This one’s for all you authors out there!
Stuck in a writing rut? Lost for words? Or are you feeling intimidated by the empty sheet of paper staring blankly up at you?
You might just be in luck. I recently stumbled upon the brilliantly inspiring “12 Day Plan of Simple Writing Exercises” on Writer’s Digest.
I’ve read a lot of articles in my time promising quick literary fixes or miracle cures to heal a bad case of creative block. Often, I end up a little disappointed, feeling I’ve seen the same advice a dozen times before.
But something about the aforementioned piece piqued my interest. It wasn’t one of those writing challenges promising to change my life, or get my novel finished over a weekend. Instead, it was realistically just saying ‘hey, give this ago and maybe in a couple of weeks, you’ll get your creative juices flowing, and it won’t take up much time’. The variety of the prompts in the feature felt refreshing, and the idea of doing a little bit every day was motivational. No excuse not to fit it around the day job!
So, here are the 12 steps I’m planning to take over the next dozen days. I’ll let you know how I get on when the time’s up! Why not give it a try yourself, and keep me posted on how the plan works for you?
Day 1: Write 10 potential book titles of books you’d like to write.
Day 2: Create a character with personality traits of someone you love, but the physical characteristics of someone you don’t care for.
Day 3: Write a setting based on the most beautiful place you’ve ever seen.
Day 4: Write a letter to an agent telling her how wonderful you are.
Day 5: Write a 20-line poem about a memorable moment in your life.
Day 6: Select a book on your shelf and pick two chapters at random. Take the first line of one chapter and the last line of the other chapter and write a short story (no more than 1000 words) using those as bookends to your story.
Day 7: Write a letter to yourself telling you what you need to improve in the coming 6 months.
Day 8: Rewrite a fairy tale from the bad guy’s point of view.
Day 9: Turn on your TV. Write down the first line that you hear and write a story based on it.
Day 10: Go sit in a public place and eavesdrop on a conversation. Turn what you hear into a short love story (no matter how much you have to twist what they say).
Day 11: Write the acknowledgements page that will be placed in your first (next?) published book, thanking all the people who have helped you along the way.
Day 12: Gather everything you’ve written over the previous 11 days. Pick your favourite. Edit it, polish it and either try to get it published or post it on the Web to share with the world. Be proud of yourself and your work.
Cover Girl 