Transcripts
1. Welcome : You know how it goes. You have a fantastic story. It's an absolute
jewel of an idea. But when you sit
down to write it, you're completely
lost for how to start or how the
story progresses. Or perhaps you're in
the middle of writing. And all of a sudden we've
come to a standstill. You're motivated to write. You want to get this story down. But it's been awhile. And your minefields as blank
is that page of paper? Yep. You guessed it. It's fraud as block as Bob is, that overwhelming
feeling of being stuck, lost for ideas, and unable to
move forward in your work. You might find yourself staring blankly at your computer screen, racking your brain
for ideas and coming up with, well, nothing. It happens to almost every
rider at some point. And many successful authors have suffered from
writer's block. So how do you start writing
again when you've come to a standstill? Hi there. I'm Bonnie Begley, and I'm very happy to
have you join me. I'm an author and the founder
of Waldstein creative, a site design to help riders
get inspired and find. Therefore, in this short course, we're gonna be looking
at some easy exercises to get you writing again. Perhaps in the case of perfectionism or self-doubt inhibiting
your creative thinking. Or maybe the story you're
brining isn't working for you. Regardless of the cause. These exercises are all about
relaxing, loosening up. So you can better connect with your creative news and
let those ideas why? I'm excited to have you
joined. Let's get started.
2. Write Badly: Let's talk about one
of the key causes of writer's block, self-doubt. When it comes to creativity, self-doubt is enemy number one. We're all born creative. As children, we
play make-believe. We toyed with crazy ideas and we ask outlandish questions. And yet over time, we're taught to rein
in those impulses. We all become wary of
judgment and rejection. We start to hold ourselves back. Some of this is simply an inevitable part of socialization and
fitting in with others. But it can be really harmful
when it causes us to reject how outlandish ideas before they have time to form. To right. We have to immerse ourselves in the
world where story. We have to give our imagination
space to play freely. This means saying yes to those half-baked ideas and
seeing what comes with them. It means allowing
yourself to write Badly and explore
different options. It means following
that crazy notion down the rabbit hole. Successful authors aren't
necessarily feel us, but they do find a way to push through
self-doubt and right, despite the potential for
failure and rejection. Even if they feel
if what they're writing is total garbage, they often just keep on going. They know that the beauty
comes in the editing. If you find yourself frozen, it's time to forget about
anyone else seeing your work. I want you to forget
about your readers for now and write purely
for yourself, right, without editing
or second-guessing. Give you mine time to wander
and explore random Ideas. Allow yourself to play. Get comfortable
with the idea that your writing is not
going to be perfect. But if you continue to show up, then it will continue to improve
3. Free Writing: Free Writing is writing
whatever comes into your mind. It's essentially
brainstorming with a pin. Julia Cameron popularized
this technique with the concept of morning pages in her book, The Artist's Way. Morning pages are a form of stream-of-consciousness
writing in which you write down your thoughts
quickly without worrying about spelling
form or grandma. It's a way of digging
into those half realized Ideas and getting out
whatever's on your mind. This is including any fees. To get started. Sit
your cell phone. All you need is a pen and paper. You might want to
start with a pencil, but throw that, erase her away. Find a spot where you know, you won't be distracted
and you're good to go. Now clean your mind, relax and get comfortable. Take a few deep breaths. Try to totally clear your mind. Put all those distractions
out of your head for now. Set a timer or page number goal. You might find at the start
that it really helps to give yourself a time limit
or page number goal. You want to make these
really short and achievable. Five-minutes might be enough at the beginning or even less. Maybe you just want
to stick it to, you just want to
get in the habit of getting this old down. Now, right? And don't stop, write
whatever enters your head. Don't go back and edit. Just keep on moving forward. If you don't have
anything to write, then just write down I
have nothing to ride. If you want to just repeat what you've already written,
then go for it. This stage is all
about freeing up you subconsciousness and
letting yourself right with that judgment. When the time limits
finished or you've reached a certain
number of pages, stop. It's up to you whether
you want to go back and reread what
you've written, follow those pages
away or burn them. It's likely that you've written a page of rubbish,
but buried in there. There could be some gyms. Sometimes it takes a lot
of digging and uncovering those half-baked ideas to get to that story that
you will meant to tell. Give free Writing and try. And you might just
surprise yourself
4. Start Anywhere: You agonizing over the
perfect opening line. Yes. How awful Chapter can get your readers excited to read on? You don't have to have it
all figured out to start. If the pressure of the opening
is getting to you trust, skipping it and moving on with the next scene or
the next chapter. You might even want to
start in the middle. I'll begin with the ending. There is no rule that
writing has to be linear. You don't have to write a book in the order that it's red. It might help to get down
those strong scenes first, the ones that clearest in your mind and then
work backwards. No one is going to know that you wrote the easiest scenes, fist and lift those difficult
chapters for later. In fact, many authors prefer to write either the
middle or the end of the story first and use this as a guide for what's to come.
