NO MORE WRITER'S BLOCK
by Stu Leventhal
Every now and then even the most accomplished authors need some help to jog their minds into action. Writing Prompts are where the Pro Writers turn!
We live in hectic times and many creative writers, bloggers, authors, copy writers would like to be able to take more advantage of their unexpected moments of free time, when they present themselves, for writing purposes. But, it is not always easy for us scribes to just turn our imaginations on and off at will, like one does a light switch.
Writing prompts are things that prod and spur our creative genius into functioning vigorously. Anything can act as a thought stimulus or idea mechanism to mobilize a creative writer into thinking and writing modes.
For example, a writer suffering from a spell of the dreaded writers’ block syndrome could try playing some inspiring jazz music loudly to jar his mind into operation.
Sometimes doing anything that takes one’s mind completely off of the writing problem or writing task for a short spell of time will help renew a writer’s creative energy. When the wordsmith returns, after enjoying a quick break, to resume their writing and creative endeavors they are refreshed and can thus think more clearly and concentrate.
Reading other author’s works can give us motivation. Quality poetry is inspirational, especially rhymes and metered poems. Poems are designed to make us think and contemplate deeply.
The idea is to stop trying so hard to create; give your mind a quick rest so it can rejuvenate. When you come back to resume working again, first engage in some quick activity that’s purpose is to induce, stimulate, arouse and elevate your inner muse to perform at a very high elevated level. Anything that makes us start thinking and pondering even if it has nothing at all to do with our writing topic or project can be an idea generator and writing fertilizer.
Usually if we can rouse our curiosity or challenge our brain with a problem or question that we have to puzzle out; we can kick start the creative process! Throwing our brains into high gear is the goal.
When we sit down to write, sometimes the pressure to accomplish something of value, fast will immediately freeze our minds. When we cannot think quickly or artistically we get frustrated. To stir up some new valuable thoughts worth writing about, it is often helpful for an author, poet, web content writer or creative writer to have some trigger stimulus already prepared in advance just for this situation. Choose things that you know from previous writing fixes that have helped to get you out of a writing funk or draught in the past.
Some writers find it valuable to carry with them a pocket size dictionary; words after all are the building materials of the scribe’s art. Just opening up to any random page then skim and glance at whatever words come into view. Many words you know intimately. Read a definition of a word you do not know then another then another. Soon you discover you are thinking, vigorously, about all sorts of things seemingly all at once. Close the dictionary; you’re warmed up. It’s time to direct your mind’s efforts towards your task at hand.
Good writing prompts are more than just writing suggestions taken from our list of compiled new creative writing project possibilities or writing ideas that all serious writers should always have on a list nearby, on their person or at least within easy access. The best writing prompts set our writing process into motion and generate unique thought and high degrees of creativity.
Successful writing prompts are not suggested starts for new writing projects or a list of short summaries or notes on writing ideas to get us thinking about our topic. Creative Writing Prompts are meant to end a composer’s writing inertia and creative stiffness.
Good writing prompts have to unblock and unclog our word weaving minds so we are again, consciously in control of our thinking and our imagination and thus can resume slinging words focused on whatever writing task is at hand!
A news reporter, Hollywood Dramatist, Ad craftsman needs to be in command of his or her literary skills so he or she can practice their wordsmithing craft when they wish and how they wish. Being at the mercy of a psychic road block when you have a writing deadline to meet is no fun!
Can you see why having a list of new writing project starts is only good if you have no specific writing project you have to get done? Bloggers, journalists, novelists, essayists need to be able to work on the writing assignment that is due to be turned into their bosses next. Our reputation as a pro linguist is at stake. Even student writers do not have the luxury to only write when the writing spirit takes hold of them. Professors want their homework, essays, reports turned in on time as do editors and publishers!
Being in control of your creative skill is what separated the pro writers from the amateurs.
Many writes have had success summoning their creative muse, seemingly at will, with this exercise. Wherever you are, outdoors or indoors, simply take a fleeting moment to just glance around you with the sole purpose of choosing and rating the five most wonderful things in plain sight. Rate fast! Valuing things within your vision forces you to wonder why you placed more worth on one item instead of another.
You’ll wonder what your spouse or best friend or parent would say about your choices. What would a job hiring interviewer make of your five top choices, how about a psychiatrist? Imagine having a conversation with your favorite sports hero, politician or celebrity during which they judge you based only on your five choices? How would you defend your choices? Now your mind is working!
Real writers do not have to get themselves into the proper mood to write. They are compelled to write! But everyone needs to discipline themselves to focus their craft, skill, thoughts and efforts in order to achieve something great.
Writing is when writers are happiest. But that does not mean the words ever flow easy or that great writing is not hard work, tedious, frustrating and gut wrenching! Still, given the choice, most writers wouldn’t have it any other way.
