By Suzanne Y. Cordatos
www.suzannecordatos.blogspot.com
Ever have one of those days when your characters run
out of breath and fall flat on the page no matter long you keep at it? When my
fingers sludge instead of dance on the keyboard, and my rear is shape-shifting to the desk
chair, it is time to go on a road trip. Destination? Imagination.
Art Imitates Life – so LIVE! It is the best way to breathe life into your
writing. Do something creative besides writing.
Find a creative project at home or try one from the list below. Include family
members who might feel second fiddle to your characters!
Try these and use your senses as guide: Sights, smells,
sounds, textures, tastes.
·
Museum
Soak in any collection. People watch. Are kids
curious, bored, dragged behind Mom? Is anyone sketching? Are they good? Observe
paintings from a distance and close up. The woman’s hat with a ribbon? It’s a
smudge of color with a curling swipe of black. Simple, isn’t it? Stop at a
craft store on the way home for inexpensive supplies—and try it. How does it
feel to put a paintbrush to canvas? Frustrating? Exhilarating? Do the paints smell
funny? Pretend to be Monet—or one of your characters. How would each react?
·
Hotel Lobby
Take a seat in a fine hotel lobby. Note details in
elegant carpets, gorgeous flower arrangements, uniforms of desk clerks. If they
serve tea, go for it. Select the best dressed guest and imagine you or your
character has an appointment, or is swept off your feet. What happens next?
·
Historical Site
Where I live in New England, you can climb aboard a whaling
ship at Mystic Seaport, listen to sea chanteys and pull on ropes pretending to
be a sailor. The blacksmith’s ring on the anvil and mob caps of Sturbridge
Village churn up historical adventures. Warm your fingers to wood fires and
smell the goose stew cooking at Plimouth Plantation, or card wool in Old
Wethersfield. Your hands feel soft from the lanolin in the wool.
·
City Park or Hiking Trail
A walk and fresh air is all you need. Listen to
leaves rustle. Look for insects lugging a load. What creature might be living
in that hollow tree? What if it needs a friend? What if it wants to go to outer
space?
·
Airport
Even without a passport in hand, a Departure Board at
an international airport is a great Destination Imagination. Rome? Tokyo?
Toledo, Ohio? Who is going where? Business travelers with a purpose? What’s in
the briefcase? Make it up. Any tearful good-byes? Joyful hellos? A family in
matching T-shirts? Make up their emotional reasons. Imagine taking your
characters on a trip. Where and why? Anyone afraid to fly?
·
Memory Lane
If you are housebound or seriously time-crunched,
close your eyes and take yourself there.
What
places take your imagination to
greater heights? Let us know!
hey nice post mehn. I love your style of blogging here. The way you writes reminds me of an equally interesting post that I read some time ago on Daniel Uyi's blog: How Multitasking Affects Our Efficiency And Impacts Productivity .
ReplyDeletekeep up the good work.
Regards
Suzanne, great post! I love to people watch, so your idea for going to the airport is great.Shopping malls, dentist offices, and even coffee shops are good places, too. I also eavesdrop for bits of dialogue. Another good housebound activity is to look at photographs either online or in a magazine and try to write a story about what's going on.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Debbie for your lovely comment! Wonderful idea to look at magazine pics or online photos to make up stories. Good story ideas rarely fall from the sky, but seeds of them are everywhere. Have a great day!
DeleteAnother thought along Debbie's line: collect old photographs from antique stores or family collections that beg for a story to be written about them. My 16-year-old daughter, Amanda, has done that just for fun.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Suzanne! It brings to mind a lot of ideas. Let's not forget to carry along a small notebook to capture the bits of scenery, dialogue, or story that are inspired!
Great ideas, Sonja! Love the idea to use old photos as a story launching pad, and keeping a small notebook handy would save me from scrambling to find the back of a grocery list to scribble on! Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteSuzanne, what great ideas for getting the creative juices flowing. I'll be sharing this post.
ReplyDeleteYou made my day, Karen, and it isn't even 7am yet. Thanks for popping in.
ReplyDelete