Five Tips for Getting Your Creative Juices Flowing
Writing can be a pain in the keister. Sometimes I don’t feel like sitting down and getting into the nitty-gritty of writing. I’d rather play Xbox, watch anime, or just pull my teeth out with a pair of pliers. None of those things help me get the work done, however, so I’ve had to develop ways to get myself into the work over the years. So if you struggle to force yourself to write, here are five tips I have for getting your creative juices flowing as you sit down at your computer.
Write a poem
Poems are simple to write if you’re doing a first draft. They’re an easy way to get words on the page, and writing one also allows you to experiment with various forms that you wouldn’t be able to utilize in fiction. I try to write a poem a day to get my writing momentum going.
Do writing sprints
Write as fast as you can with a ten, fifteen, twenty-five, or even thirty-minute timer. Blast some music and see how much you can write within that time frame. You may be surprised by what comes out if you just write and not worry about the grammar, spelling, or comprehension of the work.
Write a journal entry
Sometimes you just might be distracted by things going on in your life and you just have to get it out on paper. Do that. Write about what happened to you that day, write about a thought you’re having, write about a struggle or worry you have. It can be cathartic and may lead to something creative.
Read over an old project
If you need to get inspired, read over an old project that is sitting on your hard drive and tinker with it. Maybe you left it unfinished because you had writer’s block. Maybe you just got bored with it and wanted to move on to something else. I find that if I spend time reading an old project, it sparks some inspiration in me. I either end up continuing to work on it or it warms me up enough to work on my current project. I have plenty of unfinished projects, so it’s definitely always an option for me to look at my old work.
BIC
I have heard several of my favorite authors talk about BIC, or Butt In Chair. Sometimes there’s nothing else to do except sit down and write the blasted book or that insufferable short story. Suck it up buttercup, sit down, and get to work. At the end of the day, no one else is going to write for you, so you need to force yourself to do it.
Comments
Post a Comment