Seven Tears Into the Sea
Phantom Stallion Series
Bio
Weblog
Q&A
Schedule
Media
Friday, March 13, 2009
BUTTERFLY NETS (No Writers Block, pt. 2)
Dear Readers,
Google brings up 7,700,000 links to WRITER'S BLOCK articles, solutions, etc., so I guess I'd better clarify what I mean by the term. When my child had leukemia, writing wasn't on my to-do lists. For me, that wasn't writer's block, just prioritizing.
That said, I'm a believer in BUTTERFLY NETS as a way to jump-start your brain against WB.
I don't advocate snaring Tiger Swallowtails or Monarchs,but I swoop ideas out of the air and pin them down even if they struggle because ideas, like butterflies, are fleeting and fragile. The best story idea ever imagined can evaporate if -- before you jot it down -- someone surprises you by smacking your car door.
My butterfly nets are usually scraps of paper.
When I taught full time, my blazer pockets were full of ideas jotted on used tardy passes. My grocery lists include phrases like "sound of horse falling in mud" and my family's been warned not to toss out (or be alarmed by)envelopes or index cards covered with conversations which never happened or obituaries of people no one knows. Yet.
For instant use, my favorite butterfly nets is clustering. If you've never heard of clustering, read Gabrielle Rico's WRITING THE NATURAL WAY. It changed my writing life forever. I use it every day to charge up the sense of being there for my readers, and me.
Silence helps me hear my characters' thoughts. You might give it a try if you usually have music playing while you write. In that silence, you might learn things that don't fit in the chapter you've sworn to write that day. You may hear grass swishing TOO LOUDLY as your girl sneaks up on...who? And what if your guy feels a warm weight on his knee as the muzzle of a beloved dog looks up at him. Wait!He doesn't have a dog! He's allergic, so --??? Figuring out what's going on inside your characters' lives away from you is not time wasted.
If you're writing, you're not blocked.
Tomorrow, the conclusion : Brain Fake-outs and Creative Talismans
Write some magic tonight,
Terri
Permalink to this blog post
Posted by Terri Farley @ 5:04 PM
Comments: This is cool.
Post a Comment
BUTTERFLY NETS (No Writers Block, pt. 2)
Dear Readers,
Google brings up 7,700,000 links to WRITER'S BLOCK articles, solutions, etc., so I guess I'd better clarify what I mean by the term. When my child had leukemia, writing wasn't on my to-do lists. For me, that wasn't writer's block, just prioritizing.
That said, I'm a believer in BUTTERFLY NETS as a way to jump-start your brain against WB.
I don't advocate snaring Tiger Swallowtails or Monarchs,but I swoop ideas out of the air and pin them down even if they struggle because ideas, like butterflies, are fleeting and fragile. The best story idea ever imagined can evaporate if -- before you jot it down -- someone surprises you by smacking your car door.
My butterfly nets are usually scraps of paper.
When I taught full time, my blazer pockets were full of ideas jotted on used tardy passes. My grocery lists include phrases like "sound of horse falling in mud" and my family's been warned not to toss out (or be alarmed by)envelopes or index cards covered with conversations which never happened or obituaries of people no one knows. Yet.
For instant use, my favorite butterfly nets is clustering. If you've never heard of clustering, read Gabrielle Rico's WRITING THE NATURAL WAY. It changed my writing life forever. I use it every day to charge up the sense of being there for my readers, and me.
Silence helps me hear my characters' thoughts. You might give it a try if you usually have music playing while you write. In that silence, you might learn things that don't fit in the chapter you've sworn to write that day. You may hear grass swishing TOO LOUDLY as your girl sneaks up on...who? And what if your guy feels a warm weight on his knee as the muzzle of a beloved dog looks up at him. Wait!He doesn't have a dog! He's allergic, so --??? Figuring out what's going on inside your characters' lives away from you is not time wasted.
If you're writing, you're not blocked.
Tomorrow, the conclusion : Brain Fake-outs and Creative Talismans
Write some magic tonight,
Terri
Permalink to this blog post
Posted by Terri Farley @ 5:04 PM
Comments: This is cool.
Post a Comment
