Subject Matter

Sometimes we sit down to write and can't think of anything to write about. Writing Down the Bones, Natalie Goldberg

It's true, isn't it? Sometimes ideas for writing flow fast and furious.  Have you noticed this often happens when you're in the midst of something entirely unrelated to writing - like mopping the floor, walking the dog, taking a shower?  Times when it's hard to get your hands on a pencil and paper to jot those ideas down.  Finally, having stolen those precious few minutes we talked about last week, you sit down before the blank screen and nothing comes to mind.

Nada.

Keep a list of writing ideas and prompts in the back of your notebook or on a separate document in the writing folder on your computer.  These can be ideas you've come up with on your own during those times when the muse is working overtime, or prompts from favorite writing books or websites.  Don't spend too much time reading the list - just pick an idea and start writing for 10 minutes.  You'll be surprised what happens.

Here's a list to get you started, courtesy of one of my favorite writing books, Writing Down the Bones, by Natalie Goldberg:

1. Begin with "I remember."  Make a list of small memories, or fall into one large memory.  Don't be concerned with whether the memory that first occurs to you happened 10 minutes or 10 years ago.  Delve into it and see what develops;
2. Describe your morning routine in as much detail as possible.  Make the reader feel as if they've been there with you;
3. Visualize a place you really love and write about it so the reader will understand why you love it;
4. Write about learning to do something you thought you'd never master but did;
5. Open a book of poetry, pick a line, write it down, and then continue writing, in prose or poetry;
6. Write about leaving - leaving home, leaving a relationship, leaving the coffee shop yesterday morning.

Stealing Time

One of the biggest myths around writing is that in order to do it we must have great swathes of uninterrupted time.  The myth that we must have "time" - more time - in order to create is a myth that keeps us from using the time we do have.  If we are forever yearning for "more," we are forever discounting what is offered. The Right to Write, Julia Cameron

Like most wanna-be writers, I have this lovely fantasy about the "perfect writing life."  I'd be living in a waterfront home with a writing room open to the sun and sound of the sea.  I'd have long uninterrupted days to drink coffee, read, walk the sandy beach, and ponder whatever work was in progress. I'd dress all in cool, neutral colors, my clothing loose fitting and airy, yet elegant.  (Think Diane Keaton's character in the movie Something's Gotta Give.)

Of course, my life is nothing like that, and I suspect yours isn't either.  Truthfully, that kind of lifestyle probably isn't as conducive to writing as one might think.  As humans, we need the pressure placed on us by the outside world to provide the stimulation which fuels our creative thoughts.

Writing, like anything worth doing, requires time, a commodity which seems in shorter and shorter supply in modern life.  With a little discipline and determination, you can steal time to write no matter how busy your schedule.   If you're like me, you spend 10 or 15 minutes every morning checking in with your "social network" - reading Facebook and Twitter updates, checking e-mail, glancing at the headlines.  The first step in finding daily writing time is to set your computer home page to a blank Word document.  Better yet, don't even turn the computer on - pick up a spiral notebook and write in long hand for 15 minutes instead.

Part of finding daily writing time is changing your perception about what "real writing" is.  You don't have to write 10 pages of perfect prose every day.  You do have to write something every day - a few sentences which build into a few paragraphs, which over time might become an article, a personal essay, a short story, a novel.

Think about your daily schedule ~ where can you steal some writing time for yourself?

Lima Beans

Doing what comes naturally is easy. We can play from our strengths all day long. But playing from our strengths isn’t going to make us great. If we aspire to greatness we’re going to have to learn to work through our weaknesses.  Albert Berg, The Insanity Files

Many of us grew up with the clean plate rule - eat everything on your plate, whether you like it or not.  In his blog post entitled, "Eat Your Lima Beans: The Importance of Becoming the Writer You Aren't," Albert Berg reflects on this edict, and notes that, in retrospect, his mother was teaching him an important life (and writing) lesson, i.e. it's just as important to do the things you don't like, as to do the things you love.

Perhaps its even more important.  After all, the effort involved in doing the things we love is mitigated by the pure pleasure we get from doing them.  But the effort we must put forth to accomplish  tasks which don't come naturally, easily, or happily, is much more difficult to bear.

When it comes to writing, my "lima beans" are definitely the revision process.  I have no problem getting started, getting words on the screen, but when it comes to revising, every word sticks in my throat.  I realize that most of my difficulty lies in being unable to discern what's good and what isn't, so I'm never sure where to start the revision process.

The writer I am is great at getting the story out there.  The writer I'm not is the one who can go back and refine it into pure literary gold.

How about you? What are the "lima beans" of your literary life?  What can you do to make them palatable?

Research Material

Research is formalized curiosity.  It is poking and prying with a purpose.  ~Zora Neale Hurston

I've been reading a mystery series based on a character named Maisie Dobbs, a young woman investigator/psychologist who practices in London during the years just after World War I.  The author, Jacqueline Winspear, developed an interest in this era after hearing about her grandfather's experiences in that war, and how he was affected by shell shock.  The novels are extremely well researched, and each one illuminates many interesting aspects of society and culture during this particular time in history.

Writing - even fiction writing - often involves research.  If you have a particular interest in a subject  or historical era,  you'll need research to help you create an accurate portrayal in your story or essay.  Sometimes the research itself will give you ideas for writing.   As you read through newspapers and magazines, see if something sparks your interest, or plants the seed of an idea or character.

Research is not just for term papers.  It can provide fresh material for all kinds of writing

First Lines

When the lights went off, the accompanist kissed her."  from Bel Canto, by Ann Patchett

The first line of this novel grabbed me immediately...partly because I'm an accompanist myself, and that word doesn't show up in novels very often.  But this sentence immediately created an image in my head - not only an image, but an entire scene is set by those nine words.  You can hear the singer's last note, ringing through the hall, see the lights suddenly go dark, feel the accompanist's excitement as he jumps up from the piano and kisses the performer.

First lines are the way a writer grabs the reader from the get-go.  Go through your favorite novels and read the first lines.  Which ones are the most interesting?  How do they get you involved in the book and make you excited to read more?  Set aside one section of your writer's notebook for favorite first lines.

Now pick one of your favorite first lines and make it your own - write for 10 minutes using this favorite first line as a starting place.