I is for Idea Generators by Susan Barclay

 

I is not the easiest letter to work with as a blog prompt, so when you’re awake at 2 in the morning, struggling to sleep, the mind works. It generates ideas. (See what I did there? This month’s topic is idea generators!)

As writers sometimes the hardest part is getting started. We can certainly ask the Lord what He wants us to write about and expect Him to answer, yet when He seems silent and we want to keep writing while we wait on Him, we can turn to other sources to ignite our brains, our pens, our fingers on the keyboard.

Search the term ‘writing idea generator’ or ‘creative writing prompts’ on the Internet and you’ll get plenty of hits, including this one where you can also submit your completed story. Some sites require you to sign up or pay for premium service, so it’s worth exploring to find the site that best suits your needs.

Of course, you don’t need to turn to the Internet for ideas, even as You wait on divine direction. Here are a few other potentially stimulating exercises:

1. Go to your favourite people-watching place. Listen and watch. Ask yourself questions about the people you see and the lives they live. As you catch snippets of conversations, consider what might be said next, what might happen next in their stories. Ask ‘what if’ questions: what if the single mom on whom the family income depends breaks her ankle? What if the irritable man has just learned that his family won’t be able to join him in Canada as soon as he’d expected? What if the boy who is clinging to his mother is being bullied at school? Make notes. If you’re anything like me, you’ll forget your best ideas if they’re not written down.

2. Take a walk in your neighbourhood or nearby natural area. Take your camera or use your phone to take pictures. At home or sitting on a park bench, look through your photos and use the ones that speak to you as prompts for a poem, short story, or other piece of work.

3. Write something that offers immediate gratification: a poem, a piece of flash fiction, one perfect sentence, a devotional, a short short story, a journal entry, a monologue. See if any of it can be fleshed out into something more lengthy or if it generates yet another writing idea.

4. Copy the work of an author whose style you admire. Write out the opening page or pages of a favourite novel or work of non-fiction. What is it that you like? Try to capture the tone in a piece of your own.

5. All real writers read. If you’ve sought the Lord, tried the above exercises, and are still struggling to write something that excites you, read for the sheer pleasure of reading. Reading is good for the mind. Reading is relaxing, refreshing, and restorative. It’s good for the soul. And as Jim Rohn is quoted as saying, “Reading is essential for those who seek to rise above the ordinary.”

If this post inspired you and gave you some ideas, I’d love to hear about it in the comments!

 

___________________

For more about Susan Barclay and her writing, please visit www.susan-barclay.blogspot.com.

9 Notable Gratitude Writing Prompts by Bob Jones

Over thirty years ago, motivational speaker, Zig Ziglar, challenged me to be a good finder. To become the kind of person who consistently looks for the good in situations and people. It’s easy to see the bad and act like a critic. You have to look a little longer and dig a little deeper to find the good.

 

Mr. Franklin Holmes was a volunteer chaplain working in prisons in Tennessee, Georgia, and Florida. He taught a program in those prisons about the importance of looking for the good in every situation. Those men and women took his prompt seriously. They came up with over thirty things they were grateful for about the place where they were incarcerated.

 

Sometimes find good just takes is a little prompting. Notice things you like to do, the people you get to do life with, and the opportunities life presents. Some of the observed good will not only be inspiring but useful as subjects for articles. If any of the following prompts create a path for you, I’ll be grateful.

 

NINE PROMPTS + A BONUS

 

ONE / Write about an act of kindness from another person.

This could be an act of kindness from a good neighbour, friend, co-worker, family member, or even a total stranger. This might be a small thing. Sometimes small things at the right time make the biggest difference.

 

TWO / Write about something that brightens your day when you’re feeling down.

Is there something that lights you up on a bad day? Describe it and write about why or how it makes you feel better.

 

THREE / Describe your favorite time of the day.

What is it and why is it your favorite time? When we focus on small moments, we recognize the importance of each day. Think about the day you are having now. What is special to you?

 

FOUR / List 4 things you are grateful for today.

It doesn’t matter if these are small things. List them. I had a simple, daily gratitude habit. Every morning I arrived on campus at the church I served for 29 years, I thanked God for the opportunity. This prompt started me on a positive note every day.

 

FIVE / Describe your favourite person and list all of that person’s good qualities.

Who is the person? Write about one or more of those qualities.This prompt pushes you to not take people for granted and to appreciate those around you.

