Many Ways Into Your Writing To Keep You Going

Crazy prompts and exercises that will get you into flow

Mindset, motivation and inspiration for novelists—with a dash of instruction about writing craft added in. There’s no one approach to writing that works for everyone, but I can help you find what works for you. Subscribe (free or paid) to get the fuel you need for your writing career.

Photo by Joyce Hankins on Unsplash

Please note my new schedule. I now posts on Wednesdays and my love letter comes out on Sundays. (Paid subscribers get evergreen access to classes and those are posted on Thursdays. See this post for all the details.)

Nanowrimo starts in….checks phone calendar….two weeks! Two weeks from today! So this post is to help you not get stuck in your writing and just keep going. You do not want to get stalled when you are in the thick of it! You’ve got to get that daily word count in! And even if you are not doing Nano, my hope is that what you read here will be helpful as you draft your novel, no matter what time of year. Because there is nothing worse than getting stuck on your writing and not knowing where to go/what to write next.

Resisting help (maybe you don’t, but I do)

There are so many ways into our writing to keep us in flow, and too often I allow myself to get stuck and refuse to consider them. Tell me to whip out a prompt and write to it and I’ll yell at you. “None of that crazy woo-woo creative stuff for me. I must write scenes for my novel and only scenes for my novel.”

And, yeah, well, that way true writerly madness lies. Because then I sit there and stare at my computer screen or the blank page in my journal. I scrunch up my eyebrows and frown and will the words to come. But they don’t. (Funny thing about words, they are kind of like people in that they respond better to kindness than crankiness.)

Because when you are stuck, it’s the crazy woo-woo stuff that is going to pull you out of your stuckness. Trust me. I’ve been doing this a long-ass time. I’ve fought the good fight against it, but most often, some goofy prompts and exercises are the way to go.

You may feel you’re being led astray on wild tangents—but go for it. You’ll circle back around soon, and it will be worth it because letting your brain flow freely is the key to creativity. It’s just getting there that is hard. Remember, the point here is to generate new and creative ideas to keep in your backpocket so you don’t get stuck. So don’t let your brain tell you it’s a waste of time or make you hew too closely to your ordinary ways of doing things.

Let’s get moving again

So here you are. You’re a couple weeks into the writing and everything is going great. You have a loose structure (more on that in tomorrow’s class on Nanowrimo prep) you’re following, and you’re sailing along on the word count. All is right (or write—haha) with the world. Until it isn’t. Until suddenly that scene you thought you’d write next isn’t flowing. Doesn’t work for some reason.

Screeeeech. That’s the sound of your writing brain grinding to a halt. You’re stuck, damn it.

Okay, okay, don’t panic. Take a few deep breaths and we’ll get you out of this. Okay? You can do this.

First of all, a reminder: there’s side writing and writing within the manuscript. Whenever possible, it is best to write within the manuscript—actually piling up scenes and chapters. Because that is where the real magic lies. But sometimes you just need to figure things out. And that is when the wonders of side writing come into play.

I wrote a whole blog post about it, so I won’t repeat myself here. But basically, side writing lets you bring the whole wonderful weight of the creative process to bear on your writing. Also, I wrote a blog post that features other ways into your writing here.

Over the last few weeks, I’ve gotten some jolly (that word just popped into my mind and I had to use it because I love it so much) and glorious reminders of this.

The power of what if?

I’ll be honest here. I used to hate this question. I’ve seen numerous writing books and sites recommend it as a brainstorming tool. I used to think it was stupid and led nowhere. But guess what? That was just my brain resisting the need to stretch creatively, my mind wanting to stay stuck in its rut, where it’s comfy and safe.

But recently I saw this question in a new light. I watched a presentation from fiber artist Margaret Fabrizio, who is one of my creative icons. Margaret is 93, had a career as a renowned harpsichordist, created paintings and collages and artist’s books, and now focuses on quilts. She makes a very specific kind of quilt called a Kawandi, and a the age of 81, traveled alone to India to live among the Siddi people and learn how their quilts were made. This is a woman who lives and breathes creativity.

And she talked about the intuitive process she uses when sewing a quilt (done by hand). And here came that dreaded question I hated: she said she often asks herself “what if “as she is working. What if she uses the green fabric instead of the blue, even though it clashes. What if she uses the wrong side, or turns it upside down, or throws thread scraps all over the quilt?