Writing block strikes when we are trying to think too hard. But we also cannot always just write about whatever pops into our heads. A creative writer’s art has to be disciplined in order to make money with our composing. Most of the time, when our mind jams up, we have a writing job already under way that we are having problems completing or we cannot think our way out of a tricky writing wrong turn or a seemingly, dead end spot.
This is when we need to take our mind off of the problem at hand so we can sort of reboot our brains. The writing prompt exercise is a diversion which clears our heads then get us thinking strongly again when we return to write; sort of like a quick warming up session that an athlete undergoes to prepare, before participating in a sporting event.
The good writing prompt helps the writer tune out the world’s noise and distractions so they can get into their writing zone where the magic happens.
When playwrights, copywriters, ink slingers and web content creators are having writing difficulties and word producing problems ideally we want to try to focus our energy on anything other than the writing deed needed to get done. Creative writing prompts get our motor running, build our confidence again and start the ideas churning when we are ready to resume working.
Writing prompts psych us up so we are mentally prepared to sit down and tackle our most difficult writing challenges. They are not old brainstorming notes that we look over for ideas; they are brainstorming incentives, writing motivators and though provokers!
Remember a prepared creative writer has writing and idea prompters available to him or her, at all times, just in case. These wordsmithing prompts or literature writing stimuli are not writing suggestions or writing idea hints or beginnings, although those are good to have on hand too. These writing prompters are powerful thought arousing mechanisms that excite our minds into working at their highest level possible! They are very personal motivators and thus unique to every author.
The purpose writing prompts are to inflame an author’s brain and jolt the thought process into contemplating and reasoning at optimum levels!
Writing prompts are used by romance writers, mystery writers, sci-fi authors...
Do not think of writing prompts as a cheat sheet for ideas, visions or notions; they are meant to get your mind’s engine working on all pistons not to give you a head start on a writing assignment. Writing Prompts warm up our minds and then we tell our mind what to concentrate on and work on! Writing prompts help give us control over our creative muse, so our muse is working for us instead of us jumping through hoops for our muse.
An author, poet, song lyricist who cannot sit down and create whenever the opportunity presents itself, as well as tackle the writing task he or she wishes to work on, would be severely handicapped and unable to complete writing assignments on schedule and timely!
Writing prompts help Fiction and nonfiction authors to think, create and compose their very best writing work consistently and quickly! When wise writers need a pick-me-up they do not rush off to purchase or brew some caffeine rich beverage like coffee; they rely on their pre-prepared writing prompts to stir and revitalize their imaginations!
We live in hectic times and many creative writers, bloggers, authors, copy writers would like to be able to take more advantage of their unexpected moments of free time, when they present themselves, for writing purposes. But, it is not always easy for us scribes to just turn our imaginations on and off at will, like one does a light switch.
Writing prompts are things that prod and spur our creative genius into functioning vigorously. Anything can act as a thought stimulus or idea mechanism to mobilize a creative writer into thinking and writing modes.
For example, a writer suffering from a spell of the dreaded writers’ block syndrome could try playing some inspiring jazz music loudly to jar his mind into operation.
Sometimes doing anything that takes one’s mind completely off of the writing problem or writing task for a short spell of time will help renew a writer’s creative energy. When the wordsmith returns, after enjoying a quick break, to resume their writing and creative endeavors they are refreshed and can thus think more clearly and concentrate.
Reading other author’s works can give us motivation. Quality poetry is inspirational, especially rhymes and metered poems. Poems are designed to make us think and contemplate deeply.
The idea is to stop trying so hard to create; give your mind a quick rest so it can rejuvenate. When you come back to resume working again, first engage in some quick activity that’s purpose is to induce, stimulate, arouse and elevate your inner muse to perform at a very high elevated level. Anything that makes us start thinking and pondering even if it has nothing at all to do with our writing topic or project can be an idea generator and writing fertilizer.
Usually if we can rouse our curiosity or challenge our brain with a problem or question that we have to puzzle out; we can kick start the creative process! Throwing our brains into high gear is the goal.
When we sit down to write, sometimes the pressure to accomplish something of value, fast will immediately freeze our minds. When we cannot think quickly or artistically we get frustrated. To stir up some new valuable thoughts worth writing about, it is often helpful for an author, poet, web content writer or creative writer to have some trigger stimulus already prepared in advance just for this situation. Choose things that you know from previous writing fixes that have helped to get you out of a writing funk or draught in the past.
Some writers find it valuable to carry with them a pocket size dictionary; words after all are the building materials of the scribe’s art. Just opening up to any random page then skim and glance at whatever words come into view. Many words you know intimately. Read a definition of a word you do not know then another then another. Soon you discover you are thinking, vigorously, about all sorts of things seemingly all at once. Close the dictionary; you’re warmed up. It’s time to direct your mind’s efforts towards your task at hand.
