Sometimes I need a little something to get me writing, and pictures can be just the thing to help with that. Here are a few pictures that might get you going as well.

• Where is this sunrise occurring?
• Who’s taking the picture and why?
• Is this on another planet, an earth far different from our own? Continue reading →

If you’re like me, some of your writing inspiration comes from the world around us. I’ve been thinking of  some recent changes for a while now, and since I write speculative fiction, imagining where this might lead is a natural.

I’m sure the election of a new Pope can hardly have slipped your notice. He promises to continue the conservative (and, to some, controversial) positions of the Catholic Church. Of course, the last election here in the U.S. was largely determined by the conservative attitudes of voters. Look at the election map; folks on the coasts may well be feeling as if they belong in another country altogether.

Here’s a little writing/thinking exercise.

Let’s assume that the conservative leanings continue in the U.S. and all over the world. You may think this is a good (or bad) thing, but most would agree that it will change our culture in profound ways.

Think about the world in ten years (or twenty, fifty, whatever)…

• What sorts of things will be illegal?
  • Abortion?
  • Birth control?
  • Promiscuity?
  • Divorce?
• What kinds of movies, music, books, etc. will be read?
• What will be the state of politics?
  • Will politicians be more or less honest?
  • How much influence will large corporations have?
  • How much influence will the average person have?
• What kinds of classes will your children (grandchildren, etc.) take in school?
• What will be the state of science and research?
• What will the U.S. medical system look like?
  • Will we have universal healthcare (or socialized medicine)?
  • What about controversial research (cloning, stem cells, etc.)?
  • Will any euthanasia be allowed?

Those are a few ideas, and I’m sure you’ve thought of a few on your own already. Whether you think it’s a step forward or a step back, I think most would agree it’s a step away from where we are now.

I was listening to Goldberg’s Writing Down the Bones today. Most creative writers have probable read her book. I enjoy it, but in small doses — she is rather overwhelming, isn’t she?

Now, I’ve been thinking of things to do to spark a little creativity. I’ve been doing a lot of nonfiction lately, so I’ve been feeling a little less creative than usual.

Here’s a few to try…

• Draw something that represents your creative style. If you’re so inclined, design a web page background (maybe for your own page?)
• Write a children’s story with your first pet as the main character
• Write a letter to someone you haven’t talked to in years.
• You can return to any place you’ve ever been. Where is it?
• Design an alien that lives on a very different type of planet. How would they manage an invasion of Earth?
• If you could be transplanted to any time, when would it be?

So… maybe we should all get writing.

Link: Wired News: A Century of Einstein.

Well, if you’re struggling for ideas as the February NaNo approaches, here’s another source. Relativity, time travel, the atomic bomb…. No shortage of interesting topics to explore there!

Good luck to all those — like me — who have crazily committed to another 50,000 word month. Have fun, and write, write, write!

Here are a few writing tidbits for inspiration.

1. Put on some music and write whatever it makes you think about. Headphones work best for this.
2. Turn the sound (and captioning) off the television and watch a program you’ve never seen before. Can you tell what’s happening? How? Jot down some descriptions of movements, facial expressions, etc. that tell you what the actors’ moods are. Now, choose a scene from one of your works and rewrite it using some of these ideas.
3. If your boss were an animal, what kind would he/she be?
4. You are an incredibly brilliant mad scientist. What will be your first experiment?
5. List all the phobias you can think of. Now, list some "odd" phobias that you haven’t heard of. For example, fear of pizza, rubber bands, snow shovels, ferrets, etc. Write a story about a character that has an unusual phobia.

Here’s a creative exercise that some of you might enjoy. I first did this in a writing class at Radford University . It was taught by a really nice guy, Bill Brown, who also happened to be a really good poet.

Grab some paper and a pencil and draw the first place you can remember living as a child. Draw in as many details as you can. What was in your room? Who lived on each side of you? What was in the yard? Keep going, putting as many details in the drawing as you can.

When you’ve drawn in as much as you can remember, I’ll bet that you have at least one or two story ideas. Maybe it’s something that happened there, an attic that spooked you, or how you felt when your friend moved away.

Happy writing!

Link: Do You Want to Live Forever?.

