Ways to Get Back in the Saddle

Okay, it’s long overdue that I revive this web site. I may do a major overhaul if my computer geek son builds a new one for me, but in the meantime, as Rafiki would say, “It is time.”

Things have been crazy, and as many of you know, I went a bit “hermit” during COVID times, but most importantly, I KEPT WRITING.

A few ways I managed to do that:

1. EKPHRASIS: take inspiration from one form (photography, painting, sculpture) and transform your ideas about it into another (poetry, short stories, personal essays…).
2. SCALES: Just as musicians and singers have scales to warm up and get ready for their work, I think it’s healthy for writers to do the same. Scales for me are daily writing prompts that I don’t pressure myself to do much with–5 to 10 minutes spent on a prompt, no more, usually. Then off to whatever piece I’m actually working on. The prompts may force me to write in voices and situations I wouldn’t normally, or explore new techniques. I always do these in a PAPER journal (not on computer) in pen. It discourages erasing. A bound, stitched journal, discourages ripping pages out. In the past, I’ve had pieces I tossed, only to see later how I could have rethought and improved them.
3. CRAFT articles. When I wasn’t feeling particularly creative, I wrote writing craft articles (and published a few of them at the same time). This analytic work accesses more of the left brain if the creative right brain isn’t working so well.
4. CONTESTS. If you are not feeling it or procrastinate, nothing solves that like a deadline. And if you had to pay to enter a contest, you’re going to make sure your piece is as good as it can be before you submit. Again, although my production went down during COVID, I STILL sent work out and even managed to win a short fiction contest. More about each of these in upcoming posts, but for now, I’m off…to write!