to research, or run errands, and write in the evening.
The key is to use your imagination to create what you'd like your life to be like. Write it all down. Describe a daily work routine that makes you happy. This is about you and your unique personality. It's a new year. Start today. Imagine your life. Make it extraordinary.
Happy Writing!
StellaD
from Sweetwater Press
Showing posts with label imagination. Show all posts
Showing posts with label imagination. Show all posts
Friday, January 4, 2008
Sunday, September 2, 2007
Breaking the Block
It's been quite a while since my last post. I made it through the month of August without roasting. A high pressure system hoovered over our area for the entire month, pushing daily temperatures through the high 90's into triple digits. Nights brought little relief from the heat. This system also kept much needed rain at bay. Storm clouds circled the area and lightning could be seen in the distance, but the rain never came. Now September is here and the feel of fall is in the air. A strong low pressure system has finally pushed into the area, bringing in cooler air and refreshing, if somewhat scattered, rain showers. It's such a blessing to be able to turn off the air conditioner and open the doors and windows to let in the cool breeze. Labor Day weekend marks the end of the summer travel season. Days are becoming noticeably shorter. School has started in most places, and football fever is on the rise. The rhythm of daily life changes with the seasons, but is no less hectic. What does this mean for the writer? Possibly more time to write...at least while the kids are at school.
You're all set to work on your writing project. You open a blank page in Word or turn to a clean sheet of paper in your notebook. Your fingers are poised above the keyboard, or grip a pen, eagerly awaiting the rush of words that will set them in motion. But the words don't come. You take a keep breath, release it...still no words. Impatiently you try a few tentative openers. 'It seems'...no. 'The research on'...not that, either. With rising panic, you look around the room asking, "Where the h*** is my Muse?" Quite likely she is vacationing on some tropical island and has left you with a case of Writer's Block!
Writer's block, that frightful malady that strikes without warning, especially when you have an intense project or a deadline staring you in the face. No matter where you are in your writing career, whether newbie or seasoned author, you can be struck dumb by this dreadful affliction. How do you overcome writer's block? Here are three tips to break the block and get the words flowing again.
Just Write
It's been said that the best cure is simply to write. Quite true, but forcing youself to continue writing within the constraints of your project may leave you more frustrated than safisfied. One suggestion is to forget your focus and just write nonsense sentences, such as, 'The cow goes mooo.' 'Marty met Ester at the county fair.' 'What I want for dinner is neither pig nor fig.' This exercise provides stress relief through humor. If writing mindless drivel is not to your taste, there are other ways to break the block.
Get Out
Go for a walk. Forget your project for awhile. Instead, open your eyes and mind to the world around you. Walking eases stress while increasing blood flow to the brain. Relax and observe. As you walk, make up stories about the things you see. Is there an old house on a hill surrounded by shade trees? Is is abandoned, or lived in? What do you think life was like there when it was built?
Stop by a coffee shop and watch the customers. Do you know that fellow in the corner who is preoccupied with his laptop? If not, make up a story about him, telling who he is and why he is in your town. When you return home relaxed, you may find that you can now tackle your project without further problem.
Stay In
Rainy, cold, or too late at night to go for a walk? Try one of these stimulating exercises. Look around the room. Whatever object, lamp, chair, knick-knack catches your eye, write about it. Describe it's shape, color, purpose. This is a more focused exercise as it forces you to think about what you are writing instead of writing disjointed drivel.
Thumb through a magazine or visit an online photography site. Find a photograph that intrigues you. It could be a photograph of a person, or a scenic photo. For a person, give him/her a name and a history. Where does he/she live? Where does he/she work, if at all? Who are his/her parents? 'Her name was Marya Ryan. She was the third daughter of oil tycoon William Huggins Ryan. While old 'Willie Boy' liked things hot--spicy foods, hot coffee, and even hotter women, Marya was as cool as the shade beneath the giant oaks that framed their manse.' Get the idea?
Of a scenic photograph, you might write: 'I propped my arms on the top rail of the weathered cedar fence and gazed out across the open Montana meadow. Clouds roiled over the mountain range in the distance. Already their peaks were covered with snow. Where I stood, the sun still shone, but the wind was shifting. There was an icy feel to the air. I watched the lowering dark mass swallow the mountains. The storm was coming.' Once again, the words are flowing.
The purpose of these visualization exercises is to engage your imagination in a creative, descriptive narrative. The next time you are frozen by writer's block, loosen up by letting your imagination take over.
Happy Writing,
StellaD
You're all set to work on your writing project. You open a blank page in Word or turn to a clean sheet of paper in your notebook. Your fingers are poised above the keyboard, or grip a pen, eagerly awaiting the rush of words that will set them in motion. But the words don't come. You take a keep breath, release it...still no words. Impatiently you try a few tentative openers. 'It seems'...no. 'The research on'...not that, either. With rising panic, you look around the room asking, "Where the h*** is my Muse?" Quite likely she is vacationing on some tropical island and has left you with a case of Writer's Block!
Writer's block, that frightful malady that strikes without warning, especially when you have an intense project or a deadline staring you in the face. No matter where you are in your writing career, whether newbie or seasoned author, you can be struck dumb by this dreadful affliction. How do you overcome writer's block? Here are three tips to break the block and get the words flowing again.
Just Write
It's been said that the best cure is simply to write. Quite true, but forcing youself to continue writing within the constraints of your project may leave you more frustrated than safisfied. One suggestion is to forget your focus and just write nonsense sentences, such as, 'The cow goes mooo.' 'Marty met Ester at the county fair.' 'What I want for dinner is neither pig nor fig.' This exercise provides stress relief through humor. If writing mindless drivel is not to your taste, there are other ways to break the block.
Get Out
Go for a walk. Forget your project for awhile. Instead, open your eyes and mind to the world around you. Walking eases stress while increasing blood flow to the brain. Relax and observe. As you walk, make up stories about the things you see. Is there an old house on a hill surrounded by shade trees? Is is abandoned, or lived in? What do you think life was like there when it was built?
Stop by a coffee shop and watch the customers. Do you know that fellow in the corner who is preoccupied with his laptop? If not, make up a story about him, telling who he is and why he is in your town. When you return home relaxed, you may find that you can now tackle your project without further problem.
Stay In
Rainy, cold, or too late at night to go for a walk? Try one of these stimulating exercises. Look around the room. Whatever object, lamp, chair, knick-knack catches your eye, write about it. Describe it's shape, color, purpose. This is a more focused exercise as it forces you to think about what you are writing instead of writing disjointed drivel.
Thumb through a magazine or visit an online photography site. Find a photograph that intrigues you. It could be a photograph of a person, or a scenic photo. For a person, give him/her a name and a history. Where does he/she live? Where does he/she work, if at all? Who are his/her parents? 'Her name was Marya Ryan. She was the third daughter of oil tycoon William Huggins Ryan. While old 'Willie Boy' liked things hot--spicy foods, hot coffee, and even hotter women, Marya was as cool as the shade beneath the giant oaks that framed their manse.' Get the idea?
Of a scenic photograph, you might write: 'I propped my arms on the top rail of the weathered cedar fence and gazed out across the open Montana meadow. Clouds roiled over the mountain range in the distance. Already their peaks were covered with snow. Where I stood, the sun still shone, but the wind was shifting. There was an icy feel to the air. I watched the lowering dark mass swallow the mountains. The storm was coming.' Once again, the words are flowing.
The purpose of these visualization exercises is to engage your imagination in a creative, descriptive narrative. The next time you are frozen by writer's block, loosen up by letting your imagination take over.
Happy Writing,
StellaD
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