Okay, so this has been the topic of many a sci-fi story. For sake of argument, let’s say it’s feasible in your lifetime. You can live forever, or a lot longer than what’s a normal life span now.

Okay, you may have your own set of problems, like when to retire, helping raise great-great-great….great-grandchildren, and simply what to do with yourself all those years.

I think a more interesting problem is what society will face. Resources is an obvious one. We all can’t go around having children if adults don’t die off. It won’t take long for the most overcrowded country to look positively roomy by comparison. There are two obvious solutions: drastically limit childbearing or routinely eliminate the elderly. Neither sounds particularly appealing, does it?

Of course, if you live to be 1000 or more, you’ll probably not be able to retire at 65 or so. In all likelihood, you’ll have many careers over your life. Will there be enough jobs for this exploding population? How can a relative youngster compete with you in the job market?

What about the types of jobs and how they’ll change? People will want more entertainment if they’re living longer, so what kinds of leisure activities can we expect? Will people stay married for life (even when it’s centuries)? I could go on and on….

Not bad for some story ideas, huh?

Do you ever feel the need to be reminded of why you write? Why you pour out so much of yourself when publishing and (gasp! pay) is only a far-away dream? Here are a few of the things I do to keep myself motivated when I start to wonder why I bother.

I tend to be very visual, so I keep a picture or two that represent what I want out of my writing nearby. Maybe you want to work from home, buy your dream home, or see your name on a book cover. Keep a picture close at hand that represents what you want out of your writing.

Design a cover for your book and print it out. Hang it where you work so you can see it every day.

Take a copy of a bestseller list (like the New York Times) and add your book to the top of the list. Hey, dream big, right?

Post your writing goals somewhere near your work space. Use them to remind yourself of what you’re working toward, and what you’ve committed to.

Post your favorite motivational quotes around your work area, or turn them into a screensaver for your computer. Every time you stop writing long enough, one is sure to remind you to get back at it.

This is the time of year when many of us take time to reevaluate what we’ve been doing and make goals for the coming year. Why not think about how you can motivate yourself to achieve even more this year?

…creativity. What did you think I was going to say?

As the holidays approach, we’ll likely be spending less time at writing and more time with other things. So, in that spirit, why not take some time to exercise your writing muscles?

• Spend a few minutes to write down a family tradition. Don’t just describe it, write it as you would a scene in a short story or novel.
• While shopping, take a few minutes to sit somewhere quiet (well, relatively quiet) and watch the people around you. Choose someone and write a detailed description of him/her.
• Talk to some older members of your family and find out about when they were children. Write down some of their stories. You may want to turn these into short stories later. Who knows? This may provide inspiration for a longer work.
• Make up a silly Christmas story for your kids — or for yourself.
• Make yourself a cup of hot cocoa and enjoy the evening. Sometimes a little time off can do a lot for that creative spirit.

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

I’ve spent the last few days struggling with writer’s block. In the process of dealing with that, I’ve been thinking of different things I do to jump-start my writing, and get past those rough spots.

• I make myself write that tough scene, but I give myself permission to write it badly. Believe me when I say badly. I just get it down on paper and move the scene along however I have to. You’d be surprised how well that works. Maybe it’s something about the bad writing that makes the muse feel sorry for me?
• I write somewhere different. One thing I like to do is drag my laptop or notebook to the bookstore and write for a while. If that isn’t possible, then I go to a different room, choose different background noise (or none at all), or write at a different time of day.
• I let myself write out of sequence. There’s no law saying that novel has to be written in the same order it’s read. I choose a scene I want to work on and write it. But be careful not to let this get out of hand, or you’ll write all the fun stuff and never tackle the tough scenes.
• I set a time and tell myself that I just have to work for 10 minutes (or 15, or whatever), and then I can quit if I want. If I force myself to work for even a little while, it’s usually easier to keep going then.
• I do something physical. Walking the dog is a great way for me to mull over the novel and let ideas come to me. Anything that gets you on your feet and moving will work. Try not to think about what you’re writing, and you’ll be surprised that ideas tend to come to you on their own. It’s like magic!

What things do you do to overcome writer’s block and get the muse to talking to you again?

I’d better get back to writing before the muse takes off!