Today I sang my heart out as my writing prep – hip hop, 90s R&B, movie soundtracks – you name it, I was belting it out. I felt so good and pumped and ready to take on the world that I figured I better sit down and write.
My creativity flowed more than usual during today’s session, so I hit a word count I don’t normally see. AND we’re seeing the opening scene of a spiritual warfare battle royale. Woot woot!
I give singing a 15/10!
Write down your vision. Write it down again. And again. Keep on writing it down until you can take the next step, even if you are afraid.
I was not feeling writing, not at all, but I knew part of building my writing habit is to do it, even when I don’t feel like it. So I pulled out my writing prep menu and chose silly putty and journalist.
I squeezed the putty while thinking about my journalism questions: who, what, where, when, why, and how. Then my hands started itching. I’m pretty sure I’m allergic to this putty.
So I figured someone in my WIP could have an allergic reaction to something. I wouldn’t have thought of that if I hadn’t reacted to the putty. Nevertheless, I’m going to leave the putty alone from now on.
I give this combo a 10/10.
What limits are you putting on yourself and why?
What would you tell your best friend if they were doing this to themselves?
Write these things down, my friend. Then live them out.
I have an app called “Breathe” that takes you through breathing exercises. I really like it.
I totally didn’t use that app, however, as part of my writing warm-up the other day. But I did use the techniques I’ve learned from the app. I didn’t want to have the lady talking to me while I was trying to focus on God and prayer, but I did hear her say “Well done” in my mind.
So I paid attention to my breathing and I prayed as my writing warm-up.
Just before I began my warm-up, I experienced a disappointment. It was no big deal, and I only felt slight disappointment, but I felt it. So I told God about it. I try to be open with God regarding my emotions. He knows them; He’s experienced them; He can handle them. So I told Him I was disappointed, and then I asked Him what I should write.
And I heard His response quite clearly: Write your disappointment.
Well, what disappointed me would’ve been completely anachronistic in the piece I’m working on, but I wondered what might be disappointing in the context of my story, and I wrote about it.
My writing output wasn’t that great, not shabby, but not great. But the directive to write my own emotions onto the page was illuminating. I give Prayer + Breathing 15/10.
Well, let me tell you – my most recent combination was a winner winner chicken dinner. I didn’t know I was waiting to write from this character’s perspective, but apparently I was. I didn’t know I had flashbacks and military reprimands centered around a scythe lurking in the recesses of my mind.
I give this a 15/10.
This time I wrote from a different character’s perspective, and it was the best thing to happen to my story in a long time. My creativity increased, as did my word count.
I give this a 14/10.
For starters, my stone isn’t actually smooth. Well, not all smooth, anyway. It’s striated, and the striations, in addition to adding visual interest, feel like ridges as I rub the stone. I found this particular stone on a walk one day during my lunch break at work.
A friend and I often went for walks over lunch. Our university was in an affluent neighborhood, and we enjoyed walking around, looking at the houses and the well-curated yards and gardens. My friend, from time to time, would stop to smell the proverbial roses, but I never did. I mean, I stopped. I didn’t leave her in the dust while I plodded ahead. I didn’t smell the roses, though. I didn’t feel it was prudent for my black female self to trespass and risk a deleterious outcome, just to smell some flowers, The day my friend asked me why I never smelled the flowers with her prompted a really good conversation. I think about that a lot.
What I did do with my friend on our walks was collect nature’s artifacts – an enormous leaf, a twig with shedding bark, a striated stone. One of our students often laughed at us when we came back into the office showing off our newly collected pieces on our desks.
I’ve had this stone going on about 10 years now, and as much as I’ve rubbed it, I’ve not rubbed away the striated ridges. Actually, I find the stone more and more appealing as time elapses, much like I continue to grow in appreciation of my friend who still adventures with me in nature.
So the other day, I prayed and rubbed my stone as my writing prep. I found both activities calming and centering, and that peace reflected in through my writing. I wondered what my MC would do when facing stressful situations (and there are many in her tale). In essence, my prep work helped me dive into my MC’s personality in ways I hadn’t before. As it turns out, she likes to dance. Who’d’ve thunk?
I give Prayer + Smooth Stone a 12/10.
What has kickstarted your writing lately?
I tried pairing character art and perfume as my writing prep activities, and I was pleased.
I wrote a little more than I did last time (slow and steady and all that, you know), but I included more sensory details than I typically do, so I was very excited about that.
I give this combo a 12/10.
So I created a writing prep menu to try to help me get into my writing more quickly and use my writing time more productively. See Exhibit A below.
The premise is that each day I write, I will pick 1-3 of these menu items to use to prepare for my writing. I went to an online combination calculator and discovered I have 22,100 potential combinations of writing prep activities. I recognize some limitations on the combination calculator, but I sure wasn’t going to do the math myself. I remember studying combinations and permutations in school, which is what prompted me to look for an online calculator. 🙂
The first combination I tried was Write Someplace Different in the House + What if…?
I liked it. I was energized by being someplace different in my house, and I stretched my imagination by imagining a “what if” scenario for my characters. My writing output wasn’t great, but I had writing output, which is better than what I’ve been doing. What resulted in my story was demonic intervention in the forces of nature, a powerful right hook, and assault by mortar and pestle. Not bad for a writing session.
I don’t know if you’re into WeRateDogs on Twitter, but if you’re not, what you need to know is that the account devotes itself to canine cuteness, believing all dogs are cute and should, therefore, be rated at least an 11/10.
I think I’m going to feel similarly about trying out my combinations. I give this combination an 11/10 – it got me moving and helped me laugh.
What has sparked your writing recently? Post a comment to let us know!