I rarely get drained writing :P I get drained from the 8 hours of a day job M-F! So writing is like a holiday that I take right after work!
But I'm a compulsive creativist. I live for my free time, in which I record music at home, dabble in Photoshop and drawing, and take mandatory Saturday morning hikes--which include photography as well.
I think I'm destined to remain single the rest of my life because I don't get out enough ;) But given the choice of 'shopping for a husband' or writing a book...uh....at my age... I'll take writing a book!
It's mostly taking a bit of a break from what I'm doing. Working on a different novel, for example, or writing in my personal "free write" journal. Cataloging my thoughts on random things really helps to get the creative juices flowing!
There's also music (building a soundtrack for your current novel is so helpful and productive! seriously.), drawing, looking at art and photography, and READING!!! Reading your favorite novel can really super-charge your motivation.
One of my favorite and shameless things to do, too, is to open up my high school writing portfolio and read some of it. I wasn't the best writer then, but I definitely had potential. It's fun, easy, and can spark some new ideas. Plus, you can compare how good you are now to when you were then, and it boosts your self-confidence! Woo hoo! :)
I agree with Melissa. Especially with the music. I have hundreds of scores from movies that really help with my creative juices. If you are looking for something fantasy-like (fairies and dragons and such) I suggest Peter Pan with music by James Newton Howard. It's really great. I also suggest the scores from the movies treasure planet, chicken run, harry potter (any of them), the brothers grimm, a series of unfortunate events, and stardust. All are exceptional. Pulling out old work is also a great suggestion. Some of the stuff I wrote back in junior high is really great, although I would never show it to anyone else. Personally, when I am running low on ideas, I look in my notebook of clever lines, pick a few, and try and create a scene with them. This spurts an idea, and while it never amounts to much, it's always a lot of fun and leads to something bigger and better. If you haven't made a notebook of clever lines, I highly recommend it. You never know when a clever line may come in handy. One more thing, if you are looking for a adult realistic set of ideas, I suggest listening to the Lux radio theater. it's good stuff. really. Just listen to it because it's a lot of fun, if not for the creative purposes. While I'm suggesting radio plays, Jack Benny, Box 13, and Our Miss Brooks are fantastic.
'k, I'm done.
Gabapple, I really hope you are Melissa, because if you aren't, I'll feel really dumb.
Contributors to this blog attended BYU's 2008 Writing and Illustrating for Young Readers Workshop - Science Fiction and Fantasy section taught by Brandon Sanderson. This blog is established as a way to keep in touch, share happy news, share advice and critiques, and in all ways continue to take part in each others' creative process.
5 comments:
I rarely get drained writing :P
I get drained from the 8 hours of a day job M-F! So writing is like a holiday that I take right after work!
But I'm a compulsive creativist. I live for my free time, in which I record music at home, dabble in Photoshop and drawing, and take mandatory Saturday morning hikes--which include photography as well.
I think I'm destined to remain single the rest of my life because I don't get out enough ;)
But given the choice of 'shopping for a husband' or writing a book...uh....at my age... I'll take writing a book!
But now I'm just rambling.... ;)
I never used to get drained either because writing was something I did to relax.
Now writing is something I'm doing to publish. I've been pushing myself too hard.
It's mostly taking a bit of a break from what I'm doing. Working on a different novel, for example, or writing in my personal "free write" journal. Cataloging my thoughts on random things really helps to get the creative juices flowing!
There's also music (building a soundtrack for your current novel is so helpful and productive! seriously.), drawing, looking at art and photography, and READING!!! Reading your favorite novel can really super-charge your motivation.
One of my favorite and shameless things to do, too, is to open up my high school writing portfolio and read some of it. I wasn't the best writer then, but I definitely had potential. It's fun, easy, and can spark some new ideas. Plus, you can compare how good you are now to when you were then, and it boosts your self-confidence! Woo hoo! :)
I agree with Melissa. Especially with the music. I have hundreds of scores from movies that really help with my creative juices. If you are looking for something fantasy-like (fairies and dragons and such) I suggest Peter Pan with music by James Newton Howard. It's really great. I also suggest the scores from the movies treasure planet, chicken run, harry potter (any of them), the brothers grimm, a series of unfortunate events, and stardust. All are exceptional.
Pulling out old work is also a great suggestion. Some of the stuff I wrote back in junior high is really great, although I would never show it to anyone else. Personally, when I am running low on ideas, I look in my notebook of clever lines, pick a few, and try and create a scene with them. This spurts an idea, and while it never amounts to much, it's always a lot of fun and leads to something bigger and better.
If you haven't made a notebook of clever lines, I highly recommend it. You never know when a clever line may come in handy.
One more thing, if you are looking for a adult realistic set of ideas, I suggest listening to the Lux radio theater. it's good stuff. really. Just listen to it because it's a lot of fun, if not for the creative purposes. While I'm suggesting radio plays, Jack Benny, Box 13, and Our Miss Brooks are fantastic.
'k, I'm done.
Gabapple, I really hope you are Melissa, because if you aren't, I'll feel really dumb.
Hahaha, yes I'm Melissa. :) No worries there.
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