Read on Twitter
Here& #39;s a short writer thread with some tricks I use for staying in a creative "state of play" and avoiding writer& #39;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& #39;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& #39;m writing about, like folks from NASA, SpaceX, marine biologists, etc. This way, there& #39;s a good chance I& #39;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& #39;m procrastinating on Twitter, I& #39;m taking in images to "fill the well."
4) Ever since REVERIE, I& #39;ve been making a playlist of music that is a sonic landscape of the show I& #39;m working on, with songs to represent specific characters and scenes. I can& #39;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& #39;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& #39;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& #39;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& #39;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& #39;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& #39;s for random story inspiration I find on Digg, etc...
Here& #39;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/2019/10/1...
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/17/nyregion/natural-history-museum-jewelry-heist.html?utm_source=digg">https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/1...
That& #39;s it. Happy Sunday!
