Oh dear! I’ve been very remiss in keeping my blog posts up-to-date! There are any number of excuses — Easter, election, gardening, book club, writers’ group — no shortages of excuses, the question is: are they valid?

Whether you are a writer, a swimmer, a chess-player or a biochemist, there are always excuses to avoid the work. When faced with a choice between something fun and important, like family for instance, or demanding and important, human nature being what it is, “fun” often wins out. It isn’t that we don’t want to do the work — after all we chose to write, or swim, or . . . but, the path of least resistance is so attractive. 

Now that I’ve confessed my failings and made my excuses, how do I get back on track? It seems to me that the answer lies in the first question. I’ll chose what is fun. Therefore, I must look for ways to make function (act, perform, work), fun.

Here are some suggestions:

  1. Eavesdrop.  I don’t mean nasty, sneaky eavesdropping, the kind that looks for gossip or dirt. I mean the accidental eavesdropping that occurs while sitting in a coffee shop, or sunning on a park bench, or waiting for the movie to start at a cinema.  Snippets of other people’s conversations can spark all kinds of scenarios in a writer’s mind. An added benefit is hearing a fresh turn of phrase, or the latest slang.               
  2.  Troll for prompts.  Sometimes we just get stuck on “troll” mode and can’t put down that screen. Happily, the internet abounds with sites for writers prompts. Instead of doom-scrolling, and sending yourself into despair, check out some writer’s sites. Here is a great one from Writer’s Digest. Or finish this sentence that I just made up — “My superpower is ___________ and I’ll use it to ________.”                                                                                             
  3. Alternative Endings. If you haven’t the inclination to create new work today, think of a book where you didn’t like the ending. Write your own version. Have fun with it. Wreck vengence on unlikable characters from the original. Spread love on the ugle step-sister. Give the prom queen pimples.  I think many, many writers have had a go at Gone with the Wind.  If Rhett came back, what would happen?                                                                                   
  4. Do a word puzzle. All writers like words, so it’s fun to play a word game. Once you solve the puzzle, try writing a sentence or a paragraph that uses the words in the puzzle. Movie, world, monkey and budget, were the words used in today’s Jumble puzzle. This one is almost too easy. “The low-budget movie featuring the world of monkeys did not win any awards.” Wasn’t that fun?

 

Now, it is time for me to take my own advice. Tomorrow I have a chance for eavesdropping. Right now, I’ll check out some of those prompts. 

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