Author’s Note:
A couple of months ago, I had a post about generating writing ideas. That post focused on general writing ideas, though, and not creative writing (i.e., poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction). When generating creative writing ideas, my approach is a bit different, but there are some similarities, particularly in my suggestion of keeping a running list of ideas. As with anything related to the writing process, these aren’t hard and fast rules; you have to find what works best for you. What I offer are strategies and tips that I hope will help you in some way.
What should I write? Where do creative writing ideas come from?
Have you ever sat down to write only to find that you couldn’t think of anything to put on the page? And maybe you wonder why you always think of plots, poetic lines, or quirky characters just as you’re falling asleep, yet when you have the time (and motivation) to actually write, such ideas are nowhere to be found.
Trust me–I’ve been there. That’s one reason I love creative writing prompts. Prompts get your mind going in directions that it may not otherwise go. Prompts can spur creativity. But you don’t have to rely on prompts; you can incite your own creativity with three simple steps.
1. Make notes of interesting things you see or hear.
On a walk yesterday, I came upon a dead squirrel in the middle of the sidewalk. I don’t mean to sound macabre, but it was fascinating to me. I don’t think I’ve ever come across a dead squirrel in the middle of a sidewalk before. I’ve seen them on the road, of course, but not on a sidewalk. Just as intriguing was the fact that there was no blood. This squirrel was not mangled in any way. There was no visible sign of how this little guy met its end. Its eyes were open, as was its mouth. I could see a sharp-looking tooth in its mouth, a tooth that looked bigger than my dog’s front teeth.
When I got home from my walk, I wrote down what I had seen—just a few notes about the squirrel. I didn’t do this because I plan on writing about a dead squirrel (although you never know). I did this because this is where a lot of ideas come from: they come from observations. In other words, they can come from literally anywhere.
Creative writing ideas can come from anywhere.
Sometimes it’s an interaction between two people in a café. Other times it’s some bizarre statement you overhear. Eavesdropping–in public places, of course, where there’s no expectation of privacy–is premium fodder for unique writing ideas. In fact, I have been known to sit in a coffee house and make notes of the conversations happening around me. Just bits and pieces–I don’t always hear every word; what I write down, though, doesn’t have to make sense.
Writers tend to be quietly observant, and any observations you make can serve you well when trying to generate ideas. I haven’t stopped thinking of that squirrel. Chances are that I will soon have a story with a squirrel in it.
2. Freewrite, and allow yourself to free-associate.
I talk about freewriting a lot. If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you might even be rolling your eyes and thinking, “Ugh, not again.” But I firmly believe in the usefulness and effectiveness of freewriting. As a teacher, I started most of my class sessions with a five-minute freewriting exercise. There were always a couple of students who didn’t like the activity, but most students found value in it. It’s a great way to get yourself into writing mode. This is especially true if you’ve spent the day doing something utterly unrelated to writing. It can be hard to jump right into a writing activity if you haven’t fully decompressed from some other job or activity.
Squirrel stories?
Seeing that dead squirrel actually induced several memories for me, one as far back as first or second grade. I suddenly recalled a classmate who, on his way to school, had been bitten by a squirrel. It’s these memories and recollections that can form the basis of captivating poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction.
Am I going to write a story about this kid’s encounter with a squirrel 35 years ago? Probably not. But that memory prompted me to recall other details about this kid, details I would never have thought about if I hadn’t come across that dead squirrel on the sidewalk. All the sudden I remembered that this kid was a Baltimore Orioles fan—I remember him talking to another classmate about the Orioles. (And I, not a sports fan, remember that I thought the team name was Baltimore Oreos, which seemed a weird name.) Then, I thought of a few other (more recent) memories that involved squirrels, and, accordingly, I jotted down some quick notes.
Good creative writing is ripe with details.
Good writing is ripe with details. One can invent these details, of course; but it can be helpful to recall a particular person or event that you can fictionalize. Doing so tends to help add a layer of authenticity to the writing. Freewriting is a good way to give rise to specific details, details like what sports team an 8-year-old kid liked 35 years ago.
There are several things I like about freewriting. No one (usually) sees your freewriting. Therefore, this writing can be incoherent; it can lack cohesion. You can use banal word choices and phrasings. No one has to see it. No one will judge. Therefore, it’s a freeing kind of exercise. There is no need to worry about grammar, spelling, or any sort of accuracy.
When you’re ready to write, look at your brief notes about dead squirrels (or possibly another topic). Freewrite. Write down everything that comes to mind on your chosen topic. Sometimes more than one story/poem/creative essay will come out of one freewriting exercise.
Let your mind spin.
As you’re writing, let your mind spin. Let it wander to wherever it wants to go, even if you depart from the topic of squirrels. In fact, freewriting lends itself well to free association. If you write without consciously thinking about what you’re writing, you may actually delve deeper and find more substantial meaning in your thoughts. Surprise yourself with what you have to say.
When I’m writing poems or stories, I often start with just a “nugget” of an idea. In that way, my first drafts are often freewriting exercises in and of themselves. I let the idea lead me instead of trying to lead it. I try to give the idea full control. Letting your subconscious lead you, in fact, has been shown to have researched benefits for creativity.
3. Keep an ongoing list. Don’t discard ideas.
Admittedly, I’m a bit of a “pack rat.” I love going back to things I wrote twenty or thirty years ago and finding tidbits to use in my current writing. I have hundreds of scrap pieces of paper in notebooks and folders–what you might call an “idea well.” My idea well never runs dry. Not every idea interests me at any one time, but as life experiences change, different ideas intrigue me. Therefore, I don’t like to discard ideas. I just keep adding to the well.
Nowadays, I tend to email myself notes and ideas. It takes less than a minute to type a few words into my phone and hit “send,” and I can do it from anywhere. In fact, if I suddenly think of something just as I’m about to fall asleep, I can easily reach over to my phone make the note. I don’t have to get out of bed or turn on a light. My ideas are also a bit more organized this way (and don’t take up as much space as all my scrap pieces of paper). I have a folder in my email titled “Story ideas/notes.” I file all of these self-emailed ideas in that folder. Then, if I’m struggling with ideas, I go to my list.
My list of ideas is long. It’s incomplete. It’s a mess (because I still have all those scraps of paper). But it’s there, always at my disposal. This goes beyond just simply making a note of something interesting like a dead squirrel on the sidewalk; this is an act of compiling. It may be months (or years) before I return to an idea.
Eschew Writer’s Block
I’ve mentioned before that I don’t like the term “writer’s block.” I’m not saying that it doesn’t exist; I just don’t care for the implications, the way it allows writers to place blame for their inability to produce. The process of writing takes many different forms, and we all create at different rates. Comparing one’s productivity to that of someone else is counterproductive and can even be harmful. Work at your own pace. Produce at your own pace. Succeed at your own pace. I believe that so-called writer’s block feeds on stress–the comparison to others. When you feel pressured to write because you think you should, then you can’t. Freewriting is a great tool for “writer’s block” because there’s no pressure for it to be good.
With academic or researched writing, the early steps in the writing process involve writing to learn. The goal is to learn about your topic and focus it in such a way that your writing is also focused. Creative writing is similar–but different. You’re still writing to learn, but you’re writing to learn what your story is. What is the story that you want to tell?
You don’t have to know what you want to say before you start writing. And that, my friends, may be the most liberating thought of all. (Maybe that’s the true beauty of freewriting.) Let your mind spin; let the thoughts come out as they may.
0 Comments