 

SIX / Recall a success you had. Write a one paragraph thank you speech describing who helped you achieve the success. 

Identify one person who helped you reach that goal.  What did they do and how did their action contribute to your success? After writing your speech, share it with the person who helped you succeed.

 

SEVEN / Write about your favourite hobby.

What is your hobby? What about it makes it good? How does your hobby make you feel?

 

EIGHT / Write about something you did to make someone happy today.

See the good in what you did today. Describe how what you did made the other person feel. Be thankful that you could reach out and make someone else feel joy.

 

NINE / Write about something good you saw in your church or how your church is a blessing to your community.

Are there volunteers who stand out for their faithfulness and second mile kind of attitude? Is there a program that helps people? Write about the impact it has on you. 

 

BONUS / Write about a pet and what makes or perhaps made the pet special.

The pet could be yours or another person’s. Maybe it’s a pet you see a few times a year on special family occasions. What makes that pet special? How does the pet make you feel?

Are you grateful for writing prompts? Do you have a favourite source for prompts?

 

Thank you for reading.

 

Follow Bob’s writing at REVwords. 

When We Listen by Steph Beth Nickel

When the words mean even more than the writer knew they meant,

then the writer has been listening.

And sometimes when we listen, we are led into places we do not expect,

into adventures we do not always understand.

Madeleine L’Engle

“Rambling until I stumble across truth.” That’s how I refer to journaling.

Sometimes, we simply have to “shake loose” those “places we do not expect,” those “adventures we do not always understand.”

They live within us. Sometimes on the surface. Sometimes buried deep within.

Have your own words ever surprised you? Have they jumped off the page as if that truth, that question, that reality was just waiting to see the light of day? Have those words ever inspired a blog post? A talk? An entire book?

Before we explore further, I want to let you know I’m not talking about perfectly polished prose. I’m referring to that sentence or phrase that flows from the tip of your pen or from your fingertips without forethought.

Yes, we have to “kill our darlings.” Not everything we think is profound and inspirational is meant for anyone besides ourselves. But let’s not deny the importance of words that are just for us either. 

How can we invite these words to impact our lives? How can we travel to those places and have those adventures Madeline L’Engle referred to? How can we listen?

1. Before you sit down to write, do your best to set aside distractions. Focus singularly on the task at hand. If you haven’t already, develop a pre-writing routine that triggers the “it’s-time-to-write” mindset.
2. Practice what Julia Cameron calls “morning pages.” Just put pen to paper first thing in the morning and write three pages to rid your mind of the clutter that you’ve accumulated. No judgment and no rewrites allowed. This is the ultimate info dump. Still, you may find gold among the dross.
3. Similarly, you can freewrite regularly. Choose a writing prompt or come up with one of your own. Set a timer. And write as fast as you can. Again, it’s important to silence your inner editor. You may discover an idea you want to pursue.
4. Try your hand at a genre or form of writing that is new to you. While it may frustrate more than inspire, there is a chance that looking at things from a different perspective is just what you need.
5. Go on an “artist’s date.” (This is another of Julia Cameron’s recommendations.) Do something that inspires you. Even in these days of social distancing and lockdowns, you can take a walk, snap some pictures, peruse Pinterest for inspiring images. (When the restrictions lift, you may want to grab a coffee with a friend, wander through your local art gallery, or curl up in a corner at the library and read a book.)

How do you “listen” before, during, and after you write? Have you travelled to unexpected places because of your writing? Have you had adventures you hadn’t understood before certain words flowed from your fingertips?

Steph Beth Nickel began freelance editing over 13 years ago and is currently taking new clients. You can contact her at nurtureandinspire@gmail.com To join her Editing Tips Facebook group, answer the questions here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/418423519384351 Glad to have you join us! Steph is also a blogger, author—and a labour doula. 

Tools to Keep You on Course by Susan Barclay

I can't find it in the archives here, but I was certain I'd written about this before. I was hoping I could just direct you to the original post since nothing has changed (insert smiley-face). 

Here's the list:

First there are the physical tools: the writing instruments (pen, paper, computer, laptop, tablet) and the space you write in (separate office, niche in one of the room's of your dwelling place, library, cafe). Do you write best with or without music/background noise? Can you write in a cluttered environment or must it be clean and tidy? Make sure you have what you need before you get started - many of us writers are easily distracted!

