Too Many Showers and Not Enough Writing

While in the shower I realized my hero committed to jogging daily with her friend, and she never breaks a sweat again in the story. Note to self: Revise jogging scene. Maybe the two girls could go to the bar and tip back some tequila shooters. 

Scratch that. 

Readers will kill me on Amazon. 

Better idea: Have hero come back from the run only to throw up on her friend's shoes. Hence, no more jogging invitations. Besides, jogging is so passe. 

Wait! There are Segways! Modern. Intriguing. No sweating. No throwing up. No struggle. No Segways. 

Rats.

But jogging is a chestnut, no doubt about it. Let's see, the two characters have talked in quite a few situations: over coffee, at a restaurant, while drinking wine, and they've even done some crying in a closet. 

What's left? 

I'm feeling a little sweaty. My heart is bruising my ribs. I have a potassium tablet stuck in my throat. 

Could this be writer's block? 

Is this what happens when one idea is so married to my brain that only a divorce decree can free me?

But I don't believe in writer's block. I'm going to sit here until my characters find something else to do under my brilliant dialogue that represents and precipitates change.

Possible ideas:

1. Dance the polka? (The band is too loud for meaningful dialogue.)

2. Shop for flip flops? (Really? Flip flops are an impulse buy.)

3. Make clover chains in a meadow? (No meadows, sorry.)

4. Trim each other's bangs? (Real friends would never.)

5. Fish from a pier? (Ew.)

6. Paint a room? (The fumes!)

But something has to happen outside of the character's head to bring an outer and inner change. Yes, the dialogue does that, but in the original scene my hero's lack of physicality makes her more open to romance with a man she considers "older."

I'm heading back to the shower. Where else?

Writer's block is a convenient excuse for an art that is incredibly...

Incredibly what? Do you believe in writer's block? How do you combat the beast?

Word Play

It happens to all of us at some point. We sit before the blank computer screen, waiting for inspiration to strike. And we sit. And sit. Then we get up and grab some Double-stuff Oreos to dunk in milk to make the sitting more enjoyable. But it doesn't help us come up with an idea, not one little bit.

Sometimes we resort to idea-generating devices, and some work better than others. I return to Ray Bradbury's excellent Zen in the Art of Writing in the chapter titled, 'Run Fast, Stand Still, or, the Thing at the Top of the Stair, or, New Ghosts from Old Minds. He suggests using word association to "Be blown up , as it were, by your own delights and despairs." (pg. 15). He reflected on his past and made lists of nouns that surfaced in his memories - a sort of free-flowing association. From these he wrote authentic stories that were his alone.

I also found a website called The Thousand Word Project from Bates College Museum of Art which is an educational tool to use artwork to improve writing skills Here . On this site are interesting videos of artists who discuss the creative process and foster creativity in writing. It also offers this wonderful word list program called Wordle which makes my noun list even more inspiring and useful. You simply copy and paste a selection in the box or create your own random word list of your own. You can even adjust the font or color, or select 'randomize' for interesting variations. Then you can print the list or upload it to a forum. Here's mine.

Click on it to enlarge. It's titled 'Childhood Summer' and contains some of my memories of Maryland. The only glitch is that it does not distinguish phrases, so my 'Queen Anne's Lace' word was split up. Oh well. One of the artists said she chooses a topic and brainstorms words that are associated, then prints her list to ruminate on the project and see what ideas emerge. Sounds like a winner to me.

It's a fun tool, and delving into our past greatly enhances our writing. Mr. Bradbury moves on from pleasant childhood memories to what fears molded him. Our fears can powerfully affect the trajectory of our story. He tells of waking in the night with a powerful need to use the restroom but fearing to walk down the hall with the stairs that led to the attic where The Thing waited at the top. He ends the chapter: "I leave you now at the bottom of your own stair, at half after midnight, with a pad, a pen, and a list to be made." (pg. 28)

Is there anything you can share with us from your fears list? I, for one, would use these words about the basement: damp, musty, cool, workshop, sharp tools, scents of Tide and machinery oil, wall of canned vegetables and fruits, creepy, door that leads to coal bin which we were forbidden to open.
Have you made word lists to mine your life for topics? What works for you?

Nightmare on Creative Street

Congratulations to Connie Reece, the winner of our book giveaway this month! Connie, you have won a copy of Patti Hill's latest release Seeing Things, so shoot us an email with your address please and we'll get it in the mail to you.

Since Halloween is Saturday, I thought I'd blog about the things that go bump in the writer's night. Things that kill creativity. Kill it dead.

How do we create life from lifeless tissue? The fact that I had to ask for my husband's help to think of a title for this post only confirmed my urgent need to figure this out. (Thanks, honey) Most writers experience dry times when the ideas just won't come. What are the causes and what are the cures? Let's button up our lab coats and pull the third switch!

I brainstormed a list of causes for lack of creativity and came up with: fear of failure, fear of transparency, feeling restricted by guidelines/formulas/word counts, burnout, real or imagined criticism, anxiety over deadlines, worry, feeling overwhelmed and stress about life in general. I'll admit that for me, stress is the worst culprit and maybe yours is listed, too. Maybe recognizing it is the first step toward overcoming.

The good news is that we swim in a rich gene pool. Our Creator gave us the desire to write and it's part of what makes us tick. We don't create alone. Here are some ideas for cures:

• Read widely. Feeding your mind with interesting and thought-provoking material results in interesting and thought-provoking writing. These new ideas can blossom into a story idea or influence the direction of your WIP.
  
• Write at the same time every day. This creates memory triggers that can flip on the power switch.
• Enjoy beauty. Find a quiet place that you love and take time to meditate. Don't write or think about your WIP. Take your lunch to the cemetery. It's quiet and peaceful, and no one knows you're there but God. Or listen to your favorite music without distractions, or take a scenic detour home from the grocery store and listen on your car stereo. It can help you get perspective.
  
• Practice ten or fifteen minutes of free style writing. Write about whatever comes into your mind. It's okay to write with abandon and flourish. That's how I picture the Lord pitching armfuls of stars into the galaxy at creation. Or choose a topic like your favorite childhood vacation or your favorite Christmas. The point is, do not stop to rewrite! No one else will read it but you.
  
• Write someplace new. Sometimes the same old ideas sit in my office, fish-eyed and lifeless. Taking my laptop to a different environment helps me get away from them and makes room for new ideas.
• Read about the lives of famous authors. They, too, suffered from periods of dryness and thought their writing was lifeless at times, and they overcame. You will, too.
  
• Get out and do something. If you spend all your time in your office bent over your laptop, you will not gather rich experiences that your characters can share. They don't want to be dull.
• Ask God to refresh you. Ask fellow authors, family and friends to pray. If God calls us to a ministry, He will equip us for the task.

This is just a short list of suggestions. What robs you of your creativity and what have you found helpful? Please share it with us!