5. Switch it up: If you've done my
fourth simple steps to create a daily
writing habit course, then you'll know that
I talk a lot about the importance of establishing
a regular writing retained to get
those words down on a regular basis and really make moves towards
achieving your writing goals. But if you're anything like me, then now and again,
you just have to allow for a little
interval rebellion. Change up your writing routine. You might want to write
in a different setting. Try a cafe, a library, or your local park. If you normally write
in the mornings, try and evening session, you can change the way
in which you ride. Do some writing by hand, or switch on your computer
and try something else. Plot out your story with a storyboard sketch
or a mind map. You might want to try
brainstorming with another person or writing group. Sometimes a change in
your writing habits can really be that breath of fresh air that
you're storing needs
6. Writing Exercises: One way to loosen up
writer's block is by doing writing Exercises. These can be creative
writing prompts, writing sprints,
or short stories. Whatever gets those creative
juices flowing again. If you want to break away
from the story at hand, then try looking at
some writing prompts. Tikki group of random waves from a dictionary combined
to news headlines, will use a prompt generator. Don't forget to seek out
other sources of inspiration. Head to an Art Gallery, look over some
vintage photograph, spend some time on Pinterest. Listen to the songs
that you'd love. Pull apart lyrics and
Imagine what they mean. Try to imagine the
story behind an image. To chew over your story more. Think about doing
some exercises. You might want to
try interviewing a character, creating
a backstory, fleshing out your setting, or further developing
the themes in your work. Try rewriting as seen
from a different point of view or throwing a plot
twist to see where it leads. Whether you use
writing Exercises to generate ideas or just build
on what you already have. The idea is just
to shake things up and bring some fresh life to your work so you
can get writing again.
7. Walk it out: Sometimes the solution for writer's block is as simple
as going for a walk. Getting outside. It's
a great way to clear your head and alleviate anxiety. Not only is it good
for your health, walking has been
scientifically proven to help with problem-solving
and creativity. Interestingly, many
famous writers have been avid walkers, including Stephen
King, Virginia Woolf, and Charles Dickens,
to name a few. So take some time
away from your desk. And as you put 1 ft in
front of the other, allow yourself to daydream and let your imagination wander. If walking really
isn't your thing, then you can still benefit
from relaxation time outdoors. Spending time in nature
can really help you to reduce stress and slow down, which allows you to meditate, tap into that creative mindset.
8. Read and Imagine: So here's a solution that most
riders are going to love. Read. Find inspiration in
the words of others. Revisit your favorite stories, whether it's one of the
Facebooks you truly loved or something that caught your
attention more recently. As you reconnect
with these stories, consider what makes
them so compelling. What are the elements within a Stories really spark
your imagination? A FUN exercise to do
is to take a scene or a piece of dialogue from one of your favorite
stories and rework. It. Changed the characters on in and adding unexpected line
or use a fresh setting. You might want to place
a modern day story into a historical setting or set of traditional tile
in the future. Play around with
different ideas. Consider what unexpected
elements you can place in there. Experiment with stories. Try changing at
the point of view. Instead of having the
protagonist take the stage, consider the Ark
of the antagonist or the supporting characters. How could you look
at their goals and weaknesses to really
bring this story to life? Introduced new elements such as a plot twist or an
alternate ending. Could you increase
the stakes and make things harder
for your characters? The more your characters
have just struggled, the greater the final
payoff and the more satisfying your story
will be for your readers. Playing around with
the stories of others can lead to all
kinds of new ideas. Regardless of what
elements you take, give the story of fresh
touch of your eye. Go beyond the original work and see what new tails
you can pull from it.
9. Find the joy: So I'm gonna guess
that you love writing. But somewhere along the way, things have cease to be phon, and now it's really feeling
a bit more walk Hard work. You can really begin to
associate writing with money stress or the weight of unmet expectations or deadlines. Perhaps you've
been talking about finishing this story for years. Or perhaps you're
just finding it really difficult to
get into a state of creative flow
with everything else currently going on in your life. If that's the case,
then it's time to revisit why he started writing and bring back some
of that creativity and joy. Start by making
your writing space. I place you love to bean. Make it a Creative
sanctuary where you're surrounded by things
that make you feel good. This could be inspiring quotes, beautiful images, or simply
blasting your favorite music. Have a think about the
conditions you work best under. How could you set
up the lighting, the seeding to better
optimize you to write. You need to have a
dog than enables you to shut out
the outside world. You might want to add in a
ritual to better prepare yourself to Writing and smooth the transition to creative work. This doesn't have to be
anything complicated. Writing ritual can be as
simple as making a coffee, playing some music,
lighting a candle, or taking a walk. Over time, these
small rituals could come to signal to you
that it's time to write. Have FUN with your writing. Write the book you
want to write, and celebrate each small
milestone along the way. Ultimately writing his know that doing what works for you. Don't be afraid
to start over and allow yourself to make mistakes. Experiment and play with ideas. Make your writing, your time for you and your gift to yourself.
10. Wrap Up: Congratulations, here
we are at the end. And what could be just
the beginning to you? I'm hoping that somebody exercises we've gone
through have loosened up your creativity and you're now feeling inspired
and ready to write. If not, then give
yourself some space. Your productivity
levels will fluctuate. On some days, those words will flow and others,
they simply want. If you have an off day and
off week or even an optimum, then don't be too
hard on yourself. Only you can be the judge at when it's time to
push through and keep writing when you need to step away from the
desk for a while. Remember that writing is
supposed to be PFK-1. This is all about
doing something you love him to bring some joy
into what you're doing. Experiment with
different exercises and styles of writing to see
which one you'd like best. And most importantly,
embrace the process. Mistakes and bad
writing are inevitable. They're all just a part
of the writing journey. And it's what's going to really
help you grow as a vida. I'm to let go of any
expectations you have. Know that by showing up
and writing regularly, your work will
naturally improved. I'd love to see how you put on. So feel free to post
about your progress here and share any tips
that worked for you. Together. We can all
cheer each other on. Thanks very much for joining
me today and happy Writing
Bonnie Baguley, Author I Fiction & Creativity