Now onto the books and online resources:

The Writers' Market - specific guides for different types of writing: poetry, novels and short stories, material for children. These tools provide helpful articles as well as a variety of places you can send your work and agents who can help you with the submission process.

Writer's Digest Magazine - a monthly publication with helpful articles, columns, writing prompts, and contests. Also the Writer's Digest website.

The Inscribe website and listserv. Maximize your membership by utilizing these and reading the current issue of Fellowscript, which contains articles by the members as well as columns, contests and market information.

The best book on writing I've read so far is Self-Editing for Fiction Writers: How to Edit Yourself into Print by Rennie Browne and Dave King. It's been a long time since I read it, but I found full of  helpful advice for the revision process.

Participation in writers' groups. I've been part of a writers' group for fourteen years now and nothing beats the feedback and encouragement of fellow sojourners who know a thing or two about the writing and publishing processes. If you can't get together with writers in your local area (every Fellowscript issue lists Inscribe writers' groups), try to find an online critique partner and shoot your work back and forth. Nothing has improved my writing more than the practice and discipline of writing and receiving constructive criticism.

 Most importantly for writers who are Christian: be in God's Word daily and be in prayer. We want to be in the centre of God's will for our lives and for our writing. We can't be either if we're not connecting with Him. As it says in the notes of my Transformation Study Bible (Warren Wiersbe, NLT), 

"Our relationship to the Word of God indicates our relationship to the God of the Word."  

If our writing isn't going well, it's possible that we have gone off-centre and God wants us to refocus our attention on Him and what He wants.
____________

Post-script: I still haven't gotten around to reading Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way, but I recently noticed a couple of other books in the form of guided journals: 300 Writing Prompts and Complete the Story. These look like fun resources to get the creative juices flowing!
_____________
Please visit my personal website at www.susan-barclay.blogspot.ca

Writing Outside the Box – by Ramona Heikel

Writing prompts, which are by their very nature “fresh” and different, help me to stay out of a writing rut.  The ones I like the best have variety built into them: different genres, subjects, formats, tones and approaches.  Some are intended to inspire new material for a current project, and others are tools for exploring a completely new piece.   

One of my favorite writing books is The Write Brain Workout, which has a new prompt on each page, and is full of large color images (I’ve included three here), which automatically rev up my creativity and sense of fun.

I haven’t always, but lately I’ve been forcing myself to do each writing prompt in order, whether it’s one that appeals to me or not.   

On a recent holiday / writing retreat, I ended up writing a piece that left the character no choice but to dredge up sad and difficult memories.  I guarantee that I would not have chosen to do that on my own!  I resisted at first, but felt it was necessary to write outside of the box, and I’m actually glad I did.

 

 Also on my holiday, I wrote pieces guided by the following prompts from two other favorite books, Creative Writing Activities and The Writer’s Book of Matches:

“Well, to be honest, I just threw it away.”

Write a make-believe conversation between you and something in nature.

“Why do you have ten jars of Easy Cheese in your cart?”

Who knows what these short starts will turn into?   

They may go nowhere.   

But they gave hours of enjoyment, made me think deeper than usual, and did a lot to shake the dust off my creativity!

 

Posted by Ramona

www.happilywriting.com

 

The Hope of Creating Something Beautiful – by Ramona Heikel

I love watching others create beauty in sight, sound or motion. In the past year or so, I have enjoyed Shakespeare in the Park; small jazz and oldies bands; our high school musical production of Cinderella; a gallery of Dr. Seuss art; watching and joining in a folk dance; and the Museum of Miniatures, Dolls and Toys.  In each experience, I marveled at the talent and inspiration behind them, and grew excited to work on my own artistic pursuits.

Miniature kitchen from the Denver Museum of Miniatures, Dolls and Toys

Taking pictures while hiking or walking in a natural area clears my mind and fills it with the beauty of the micro and the macro--with few other thoughts--for hours.  Although it’s not my intention when I leave home with a camera, that focus and calm opens up my heart to creative inspiration.  As a bonus, it leaves me with possibilities to create something that will bring joy and gratitude to someone else, such as making my own greeting cards, or posting photos of God’s creative work on a website.

So I seek out the creativity of others for the sheer enjoyment of it.  And that often inspires my own creativity.  Maybe, I am also at the same time unintentionally, subconsciously seeking out opportunities to fill my artistic well, that author Julia Cameron writes about in The Artist’s Way.  Either way, it works!

