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This week I struggled to stay creative because of the heat. You would think I’d have no problems since I’m working indoors, but the heat triggered some sort of primordial drive to stay indoors and inactive. But I managed to make it through a week of exercises on the drafting process, including one focused on using writing to help generate ideas. It felt a bit ironic given my struggles to work on anything this week.
Monday, June 17, 2024
🟡 Freewriting Frenzy
Exercise #246 Spark Story Ideas with Spontaneous Scribbling
Strategy: As a writer, you are like an intrepid explorer, venturing into the uncharted wilderness of your imagination. But where do you begin? The answer lies in the art of freewriting – a liberating technique that allows you to bypass the pesky gatekeepers of self-doubt and perfectionism. Begin anywhere. By embracing the chaos of uninhibited writing, you open the door to a treasure trove of unexpected ideas and insights. Sure, it might feel like you're wandering aimlessly at first, but trust the process and keep those pen strokes flowing. Before you know it, you'll stumble upon a hidden gem of an idea that will have you exclaiming, "Eureka!"
Tuesday, June 18, 2024
🟡 Distraction Detox
Exercise #247 Vanquishing Procrastination Like a Hero
Strategy: What if you were the main character in your own writing journey? Imagine facing a formidable foe—the distractions that keep you from putting pen to paper. It's time to channel your inner hero and slay those procrastination dragons! By stepping into the shoes of your protagonist, you'll gain a fresh perspective on your own distractions and devise clever strategies to overcome them. After all, if your character can vanquish their obstacles, why can't you?
Wednesday, June 19, 2024
🟡 Setting the Stage
Exercise #248 Writing about Story State
Strategy: Let's weave together a tapestry of people, places, and things. The challenge? Bringing your scene to life without the crutch of action or dialogue. It's like trying to paint a masterpiece using only a single brush stroke for each element. But here's the secret: by focusing on the details that make each component unique and evocative, you can create a vivid and immersive scene that will transport your readers to another world.
Thursday, June 20, 2024
🟡 Agent of Change
Exercise #249 Writing about Events, Actions, and Experiences
Strategy: Hold onto your pens, writers! We're about to embark on a rollercoaster ride through the world of dynamic storytelling. You are a master engineer of change, whipping up a transformational ride using three key ingredients: events, actions, and experiences. Can you create a scene that's not just moving, but moving your readers? By focusing on these three pillars of change, you'll learn to craft scenes that crackle with energy and leave your readers hungry for more.
Friday, June 21, 2024
🟡 Doing the Time Warp
Exercise #250 Mastering Time in Storytelling
Strategy: Buckle up, wordsmiths! We're about to embark on a mind-bending journey through the wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey world of narrative chronology. Imagine yourself as a literary Time Lord, wielding your pen like a sonic screwdriver to manipulate the very fabric of your story's timeline. Can you seamlessly weave together strands of past, present, and future into a tapestry that doesn't just tell a story, but dances through time itself?
Saturday, June 22, 2024
🟡 Framing Reality
Exercise #251 Description, Dialogue, and Introspection
Strategy: Ready to become a literary optician? Grab your metaphorical lenses, because we're about to refract reality through the prism of narrative perspective! Imagine your story as a beam of white light - pure, unfiltered experience. Your job? To split that beam into the vibrant spectrum of description, dialogue, and introspection. By mastering this technique, you'll learn to craft scenes that don't just unfold before the reader's eyes, but resonate in their ears and echo in their minds.
Sunday, June 23, 2024
🟡 Write of Passage
Exercise #252 Units of Story and Discourse
Strategy: Imagine your story as a complex structure, each piece representing a different aspect of narrative craft. Your challenge? To write passages that mix state, change, time, and perspective frames into a perfectly balanced composition. The secret lies in embracing the constraints as the scaffolding of your story, using them to support your imagination rather than limit it. By mastering this technique, you'll learn to craft scenes that don't just tell a story, but create a multi-dimensional narrative experience that engages readers on every level.
Our next weekly theme will focus on sentences.