Read on Twitter
Here's a short writer thread with some tricks I use for staying in a creative "state of play" and avoiding writer's block while working on a new project. As always, YMMV.
1) I tend to "warm up" by listening to craft podcasts while getting ready in the morning. The Writers Panel w/Ben Blacker, The Moment w/Brian Koppelman, Scriptnotes w/John August and Craig Mazin. I'm always looking for some new POV or paradigm to incorporate that day.
2) I procrastinate on Twitter. To offset, I follow a BUNCH of experts in whatever field or topic I'm writing about, like folks from NASA, SpaceX, marine biologists, etc. This way, there's a good chance I'll come across an article or image that will spark an idea/inspiration.
3) I also follow a bunch accounts that are purely for visual inspiration, like Archillect and Pulp Librarian. Same idea - even though I'm procrastinating on Twitter, I'm taking in images to "fill the well."
4) Ever since REVERIE, I've been making a playlist of music that is a sonic landscape of the show I'm working on, with songs to represent specific characters and scenes. I can't write to it but I can put it on in the car or walking the dog to stay in the world of my story.
5) Yoda Sessions: I read an interview with Questlove and D'Angelo where they talked about how they would take breaks from recording to watch videos of James Brown, Prince, etc and called them "Yoda Sessions." I do this with the touchstones or classics in my current genre.
6) Independent Activities. There's a reason we get some of our best ideas in the shower. Our subconscious mind is free to wander and draw connections. I play pinball, hike, play with my dog. NEW skills create new neural pathways, and lead to new experiences. For instance...
I've been teaching myself to make pizza from scratch. That journey has introduced me to new people and environments I never would have experienced if I hadn't taken this up. Like finding a doorway to a secret world.
7) I try to take a different route to work every day. I wander into new neighborhoods, take in new sights and sounds. This has led directly to story ideas in some cases, because if I come across an interesting place, I pull over and look it up to read more about it...
This is how I learned, after a year of living in my house, that the building nearby was an airport that Howard Hughes and Amelia Earhart flew out of. This falls under a general subheading of this idea, which is:
8) Be curious about the world you take for granted, the one right in front of you. Pull up Google maps and do a satellite view of your neighborhood. Zoom in on that weird building you've always wondered about and see what they do there. I do this while walking the dog.
9) Lastly, I use my notes app to keep an inspiration "whiteboard" for each project. I drag images I see on Reddit, links to articles and Ted talks, post snippets of dialogue and ideas there. And I have one note that's for random story inspiration I find on Digg, etc...
Here's an example of the kind of thing I came across on Digg and filed away for later.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/17/nyregion/natural-history-museum-jewelry-heist.html?utm_source=digg
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/17/nyregion/natural-history-museum-jewelry-heist.html?utm_source=digg
That's it. Happy Sunday!