I think my focus on writing, above all other arts, is inspired by that same desire to create something beautiful.  In this case, I want to create something beautiful in the mind of the one who reads it.  Originally, that first person was me.  I noticed this when I wrote some novels.  At the time, I couldn’t find what I wanted to read in others’ novels, so I tried writing one myself.  (Not as proficiently as most other writers, of course!  And I have since found more and more fiction authors who write exactly what I want to read.)

Flickr photo of Fish Creek Library by Raul Pacheco-Vega

My most consistent writing “date", especially in the cold months, is a trip to my local library.  The vastness of the open-air design and the 3-story-high windows welcome the sun’s rays and blue sky, or the calming sight of falling snow.  It satisfies my mid-winter longing for wide-open spaces, without having to fight the cold.  I spend some time people watching, studying the children playing with the life-sized chess game or the new colorful piano, and checking the New and Notables racks.  I may even make a trip up the three flights of stairs to the top floor to get some deep breaths and blood circulation.  Finally, I head to the 808.02 section to see if there are writing books I haven’t seen before.  By then my goal is to find an interesting writing prompt and a cushy chair near a window.

All of the people I’ve seen and conversations I’ve heard and inspiration I’ve inhaled have awakened my heart, senses, and mind.  Thoughts and ideas come streaming out, and I’m learning to let the words flow —without filtering, analyzing or editing. Any day that includes this kind of pure, joyful, open writing, with the hope of creating something beautiful, is a successful day!

Posted by Ramona

www.happilywriting.com

A Writer's Book of Days, A Review by Brenda Leyland

A Writer's Book of Days
A Spirited Companion & Lively Muse for the Writing Life

By Judy Reeves
New World Library, CA © 1999, 2010

Who among us has not had a season or two (perhaps even three) in our writing lives when we've needed to rely on a Writing Prompt to help us get our pens or keyboards started as we faced that blank page... or a blank mind?

Such a tool is invaluable, also, when starting out as a novice writer, for the regular use of prompts can help to establish the habit of writing. And, what a treasure when a writing prompt of a single word, a short phrase, or a picture becomes the delightful catalyst for hammering out new ideas or producing worthwhile material that can be used for a current or future work in progress.

That's why I recommend A Writer’s Book of Days by Judy Reeves. The author has compiled a valuable source of interesting prompts (one for every day of the year), inspiring exercises, and practical suggestions, not to mention good advice, literary anecdotes, and ideas gleaned from the author's own writing experiences -- both personally and as a long-time workshop leader.

Divided into monthly chapters, each month focuses on a specific guideline. For instance, September's guideline is Write Specific Details, October's is Write What Matters, and November's is Read Your Writing Aloud.

Even though the material is broken into monthly segments, you can jump in anywhere as each section can stand alone. You can use the current day's prompt to kick start your writing session for the day, use it to practice your writing skills (as a musician would practice her scales), or use the book to establish a regular habit of writing by following it for a year or even a single month.

First written in 1999, the book was revised in 2010 and has been named one of the five hottest writing books by Writer's Digest. 

You can check out the author's website for more information. Do take a minute to watch the inspirational trailer for A Writer's Book of Days. After you watch it, you might even feel 'prompted' to go find the book for yourself. It's available in paperback or e-book.

Brenda Leyland, long-time InScribe member, happily blogs at It's A Beautiful Life and is currently working on her first non-fiction book, a memoir.

DIY Writing Retreats – Ramona Heikel

Is there anything that sounds more delicious to a writer than a writing retreat? I think it must be our version of a decadent chocolate dessert. An opportunity for time away from the cares of the world in a quiet, beautiful hideaway, inviting you to work on your novel, poetry or another favorite piece—ahhhh.

But have you considered a day-retreat, or a mini-retreat, at home? It may sound a bit disappointing to hang around your own familiar digs, and call it a retreat. But when you custom-make the schedule and activities for your own priorities and enjoyment, you can have so much fun you can’t help but have a great day (and compose some great work)! I have found these little breaks to be refreshing and satisfying, putting the creativity back into my writing.

Below are outlines for two do-it-yourself writing retreats, based on a mini-retreat I did with a writer's group. One of the joys of a retreat is having someone else take care of your meal and snacks, so prepare drinks and a lunch in advance so you don’t have to “work” in the middle of your inspiring day.

Part of the enjoyment of the day is leisurely reading from some inspirational and educational articles or books, so gather some things the day before that you’ve been anxious to read. Find some quick, easy writing prompts or exercises that look like fun and have those handy as well.

