I was recently on a little sabbatical from work and spent part of those six weeks attempting to do something I’ve never done before: write fiction. About 90% of what I read is fiction, but I never think to write it, perhaps because I’ve always had a bit of an identity issue when it comes to creating a protagonist. But now I’m finally feeling more empowered to figure out who my main character might be and what their voice might sound like.
Turns out, though, that making up stories is hard. In my daily work I do plenty of writing, but never do I have to come up with scenes, conjure up dialogue, or flesh out characters. Every bit of the story has to be pulled out of thin air, every idea fully imagined. There are no notes to draw from, no source material to repurpose. Quite frankly, it can be exhausting, particularly for someone like me, who largely writes articles, essays, and other fact-based pieces.
After a few days of struggling to make my brain perform this new trick, however, I started to get into a groove. And there are some actions I’ve discovered that nearly always get my creative juices flowing. Here are a few of the things that have been working for me, in case they might work for you too!
Get all your chores out of the way. In case you missed it, Brooke and I recently interviewed meditation coach Kelsa DeBrabant on our Dear Fiction podcast about how to boost creativity with meditation. During the conversation, Kelsa had lots of advice on how to set yourself up for success for ideating, and my biggest takeaway was something really simple: Get your daily housework done first. You’ll feel more relaxed about sitting down and writing if you don’t have small chores like starting the laundry or emptying the dishwasher hanging over you. And, as Kelsa says, once you enter that fertile, creative state of mind, you won’t want anything distracting you from staying there for as long as you can.
Re-read parts of a book you want to emulate. I keep a short stack of books whose general style and voice are what I want to mimic in my own writing, and sometimes, before I start to write, I spend 15 minutes re-reading a random chapter. It almost always opens the creative floodgates and puts me on a path to being productive. Something about hearing another writer’s voice in my head — their cadence, the way they set up dialogue, the words and literary devices they choose — really motivates me and spurs me to find my own voice.
Keep a notebook by your bed and refer back to it. I don’t know if all writers are like this, but I do a lot of my best writing while trying to fall asleep. In the dark, my mind will switch over to creative mode and I’ll start thinking as if I’m typing out words. Whole scenes will flow forth, entire conversations will surface. The only problem is, I’m not actually at my computer and, in fact, I’m supposed to be winding down for bed, but the creativity gods don’t care. That’s when the notebook and pen that I keep in my nightstand drawer come in handy. I jot down the juiciest bits to get them out of my mind and onto paper, and then try to decipher and expound on those scribbles in the morning.
Rework already written parts. Editing comes easily to me — much more easily than writing — so sometimes when the words aren’t pouring onto the page, I’ll spend some time reworking sections I’ve already written. I’m at least immersed in the world of my characters and doing something to improve the story, so that always feels like a step in the right direction. And sometimes, if I’m lucky, re-reading these written scenes will be the impetus for creating new ones, and I’ll slip into writing mode.
Talk it out with someone. Every writer should have a sounding board, whether it’s a friend, family member, or writing group. Synergy is real, and it’s really hard — at least for me — to write in a vacuum. This other person may have great ideas to contribute, or they may be awesome at providing encouragement or affirmation. But often I find that the value of this other person is their mere presence — just talking things out with another human being can unblock your mind or make you visualize situations from a different angle.
All this being said, perhaps the greatest way to get your creative juices flowing is to simply give yourself a chance to write. To that end, I’ll be taking a break from contributing to Dear Fiction for the next few weeks to make more time for fiction writing. It might take months (or, more likely, years!) for me to get to the end of this personal project, but if I don’t make the time, it’ll definitely never get done. Wish me luck! And happy reading and writing this summer!
Yay! Congrats in taking the courageous leap. Also, don't forget about the mindfulness awareness practice from the podcast! Tune into a sense of expansive awareness of yourself and your surroundings, rather than the thoughts and details of the moment as a way to reset and enter into the fertile void :) xx
Haha my creative gods also don’t care about bedtime, or chores for that matter, but I do find reading a book I admire right before writing useful and sometimes I meditate or microdose LSD or Ritalin before I write. Writing is fun already, but when you’re really in the zone, it’s even better!