BY ELIZABETH GILLILAND
For people who claim to love to write, we writers sure are good at finding ways to get out of it, aren’t we? No sooner do we sit down then it suddenly becomes imperative to check our email. Or put away the dishes. Or rearrange the furniture. And don’t even get me started on facebook.
Virtually any writing website or instructional book will stress the importance of putting aside time on a regular basis to do some writing. Even if the laundry’s piling up. Even if—and especially when—the words aren’t coming as quickly or eloquently as we’d want them to. So how can you train yourself to put in the time when you aren’t feeling particularly motivated?
Just like when running a race or hitting the gym, your writing stint can run a lot smoother if you put in a little warm-up time to get yourself into the right groove. Here are a few ways I like to get my creative juices flowing.
1. Get Physical. I know, part of the glamor of writing is living in a world built entirely of imagination, but there’s no denying there’s a real connection between creativity and physical activity. As strange as it sounds, choosing something repetitive where you can shut off your brain for a bit—e.g., running a track or swimming laps—can allow you to hammer out some plot points before you sit down behind your keyboard. My favorite is to go on a nice long walk and listen to music that complements whatever story I’m working on at the moment. Which leads to . . .
2. Pump Up the Volume. I like to create a playlist for pretty much whatever I’m working on. Much like setting the tone for a romantic date, the right music can shoot you straight into the middle of your story. I personally prefer to listen to film scores as I’m writing, though I’ll branch out to more mainstream, lyric-y stuff when I’m brainstorming or revising. Some great resources for this are Pandora.com, 8tracks.com, or your local library, which will more than likely stock various movie soundtracks. As a bonus, try out one of my favorites, rainymood.com, which will give you all the romance of an insta-rainstorm right at your fingertips.
3. Soap Up. Aside from keeping you clean and helping you avoid the stereotype of the author in the tatty, smelly bathrobe (unless that happens to be your writing uniform of choice, in which case, Godspeed), a shower, much like exercise, can be a great place to get some private, quiet alone time where you can shut off your brain and do some serious plotting. Some of my best eureka moments have happened while lathering, rinsing, and repeating.
4. Branch Out. You may not have picked up a paintbrush since your middle school art class, but if you find yourself stuck in a word rut, turning to a different creative outlet can help clear out some of the clogs. Sketch. Paint a picture. Play the piano. I personally like to create complementary pieces to whatever I’m working on—a song that has some of the same themes, a portrait of one of my characters. I’m not going to be quitting my day job anytime soon, but it’s a fun way to get your artistic groove going.
5. Click Here. The Internet can be a dangerous time-waster, especially if there are any baby animals involved. But in small, carefully measured doses, it can also be a great source of inspiration. Youtube, tumblr, and Pinterest can all help put you in the right mood by exploring artwork and music videos with similar themes to your own work, but make sure to give yourself a time limit so you don’t spend all of your writing period surfin’ the net.
6. Read, Read, and Read Some More. It might seem counterintuitive to spend any free time you might have devoted to writing studying someone else’s work, but reading is one of the best ways to open up those creative doors. You can take notes from the masters, learn what not to do from the writing that you don’t particularly enjoy, and train yourself to recognize the rhythm of polished fiction. Plus, you can call a date with Mr. Darcy research—a win all around!
These are just a few ways that I like to get myself in the creative mood. What are your favorite pre-writing warm ups?
Editor, ghost writer, and story coach Elizabeth Gilliland is back at The X working her word magic. Her next project, Conjectrix, the sequel to Vivatera by Candace J. Thomas, will be released in the spring, 2014.
Elizabeth’s short story “Mouse and Cat” appeared in A Dash of Madness: a Thriller Anthology publishined in July 2013.