Inspiration? Here you go!

10 min read

Deviation Actions

SmyliArt's avatar
By
Published:
374 Views
We all know it: The empty piece of paper that is just not getting filled with words. And you would love to write, just because you felt like doing it, but it somehow doesn't work. Something important is lacking: Inspiration!

This is why I wrote down some tips, tricks and methods, to finally get a theme, a beginning, an inspiration. I'm going to update this little collection as soon as I have new ideas. So, here we go, the best tricks to elude a writer's block:
-

The first sentence
Take a book, preferably one, whose plot you can't really remember or one, that you haven't read yet. Of course you can also choose a book you like or just recently read. Very interesting: satire or factual books!
Open the first page. The first sentence of the book is going to be the first sentence of your story. Certainly, this is not going to be easy, especially because these sentences can already tell a lot about the following plot or involved characters, but exactly this makes it exciting!
Variation: Take the last sentence of the book. It is going to be the last sentence of your story. This is making it even more difficult.


A text from the map
Now everyone with an atlas is demanded. Take it and open a random page. If it is not a map of the whole world (that makes it too difficult) you point at any place on the map. Your story has to take place at this location. Or it is about the location. Or it ends there. Whatever you choose to do - it is important, that the chosen location plays a major role in your text.
Please note: This also works if you end up in the desert. I once wrote about a nuclear power plant close to Veracruz. Where that is? See - it also works, if you don't even know, what the location looks like!


Your name in reverse
An interesting practice: Write your name the wrong way round. Peter is now Retep, Susan is now Nasus (bad luck if your name is Otto or Anna - then just take the name of your mom or dad, of your brother/sister or your wife/husband). The resulting word is the topic of your story. What is that, a Retep? Or who? Where do you find it, what does its daily life look like? Is it another name?
Variation: Take a random word. Open a dictionary, choose any word, reverse it and voila - you have your story topic!


Theme Generator
If you absolutely do not feel like participating in any abstract writing experiment, you should definetly consult a theme generator. There are a whole lot of them on the web. You can find some of the most promising looking generators in the following list:

I just hope, I'm not getting into any trouble by linking these pages... Oh Noes!


Abstract topics
Very easy as well: take a (more or less) abstract noun (for example luck, loneliness, eternity, fear...) and write a text about it. If you can't find a word spontaneously, simply take a dictionary, leaf through it. Perhaps you find something good.
Variation: Take an adjective instead of a noun!


Fill in the blank
Another often used method is the interspersal of predefined words. Before you write a text, you choose four to five words that don't seem to have anything in common. If you have the possibility, you can also ask another person to randomly name four words while you are writing.
You now have to integrate these words in the predefined order into your text, while you are writing - in other words, they have to show up in your story. This is most difficult if another person says random words, while you write. But exactly this is the thrilling part: How the hell do you get an espresso machine into deep-sea? And how does the red wool-scarf fit into the beach scenery? What does the wholed coin do at the harbour and what which part of the netherworld shall be lovely?
Tip: If you don't know how to start, take the first word and use it for your first sentence or make it the theme of your story.


A story from the viewpoint of an object
Choose a random object. Something that is close to you. This object is the protagonist of your story or the theme of your poetry. What does it experience, how does it feel, does it acquit itself well, is it proud of its function? And: How did it come to you? Are you treating it well? What is gonna happen in its future?
Encouragement: I once wrote from the viewpoint of a triangle ruler - I survived it. It doesn't even really matter, what you write, as long as you write something! You can still trash the text afterwards. But between ourselves: Maybe that will not be necessary, because it will be the funniest and most hilarious text you ever wrote!


Echoism
Now its getting difficult: You have to describe something (an object or an emotion for instance). But not by saying how it is. You use words whose sound describe the object. You use onomatopoesis, echoism. The object/theme itself basically never gets mentioned. Confused? I'm gonna give an example. It is german, so it might not be very helpful. It is about a hard chair. The chair itself is only mentioned in the heading. The words all have a very hard sound to describe the chair:

Der harte Stuhl

Kachel und Lack
Block und Karte
Stein und Stier
beschreiben das, was ich meine

nicht so wie Laune oder Ball
mehr wie Ecke oder Latz
er ist kein Tier
und er steht an seinem Platz



Pictures as inspiration
Look at a picture and write something about it, even if it only is a haiku! You can find pictures on the internet (google "wallpaper nature", there is going to be something), you can pore over illustrated books or factual books or even take action yourself and draw!
Tip: A good alternative is to take a piece of paper and draw dots on it, randomly, then connect some of the dots with lines and fill the areas that emerge. The result looks like modern art. Now give your creation a name and write about it! Maybe it is a strawberrytree, an anaconda boat trip or a whirlwindwhale:



With a quarry to your poetry
The idea is simple: write a prose text or use a text you already wrote. Then mark all the key words. Then you write all keywords on a separate piece of paper. They are now your "quarry" for the poetry. With these key words you write a poetry. Of course you can add any words you need for the poetry. It doesn't really matter, how many of your key words you actually used in the end. It is just important, that you used some of them.
For Pros: Use all words from the quarry! Still no challenge? Then only use the words from the quarry, adding as few other words as possible to the poetry!


Seasons
Have a look out of your window. What season is it?
Write something about this season. A poetry about autumn, a drama in which winter plays a major role, a short story about spring, a crime novel in summer. Most suitable for this method are poetries, because they can express feelings very well. Keep in mind, that the text should not only take place in this season, but that the season is the topic of the text!
Variation: Which month is it? What are the upcoming holidays/events? Write about it!


Music and Rhythm
Listen to music and take notes on the feelings that it expresses. You better don't choose music you already listen to the whole day. Traditional music or classical music are best for this. Operas and musicals can be a good choice as well. Your text is supposed to reproduce the feelings expressed by the music in the same order. Of course the song itself can be a part of the text.


Up and away
Leave! Leave your house, walk the dog if you want to, go for a walk with your children, your wife, your husband. But leave the paper behind, clear your mind. Visit places, that inspire you. For some people that may be the toilet, others go to the park, others like to be in the city or the basement. Go wherever you want and look for impressions, study various objects, talk to people. At some point you will have an idea. You just shouldn't forget it until you are back home...


Write with fellows
This method only works with a group of people, preferably three or more.
Everyone starts a story on a sheet of paper with one sentence or short passage. Then you pass the sheet along to your neighbour on the right. You then receive the sheet of your left neighbour and continue his story with a second sentence or passage. When you finished this second part, you pass the sheet to your right neighbour again, receive another sheet from your left fellow, add a third sentence to this story and so on. As soon as you finished one round, so that all of you have their own sheet in front of them again, you have to write an ending to your story. The tricky thing: Since everyone knows, he won't have to finish the stories of all the other participants, he can make it very difficult for them to continue!
Please note: The less people participate the longer the passage each person writes should be. In the case of three people in example, the first should write a beginning, the second the middle part, the third a plot twist and the first one has to write an ending for his story.


Inspiration by other writers
Here on :dalogo: this is one of the easiest methods: Look for a text from an author you like. Read through it and get inspired. Re-write a poetry in your style, use the same topic, the same characters. Such texts are usually not sutable for publishing, because they resemble the original, but they are a good way to elude a writer's block.

-

I hope I could help with these tips. If so, you probably don't even read this anyway, but instead write eagerly in your notebooks. If you know any other methods to avoid or elude a writer's block, I would ask you to leave a comment!
So, along these lines: Keep writing, keep going, don't give up! Smile, just try it! I am a dummy!

Cheers!
:iconsmyliart:
SmyliArt
© 2014 - 2024 SmyliArt
Comments0
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In