I’ll tell you what I do. Someone recommended this to me some time ago and I could kiss her for this. It goes like this. Hush now…listen carefully…the thing to do is open Outlook. No, not the magazine, the email programme. I open it and start writing.
When I’m having a bad day I compose a message to my closest friend (incidentally also one who I’m at my wittiest best with) and pretend I’m writing to him. I write as I would write to him, without inhibitions and without thinking. I just write.
Somehow this works for me. It just helps open up the floodgates of inspiration which heretofore was effectively dammed by the mockingly winking cursor of my word processor. And before I know it I have written a thousand plus words and I’m not even done yet!
And the anecdote seems more sparkling than it would have otherwise. I have this terrible tendency to embellish everything I tell my friends (No one believes what I say anymore, but I do end up with good stories). And I think this penchant for exaggeration gets transferred onto the copy.
Later I just cut and paste what I’ve written onto my word processor, clean it up, and voila! I’ve achieved a decent day’s work.
I think the psychology behind this is that an email programme seems friendlier and more informal. I am free to be humorous self without having to bother about correct grammar or even the correct tense (believe me, far more effective roadblocks than are given credit for). I just have to narrate the incident and entertain him. I can always decorate it with big words later on.
Hello Smita!
First Time here. Bumped into this site through a Google search.
I am an aspiring writer and it’s good to be here!
When i hit writer’s block, I first stop writing. I listen to some of soothing melodies or Instrumental Jazz in my Ipod. This helps me most of the times. And when Music can’t help, i go for a walk leaving my Cellphone and pod at home. I observe the World per se, be it Trees, Flowers or honking traffic noise without labeling them Good or Bad. This helps me with Self-introspection and i soon realize Why I am walking at this hour of the day.
My Mind becomes calm and i resume writing.
Most of the times, writer’s block is caused by Panic which comes from a time deadline. If we acknowledge it soon it dissolves by itself.
Cheers,
Sri.
Hi Sri, thanks for the input. Of course different things work for different people. In one of my earlier posts I’ve mentioned an alternate way as well. And that is to clear your mind of all rubbish that is obstrcuting the free flow of thoughts. These are usually mundane things – bills to be paid, shopping to be done, laundry to be picked up etc. Just take three sheets of paper and write down all those nagging thoughts and you’re good to go once again.
Smitha:
That’s a nice tip! I will browse through your archives soon.
Like you said these techniques are subjective and one has to try what works best personally.
I used to be self-improvement buff and most of the times I failed in perfectly executing the techniques I learnt. Then I was given Eckhart Tolle’s Power of Now to read and it changed my life. It doesn’t pay my bills but It gave me the courage to quit a decent job in IT industry to take up Screenwriting.
Well, you are lucky to have such a friend or a stimulus. Humour works for you, personally my inspiration lies elsewhere – baser perhaps, but yes, one does need a muse.
The common factor is that creativity is about discovering or rediscovering the inner child – one who craves indulgence.
Inspiration is all about arousal, getting rid of the logjam about deftly manoeuvering through stagnant waters – using any means you have to. Then it could be a friend or a willing muse 🙂
Hey Smita,
Have been reading ur blog for a few days now….. actually couple of months….. don’t usually remeber wat I read but come back to ur blog coz I enjoy d language u use…seems pretty lively.
Abt writer’s block!!! In my case, I just stop writing and proceed wid other thngs in life (as if I never wrote anything). After some days, I find the writer (monster) inside me raring to do it’s chore. May be, time away from writing brings me back to writing. Ofcourse, i don’t have any deadlines to meet.
Abt e-mail writing!!! even I find it pretty easy to write e-mails to frnds and cousins….and my mails usually end being pretty lenghty. Frnds dont even bother replyin to these mails, those who do give up after a few rounds of replies and vow never to send me a mail again (unless it’s my bday)!!! But yes, this gets me back to the writing mode. This comment is also serving the same purpose…I guess……hehe…
enjoy reading ur blog, keep going!!!!!!
@aviral, the idea is to keep going, irrespective of the mode and type :-). Keep writing, even if it’s long comments:-)
Oh yes, the comment did serve its purpose…… i completed a chapter in the duration between my post and ur reply!!
Indeed it’s all about ‘keep going’…. ‘being aviral’:-)
@aviral, if that’s an oblique way of saying I’m tardy in replying, I know that :-). Anyway, at least something good came out of it! Keep writing:-)
Oh.. it was not that good… required lots of editing and re-phrasing…..and still not satisfied. May be you replied too early… this is more direct…i suppose:-)
@aviral, I hope this reply was sufficiently delayed too? Did you manage to polish your stuff in the meantime?
There wasn’t any smiley in your reply. Does that reflect seriousness:-)
An even important thing came out yesterday…. i finally decided the way my story would proceed…a tentative direction of course…..but tht makes me happy anyways.
Read ur blogs…. dont feel like commenting on them. Even though u might not be writing for comments (or may be you do..), i find very few comments to ur posts….. sumthing for you to look into apart frm novels…screenplays…movie scripts….. and i know it is none of my concern but just out of curiosity:-)
@aviral, feel free to comment, not comment, no compulsions 🙂