Go deeper. Keep asking the question. Make the questions silly: what if your character could fly? Okay, that doesn’t work but maybe taking a bird’s eye view of the scene might. What if the sun turned blue one day? Not likely (though who knows, the way things have been going lately) but maybe your proto is sad (blue), not happy like you thought. What if your proto hates where he’s living? Maybe you need a new setting.

Those are all just “what ifs” off the top of my head, but they give you an idea of how the question can work if you let it unfold. And if you are willing to look at some of the unobvious connections that might appear. And remember, as with writing to prompts, the initial answer may mean nothing to you—but it might also lead to something that does. This is where I failed in my previous attempts with the what if question—I got impatient (gotta get back to the manuscript) and didn’t give it enough time.

Let your brain go wild

I’m also taking a creativity class through the Women’s Fiction Writer’s Association and it’s got my brain going in a million new directions. It wouldn’t be fair of me to steal directly from the class but I’ll share some of the ideas I’ve riffed off of it. The class is taught by Deborah Riley-Magnus, who is a firm believer that creativity is at the heart of everything we do. She’s offered us multiple brain-stretching ideas throughout the class, and one morning I wrote a bunch of my own in my journal. I share them below.

—Writers of a certain age will remember the groaning and (mean) teasing that resulted when Barbara Walters interviewed Katharine Hepburn. The question that caused all the merriment was this: If you were a tree, what tree would you be?

Yeah, it’s kind of lame, but also, from my view now, pretty creative. So ask your characters that.

—When you’re not sure what your character would do in a situation, ask yourself what you would do. That can be a good starting point. It’s an easier way in.

—What does your character’s brain sound like? Is it noisy like a metal song, or soft like a babbling brook. Crashing waves or a symphony?

—What color is the way your proto walks?

—What smell is her ordinary day? What color? What texture?

—What’s the last secret she kept? The last one she blabbed? What were the results?

—His last argument. What texture and shape did it have?

—For that matter, what shape is your plot? Can you draw it out?

—How does your character conceptualize time? For instance, I see it the year as a sort of skinny, sideways oval.

—What does your character think about in the shower? Keep it clean, and I mean that in both senses of the word. Does she say affirmations? Plan her day? Worry about her to-do list? Think about the painting she’s making?

—First thing she’d save in a fire. (I actually experienced a house fire once, long ago. Let me tell you, all I thought of was getting children and animals out.)

—Playlist or silence?

—Cactus or orchid?

—Alcohol or sober?

—Cat lover or dog lover?

—Pie or cake?

—Does her car have a name?

—What personality does her house have?

Okay, now I’m just getting silly and so I will leave you. But I do encourage you to add your own prompts to this list and keep a copy in your journal to refer back to over and over again.

And here’s a pro tip: if you groan at any prompt or writing exercise it’s probably a hint that there’s gold in it for you. Again—remember—looking for unexpected connections that might take you down new paths.

Don’t forget about your old friend, the prompt

Seriously, prompts are the tried and true method of pulling yourself out of a slump. Just remember to allow them to be mind-expanding, and then they will become story-expanding, too. You do not have to hew to the exact meaning or intent of any prompt anywhere. Instead use them as a starting point and let your brain wander where it will.

You can find prompts all over the internet. Google “creative writing prompts” and see what comes up that appeals to you.

You can also check out my ancient Tumblr, Inventive Writing Prompts. There’s a ton on there, from 2015 and before. I used to post one every day. Maybe I should start that again? Probably not. I’m not sure anybody reads Tumblr anymore. I never quite got it anyway. But I digress.

I recently came across these writing prompts which really are more like exercises, from writer Tori Fry. (This will open in a Google Doc, by the way.) I liked these a lot, and if you do, too, be a good internet citizen and check out her website.

Finally, please remember

If you are stuck, there are ways out. Being blocked as a writer, even for just a few days, can be torture. (Yes, I know, first world problems.) And it is easy to get mired in the stuckness and forget that you have tools at your disposal to find your way out. So don’t be like me and get stubborn and resist trying new things. If you’re doing Nanowrimo, you don’t have time to be blocked!

And also: it doesn’t have to be hard. Remember, it can be easy. You just have to allow it to be.

Do you have any prompts or exercise you use when you get stuck? You’d be doing us all a favor if you share them in the comments.