Ideas: Where do they Come From?

I recently finished a draft for a short play I was working on.  This particular piece had been sitting on my computer for over 6 months half-finished.  In an attempt to clean up some files on my computer, I came across a lot of works-in-progress.  Some of them clearly needed to be tossed, but there was something about this play that I liked and I felt it deserved to be completed.

I had no idea where I was going with it, but I did indeed finish writing the play.  I sent it to a trusted friend who I know will give me the straight dirt on whether the piece showed any promise or if it needed to be filed in the recycle bin.

The first thing she said was, "I liked it." (Phew!  Affirmation is good!)  The second thing she said was, "Where do you get these ideas?!?" (That's the punctuation she used and everything!)

So, I realized I couldn't answer that question.  I did not specifically set out to write the play that I wrote.  Does that make sense?  That's not always the case.  I recently finished a play that was a very specific assignment with a very specific theme and I knew what I needed/wanted to write.  But other times, like with this new short play, I wasn't sure where I was going.  I liked the characters; I liked the way they spoke to one another, and I let them lead the way.  It turned out to be a quirky little 10-minute play and I'll be having it read by my playwrighting group in a couple of weeks.  We'll see what they say about it and if they think it has any legs to go further.

But my point is, where do the ideas come from?  For me, they come from life.  They come from places you'd least expect it.  They come from eavesdropping in grocery stores and restaurants and standing in line at the bank.  (Yes...I'm a voracious eavesdropper, just so you know!) But my initial ideas usually morph into something else.  Nine times out of ten, the idea changes as the writing progresses.  Well, the core may remain the same, but not always.  You can't control creativity.  You gotta give it free reign...let it run wild.  When you do your rewrite...that's when you try to tame it a bit.  But rewrites?  Oy...rewrites are a bitch!

So tell me...where do your ideas come from?

FOCUS!

Does this photo give you a headache?  Yeah...me too!  Welcome to my brain! Focusing on writing takes a whole lot of discipline my friends.  Especially when there are so many other things on my mind. 

However, I recently tried a technique to help me focus which was introduced to me by a writer acquaintance. Now I will share this method with you. By the way, this technique can be used to accomplish any task; obviously I'm using it to keep my writing on track.

Start by setting a timer for 50 minutes.  During that time, allow yourself to concentrate fully on your task.  Turn off your phone, disconnect your Internet to keep yourself away from emails and other distractions, and just WORK! Fully immerse yourself in the activity for 50 minutes.  When the timer rings, it's time to take a 10-minute break.  You need to walk away from whatever it is you were doing.  (In my case, I need to leave my desk.) You can take a quick walk, go get some water or food, but only take 10 minutes off.  Then do the entire thing again.  Reset the timer for 50 minutes and once again immerse yourself in your task.

I used this technique the other day.  It was difficult, but everything worth having is difficult, don't you think?  It's really intense to work this way, but I got a lot accomplished, so it is definitely a productive approach.  I wrote using this technique for about 6 hours and I will admit it was exhausting.  But rewarding!  Not sure I could work at this intensity level every day, but for a couple of hours a few times a week, it may be the way to go.

So if you've been having trouble focusing, you might want to try this out.  It's really important to take that 10 minute break, and then immediately go back to your task.  Don't let that 10 minutes turn into 15 or 20...you'll lose your momentum and then the focus is gone, gone, gone.

Give it a try...let me know if it works for you!

Speak the Speech, I Pray You....OUT LOUD!

Writing is such a solitary occupation, and typically a quiet one. But I talk out loud to myself all the time. It's becoming pervasive...branching out into all areas of my life, and not just when I'm sitting at my desk working on a piece. I have been known to carry on full-length conversations with myself in public places like Target.

Here I am…in the toilet tissue aisle…talking. To no one…!

As I examine various rolls of toilet paper the conversation goes something like this:

"Hmmm…should I get the Northern bathroom tissue, or is the Angel Soft a better deal?"

No…that doesn’t really sound right. Actually, in reality the conversation probably goes something like this:

"Why have I been standing in front of the toilet paper for 10 minutes trying to figure out how to get the most for my money? Just pick one already, will you Deb?"

Yeah, that sounds more like me. I'm sure many people in Target have noticed my toilet paper diatribe and steered away from the odd woman who is obviously a bit tweaked in the head.

Ah well...occupational hazard.

As a playwright, it's essential that I read my work out loud. I need to hear the rhythm of the dialogue. I need to hear if the writing sounds natural; if it truly sounds like a conversation and not just words on a page. But I also think it’s useful to read any piece of writing out loud. It doesn’t have to be a play or a speech. Short stories, articles, advertising copy, even blog posts! I think it works to the writer’s benefit to hear the words spoken out loud and outside of their head.

If nothing else, it helps give me a sharper eye when proofreading. I’m more apt to spot an error if I hear it…sometimes my eye is lazy and doesn’t see a mistake, but I’ll hear if a sentence sounds weird, or a comma needs to be placed. You get the idea, right?

