Did you know that 3 billion devices run Java*? Yeah, didn’t think so .. I’m just a load of information. Trouble is none of it applies to blog posts. And least of all this blog post. I have blog block.. from now on referred to as BB. There’s really no cure for BB except to type. Does it have to make sense? Only if you want anyone to read beyond the Java line. (psssst, am I still making sense?) Wednesday’s post is supposed to be about the craft of writing. I did do some writing on Monday – almost 2k worth. But it was a struggle. This is one area that I didn’t think about cigarettes and their role in my life. I’ve come up with some of my most creative pieces of writing while puffing on a cig. Whenever I can’t think of what comes next, I’d pull one out of a pack, take a few puffs & think. Couldn’t do that on Monday. I had nothing to use as my creative, well “crutch” for lack of a better word. Tried M&M’s, but, while satisfying in many ways, it’s hard to put a piece of candy in my mouth and contemplate while it slowly melts, the way I could while watching a stream of smoke whiff through the air. Ohh, maybe I should try Skittles and watch the rainbow? On second thought, that would distract me too much. Hey look! A blog post!!!
My question to you writers out there … when you need to stop and think, what do you do while thinking?
*actual words that popped up while loading update of Java ... Bailey's mind isn't that sharp ....
12 comments:
My first thought, there's a java update? :)
I listen to music. I go through my cds and find a song that might fit the story in someway and play it on repeat till something clicks or I'll go work on something else. If all else fails, then I give up and do something completely non writing related.
Done the music and sometimes that works. Or a game of Textwist or solitaire ... Can't just give up, I have a certain number to hit each day and only after work hours to do it. Besides, I do most of that before I write .. lol
I do many things, like gi for a walk, drive, or otherwise ppl watch, and sometimes I let my mind wander off w/ another plot bunny (ooh, shiny!). My problem is generally more about keeping all the other ideas back so I can focus on the one. It can help to refill the well, though, if I let a few through the crime tape to run amok. :-)
With temps around 105, leaving the house after I get home is out of the question. And it's the mind running amok that gets in the way .. the stopping and taking a drag was a way of refocusing. Hmmmmm
I take a shower. I swear, nothing works as well.
Thank you for dropping by Melissa. I have come up with some great lines while in the shower .. but how do you hang on to that thought until you can get to pen/paper?
I agree with music, given it
s the right mood, and showering, although those thoughts do get slippery (pun intended). I do my best brainstorming while exercising, which might explain the lack of production over the last three years ;) I've now taken to the driveway to shoot basketball or put on the mood music and take a walk. Doesn't always work, but at least I'm doing something slightly productive.
I'm getting the idea that getting up and walking away from the computer is the thing to do? I'm not going outside .. it's 100+ out there.
Sometimes this happens in the middle of a sentence .. guess playing Textwist is the best for that situation.
Do you have a story board? I hear some authors use that to help keep them focused. I guess looking at pictures related to what you're working on helps keep you motivated.
Yes a storyboard does help. Most of the time it's a twist of a phrase or a word that I'm stuck on. I know, I should just write "and they got out of it somehow" (to quote someone else) and keep going.
I listen to music or look at things. Like staring out into a forest. Or out of the train window. They trigger thoughts which can then easily burst into ideas.
Jason, but does it ever pull you from the current topic? I mean, I do that and then find my mind going in tangents that have nothing to do with the WIP in front of me. Part of that is the bipolar, I know, but still ... *sigh*
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