Suggested schedule for a Mini Writing Retreat

10:00 – 10:05     Prayer, quiet your mind
10:05 – 10:15    Do a writing exercise
10:15 – 11:00    Read from articles or books that inspire and encourage
                          your writing
11:00 – 11:10    Coffee/tea break, move around, relax and clear your mind
11:10 – 12:00    Think about, then write your vision or goals as a writer
12:00 – 12:45    Lunch Break

12:45 – 1:00     Do a writing exercise
1:00 – 1:30       Read from articles or books about the craft of writing
1:30 – 2:30      Write a short story, poem or article related to one of your
                         writing exercises
2:30 – 2:45      Coffee/tea break, move around, relax and clear your mind
2:45 – 3:30      Write an article or scene of how you want your writing to
                         affect someone

“Kid Day” – A Mini Writing Retreat for Children’s Writers
Based on the above, but you’re focusing on being a kid today,
so keep it simple and fun!

10:00 – 10:05     Prayer, quiet your mind
10:05 – 10:30     Create a setting for a story from Play-Doh or modeling clay
10:30 – 11:00     Do a writing exercise from a writing book for children
11:00 – 11:10     Shake your sillies out, juice break
11:10 – 12:15     Using several colors of pencil crayons or markers,

                           write a poem in the shape of a rainbow

12:15 – 1:00      Lunch Break
1:00 – 1:15        Do a writing exercise from a writing book for children
1:15 – 2:00        Read a fairy tale, a picture book, or a short children’s book
2:00 – 3:00        Write your own short fairy tale, picture book, or children’s story
3:00 – 3:10        Shake your sillies out, milk and cookies break
3:10 – 4:00        Sing a children’s song and do all the actions,

                          then use it as the basis for a writing prompt

Try one of these, and have fun!


Posted by Ramona
www.happilywriting.com

Creativity Boosters - Ramona Heikel

This summer I had the unusual experience of seeing two short stories published. I had drafted both of them in the same month, and both were based upon writing prompts from the same book. I’ve been wondering what was so magical about the situation that produced two successes, compared to my many other stories that have never seen the light of day. Here’s what I’ve learned.

Nothing Else to Do but Write

For the whole month of August 2007 I was in Denver visiting relatives. I had the most luxurious schedule: write in the morning, socialize and help with meals the rest of the day, and go to bed early. What made this a uniquely productive time was that I was practically forced to write in the mornings because, for various reasons, I had nothing else I could do, except check my emails. I hadn’t experienced this kind of freedom since I was a teenager, when I was my most productive with writing and drawing.

Head Space

This circumstance not only provided me with time, it also freed up my thoughts. Suddenly life was simple. I had few decisions to mull over, since each day was a pre-planned routine, and had few interruptions in my morning solitude. I could write in bed before I got up (a very imaginative time of day), eat a snack if I was hungry, and walk in the park. All of these quieted my mind.

 

Jumping off with Writing Prompts

What to write? Often I like to get started by using a writing prompt. Launching without any idea whatsoever is like pushing a car. Beginning with a kernel of an idea is like turning the key in the ignition and letting off the brake. I also enjoy playing. Allowing my mind to toy with a character or a predicament is like recess at school: carefree, energetic and full of laughter. If that prompt doesn’t inspire me, I turn the page to the next prompt. (By the way, the book I used, and still use, is The Writer’s Book of Matches.)

Enjoying the Story and Characters

I wrote about six short stories that month, but only three of them stayed with me after I returned home, and those were the ones that made me smile. The scenes in these stories were places I wanted to be and the characters were people I liked. Their interactions were light-hearted and gentle and the conflicts were everyday relationship concerns, not the threat of evil, harm or catastrophe. It was a pleasure—not a chore—to return to these stories and tweak them over the years. It’s the same concept as finding a type of exercise you like to do so you will keep coming back to it, ultimately having success in keeping healthy.

It was a rare opportunity to have all four of those conditions come together at one time. But it helps to keep in mind how much they can boost our inspiration. We can try to facilitate at least one or two of them as often as possible, which I know will make a big difference in our creativity.

Here’s wishing you all four of the above!

(If you want to know more about the stories and where they were published, you can visit my Happily Writing blog posts for each story: “InclementWeather” and “I Guess I Robbed a Bank”.)

Posted by Ramona
www.happilywriting.com