One good thing about blogging regularly is that you not only feel like you’re keeping in touch with your friends, you also find it’s easier to come up with topics to write about. You simply launch your word boat into the online flow and rev up your motor. But when you leave it for a while as I have been doing, you tend to ponder too much about the possibilities – especially when there are so many interesting topics to write about …like the difference between butterflies and moths, or why some people put up their Christmas lights the day after Halloween.
When I was teaching creative writing I would give my students a sheet of words and ask them to pick one out randomly, and then write about it for ten minutes to focus their mind(s). As I recall I got the idea from one of Roger Von Oech’s books and it always worked like a charm.
My brother Robin and I used to play a lot of writing games too. My favorite was where we would each write a paragraph and then swap, but we could only read the last sentence and then had to carry on from there before we traded again. Robin has been a much more prolific writer than I will ever be because he jumps right into things and is disciplined as well. You can check out Robin’s poems, plays and fiction on his website, and catch a brief video of him talking about his work.
9 comments:
Oh, Susan....that image is simply beautiful!
Allow me to share one of my productive creative writing ideas; this is a great one that also will make the writer focus. Think of a first name, any first name -- even pick it randomly from a magazine or something on the news. Let's say "SIMON". Now, write a five sentence paragraph, with the first sentence starting with the word chosen, Simon. Sentence #2 will start with the letter I, sentence 3 with M, sentence 4 with O and finally sentence 5 with N.
Have fun with that; it seems silly but it works -- and often works very well!
Glad to see you back in blogville :-)
What a talented family you all are! It's wonderful to have you back. I say quit pondering and write us a wee bit each day. You can start an on-line writing game:)
Good to see you back in blogland. What great ideas for writers. I shall have to practice.
I simply love this art Susan. Thank you for sharing about this application, which I've downloaded and it's simply encouaging and helps one to recharge...
Thanks for checking in with me as well. You are so right about the over thinking that clouds the writing process once you've taken a break.Somehow, you make it look effortless just the same. Happy holidays!
Hello Susan! Thank god you came on by my blog to say hi! I hadn't realised until your visit that you had fallen off my Blogs I Love list when I changed the look of my blog a few weeks ago. And you know what they say - Out of Sight, Out of Mind, sadly! Anyway, I have now rectified that error and you're back on my blog where you should be!
Well lady, loving this fantastic new digital image! Ooooo it is simply divine! You are so ultra taleneted. It was also nice to catch up on Lily your dog! We had 3 dogs, but now we're down to just two. Our oldest died at 17 - ancient in doggy years. he was a very wise old boy and I miss him terribly...
thanks for stopping by Susan, I'd love to see a photo of your dad's communion rail. Sounds wonderfully creative, and very special.
Hey girl, Sorry we couldn't get together over the weekend! Your post reminded me of a writing game I did with my sis when we were about 10 years old; I would write a sentence and she would write the next one. I always wrote gross and shocking things to get a rise out of my sister..lol!
Sandy xx
I love this butterfly graphic Susan, the colours are so vibrant.
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