So whatever you happen to be working on…a press release, a journal entry, a poem, a blog, a memoir….sing out Louise! Let the words of your writing reverberate back to you…out loud…it’s kinda fun. I just wouldn’t recommend doing it in the middle of Target.

Blocked?

photo by psyberartist

The images of what I want to say are swirling around in my head but the words don't come. I won't give into calling this "writer's block," because I'm not blocked. Not exactly. I'm just having difficulty finding a through-line. Finding my voice. Finding my character's voice. Telling the story!

Ok...well, that might indeed be a block. It's just that everything is very chaotic these days, up there in that old attic head of mine. Lots of cobwebs, lots of clutter. And I have tales to tell and plays that want to be written, but they're hiding in the corner, collecting dust and reluctant to be found.

How do I begin to clean out the jumbled mess up there? Where do I start? I need to sidestep the frustration, roll up my sleeves and dig in.

I'd take a deep breath, but all this dust is giving me an asthma attack...

"Word Fall" by psyberartist

The Late, Great Dorothy Parker

I turn to her when I need to be inspired and amazed...she never lets me down.  Here's two from the incomparable Mrs. Parker:

"Symptom Recital"
I do not like my state of mind;

I'm bitter, querulous, unkind.

I hate my legs, I hate my hands,

I do not yearn for lovelier lands.

I dread the dawn's recurrent light;

I hate to go to bed at night.

I snoot at simple, earnest folk.

I cannot take the gentlest joke.

I find no peace in paint or type.

My world is but a lot of tripe.

I'm disillusioned, empty-breasted.

For what I think, I'd be arrested.

I am not sick, I am not well.

My quondam dreams are shot to hell.

My soul is crushed, my spirit sore;

I do not like me any more.

I cavil, quarrel, grumble, grouse.

I ponder on the narrow house.

I shudder at the thought of men....
I'm due to fall in love again."

— Dorothy Parker

The two most beautiful words in the English language are 'cheque enclosed."

— Dorothy Parker

Some things never change, eh?

A Word or Two About Writing

Photo by Gonzalo Barrientos

Ask any writer about the writing process...go ahead...ask them. Say somethin' like, "Hey you...writer...tell me about your process..."
For every writer you ask, you'll get a different answer.  Every writer has his or her own way of going about things.  Maybe the arrangement of things on the desk has to be just so.  The cup of coffee has to be on the right side or the left side.  It has to be 5AM.  Or 2PM.  Some writers have to wear the blue, hemp "writing" hat in order to get any work accomplished...(so, okay...that's me!) Some writers have to write longhand.  Others can only write on a laptop.  And others still are die hard old school worker bees and must write on a typewriter. 

Oh, my goodness, the list goes on and on.  But from what I understand, most writers, myself included, do engage in the dance of procrastination.  For me, I am mostly writing these days in the morning.  When a good idea comes to me in the night, while I'm sleeping (and it often does) I'd better get my butt up and write down the idea, otherwise it is lost forever.  I've tried  to talk myself into believing that the idea is SO good, so lucid, that it will be there in the morning.  It never is.  NEVER.  Maybe a remnant of the idea, but only if I'm lucky.  I'm usually not!

I can think of a million things to do that have nothing to do with writing prior to plopping down and getting to the task at hand.  The funny thing is, once I'm IN it...once I've started, and I'm engaged, I love writing.  Don't get me wrong, it's hard as hell.  Mostly rewriting is hard.  Writing is fun.  Rewriting is ARDUOUS.  I love that word.  That's why I do this.  I love words. 

Photo by Billie Hara

If you want to write for a living, then you have to treat it like a job.  A job you love...but a job nonetheless.  You can make your own hours, you can write whenever you want, where ever you want.  You can wear your pajamas, or your sweats or a suit and tie for that matter.  But you need to set goals, and be disciplined, and write EVERY SINGLE DAY!  It's like exercise.  You have to do it every day to see results.  To get better at your craft.  Sure you need a break now and then.  So take a break...I'm not stopping you.  But it's essential to keep those wheels greased!

There are tons of books out there on how to write.  But I say, if you want to write, don't read about it...DO IT!  If you do want to hear what the pros have to say, here's a couple of suggestions:

•  Anne Lamott's Bird by Bird.  Even if you don't want to be a writer, you should read Anne Lamott. She's amazing, adorable, humorous...I love her.  Read everything she's ever written.  You'll be glad you did.
• And of course, I must recommend my main man, Mr. Stephen King.  His book On Writing shoots from the hip.  He tells it like it is, doesn't sugarcoat it.  Before I die, please let me meet Stephen King and thank him for the hours of reading pleasure (and terror) he has given me.  But in On Writing, he was very much my teacher, and there is no finer teacher than the master himself!

DISCIPLINE.  Say it with me. DISCIPLINE!  Good!  Because that's what it takes.  Just write!  Not every word has to be gold.  Not everything you create has to be read by somebody else.  But if you want to write...if you want to call yourself a writer, then be a Nike ad, and JUST DO IT!

Thank you for your attention during my diatribe.  Now write me a comment...that's a good way to get started!