Good writing prompts are more than just writing suggestions taken from our list of compiled new creative writing project possibilities or writing ideas that all serious writers should always have on a list nearby, on their person or at least within easy access. The best writing prompts set our writing process into motion and generate unique thought and high degrees of creativity.
Successful writing prompts are not suggested starts for new writing projects or a list of short summaries or notes on writing ideas to get us thinking about our topic. Creative Writing Prompts are meant to end a composer’s writing inertia and creative stiffness.
Good writing prompts have to unblock and unclog our word weaving minds so we are again, consciously in control of our thinking and our imagination and thus can resume slinging words focused on whatever writing task is at hand!
A news reporter, Hollywood Dramatist, Ad craftsman needs to be in command of his or her literary skills so he or she can practice their wordsmithing craft when they wish and how they wish. Being at the mercy of a psychic road block when you have a writing deadline to meet is no fun!
Can you see why having a list of new writing project starts is only good if you have no specific writing project you have to get done? Bloggers, journalists, novelists, essayists need to be able to work on the writing assignment that is due to be turned into their bosses next. Our reputation as a pro linguist is at stake. Even student writers do not have the luxury to only write when the writing spirit takes hold of them. Professors want their homework, essays, reports turned in on time as do editors and publishers!
Being in control of your creative skill is what separated the pro writers from the amateurs.
Many writes have had success summoning their creative muse, seemingly at will, with this exercise. Wherever you are, outdoors or indoors, simply take a fleeting moment to just glance around you with the sole purpose of choosing and rating the five most wonderful things in plain sight. Rate fast! Valuing things within your vision forces you to wonder why you placed more worth on one item instead of another.
You’ll wonder what your spouse or best friend or parent would say about your choices. What would a job hiring interviewer make of your five top choices, how about a psychiatrist? Imagine having a conversation with your favorite sports hero, politician or celebrity during which they judge you based only on your five choices? How would you defend your choices? Now your mind is working!
Real writers do not have to get themselves into the proper mood to write. They are compelled to write! But everyone needs to discipline themselves to focus their craft, skill, thoughts and efforts in order to achieve something great.
Writing is when writers are happiest. But that does not mean the words ever flow easy or that great writing is not hard work, tedious, frustrating and gut wrenching! Still, given the choice, most writers wouldn’t have it any other way.
Writing block strikes when we are trying to think too hard. But we also cannot always just write about whatever pops into our heads. A creative writer’s art has to be disciplined in order to make money with our composing. Most of the time, when our mind jams up, we have a writing job already under way that we are having problems completing or we cannot think our way out of a tricky writing wrong turn or a seemingly, dead end spot.
This is when we need to take our mind off of the problem at hand so we can sort of reboot our brains. The writing prompt exercise is a diversion which clears our heads then get us thinking strongly again when we return to write; sort of like a quick warming up session that an athlete undergoes to prepare, before participating in a sporting event.
The good writing prompt helps the writer tune out the world’s noise and distractions so they can get into their writing zone where the magic happens.
When playwrights, copywriters, ink slingers and web content creators are having writing difficulties and word producing problems ideally we want to try to focus our energy on anything other than the writing deed needed to get done. Creative writing prompts get our motor running, build our confidence again and start the ideas churning when we are ready to resume working.
Writing prompts psych us up so we are mentally prepared to sit down and tackle our most difficult writing challenges. They are not old brainstorming notes that we look over for ideas; they are brainstorming incentives, writing motivators and though provokers!
Remember a prepared creative writer has writing and idea prompters available to him or her, at all times, just in case. These wordsmithing prompts or literature writing stimuli are not writing suggestions or writing idea hints or beginnings, although those are good to have on hand too. These writing prompters are powerful thought arousing mechanisms that excite our minds into working at their highest level possible! They are very personal motivators and thus unique to every author.
The purpose writing prompts are to inflame an author’s brain and jolt the thought process into contemplating and reasoning at optimum levels!
Writing prompts are used by romance writers, mystery writers, sci-fi authors...
Do not think of writing prompts as a cheat sheet for ideas, visions or notions; they are meant to get your mind’s engine working on all pistons not to give you a head start on a writing assignment. Writing Prompts warm up our minds and then we tell our mind what to concentrate on and work on! Writing prompts help give us control over our creative muse, so our muse is working for us instead of us jumping through hoops for our muse.
An author, poet, song lyricist who cannot sit down and create whenever the opportunity presents itself, as well as tackle the writing task he or she wishes to work on, would be severely handicapped and unable to complete writing assignments on schedule and timely!
Writing prompts help Fiction and nonfiction authors to think, create and compose their very best writing work consistently and quickly! When wise writers need a pick-me-up they do not rush off to purchase or brew some caffeine rich beverage like coffee; they rely on their pre-prepared writing prompts to stir and revitalize their imaginations!
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