Jolt the Juices - by John Wolf

There are as many techniques to jump-start the creative process as there are for curing hiccups. I was reading, yet another article on this topic and stopped to think about my own experience. I don't have a degree in journalism or English, so I just hack my way into the bush, but here is a list of things I have used so far:

 1. Go buy a lottery ticket - The anticipation of winning millions produces adrenaline. Sometimes I wait several days after the ticket date to check to see if I won, just to push the rush. I lay in bed dreaming of all the things I would buy with the money - a new chair to sit in while typing, yes. Somehow, that ends up with me thinking about the plot I'm stuck on. New ideas start showing up like relatives when they hear you actually won. Since I am still a writer, you guessed it, I haven't won yet. Losing can be capitalized upon also. Just write something dark and depressing. It works every time.

2. Clear the house of other people - Minimize the distractions. An alternative approach is to get up early, before there is any traffic and load up on caffeine, and then hit the keyboard. This usually is conducive to positive thoughts. Mix days of lotto with early writing and you can tune your writing moods.

3. Take a trip - This doesn't have to be around the world, just visit some interesting place within reach - say a Spanish Monastery from the 1500s. That's easy in San Diego. There will be some piece of history in the wall hangings that sparks and idea that you never thought about before.

4. Exercise - I find that if I haven't been exercising enough, the mind is dull. It's like a knife that's been laying around in a draw full of other things too long. Walk around the block, lift some weights, chase the wife or the dog, which ever works for you. Stop before you're exhausted or forget the writing. This is what separates the extreme sports freaks from laid-back writers - knowing when to pick up the towel and shower before you break a sweat.

5. Don't read a book - If you start reading and writing, it's like drinking and driving. The danger is you'll start self doubting or you'll go off on a tangent of rationalizing all the things you would do to make so-in-so's book better and your plot fades into the mist.

6. Keep a phrase notebook - Write down clever things as they come to you and capitalize on them when you're stuck in a rut. Practice character descriptions, like the exercise on the next page. Save crazy ideas - they tend to breed more ideas.

7. If all else fails - bungee jump.
 
 

Somebody write something of interest for the newsletter before I go mad.