Hello!
One last prompt before I get back to university: “What things give you energy”?
Well, I’m not going to be an overbearing, classy science/Social jerk here and say something along the lines of “ATP Hydrolysis” or “BAN HYDROCARBONS!” or even “Why you should stop using Tiktok”. I’m going to stick relevant to writing.
I write best when I’m worked hard – when I’m not just recycling pre-existing resources from my Pet project and are forced to come up with something new and fresh. Sure, there’s a point of difficulty that will utterly kill motivation, but just below it is the pinnacle of my work. Thus, some of the best stimuli are weird prompts – like a man walking his chicken or a toilet bowl full of gold coins. Coming up with a conventional explanation for the picture’s absurdity will lend to the plot and then jog your mind for characters and scenes. Now, this tactic doesn’t always produce grounded stories and might risk producing something completely disorientating to the reader, but either way it’s great exercise. Prompts in general, whether tame or absurd, are your basic kit for writing and worth giving a shot if you’re new to writing.
That is one basket for your creative eggs – the general rule of thumb for finding more is to try something new. Here are s’more ideas that I’ve found work:
- Change the type of format for your writing: have a go at poetry instead of prose or vice versa. Sure, at first you’re going to be floundering in unfamiliar territories, but the more you practise and learn from experience, the more interesting your pieces and the easier it will be to write at all.
- Set strict guidelines. This can be as simple as writing within a time limit. Some of my favourite tasks are trying to write a story without mentioning the letter E (most common grapheme of all) or writing it in Second Person. I’ve even attempted to write my own Chaucer forgery in middle english at one point – use a guide to help you with this; an online translator is kind of cheating! This is a bit of an extension of the above, since it involves exercising completely different ways of presenting your writing.
- Rewrite a pre-existing piece,preferably one of your own, to appeal to a different demographic. Disney-fy your Grimm – make an adult piece suitable for kids, but don’t underestimate what kids are capable of liking. Remember, kids like “Orrible murder” too! Likewise, you could Grimmify some measly, sentimental mush too. Just a suggestion!
Anyhoo, that’s enough of me rambling for today. Hope you’ve had a good one so far!
Ben Easton - The Novel Hovel 
Leave a comment