November is National Novel Writing Month, and the sea of writers on Twitter undulates with word counts, character development, plot musings and mutual encouragement. Although I’m not participating in NaNoWriMo this year, it’s easy to derive inspiration from the writing frenzy.
The theme of NaNoWriMo? Just write. Get the words out. 50,000 in one month. It’s an exercise in forced creativity and writing endurance; for many writers, it will prime the literary pump for months to come. Thinking about all the NaNo participants out there, I thought I’d share the ways in which I inspire myself to write every day, regardless of how I’m feeling, regardless of environmental distractions, regardless of whether Fringe is airing that night.
Manuscript Playlists
For every manuscript, I put together playlists that feel relevant to the plot, character arcs, themes, mood– you name it. Admittedly, I’ve even compiled actual soundtracks using film scores. Update my iPod Touch, head outside, walk around, and voilà. In the span of about an hour I can usually come up with new scenes, refine those already floating around in my head, craft sentences and raise the stakes.
If you’re interested in checking out some of my playlists, I’ve arranged them on last.fm. Click here, and feel free to add me if you have an account.
(This is where I shamelessly plug my music player of choice, Songbird.)
Exercise
Move the body, move the mind. Unless weather or illness prevents it, I take nightly walks around a twelve acre park near my condo. Midnight in Colorado is hushed; it affords me the mental space and solitude I need to reorganize my thoughts. I’ll usually stay out for an hour or two and then come home and write with a vengeance.
Oh, and I’ll be the first to admit that I talk to my dog when I take her with me, explaining my ideas to her while untangling plot threads and rearranging them into something resembling a cohesive story. I’m sure she’s far more interested in the foxes who come out to play at night, but she’s a good listener.
What are your favorite methods for inspiring creativity under a deadline? Music? Exercise? Meditation? Enlisting the help of a literary drill sergeant?
Greatings, Everything dynamic and very positively! :)
“What really knocks me out is a book that, when you’re all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it.”
— J.D. Salinger
(I just wanted to share this, having just read it *^^*)
Anyway, on topic:
For creating (drawing in my case), a good way for me to warm up is to look over a few of my favorite artists’ works, put on some music, make some tea. I sketch out whatever I want, sometimes making copies of a fav work for the technical exercise. “Master copies” are assigned regularly at school for this purpose, though we have to take it much farther than a sketch; an oil painting of an oil painting, etc. I think for writing, a journal could sort of be am exercise like this. For example, in livejournal, I often would write about the same topics I’d read, expanding on how the topic applied to me. It would be the reading that got the initial ideas flowing.
Anyway, I like the idea of taking a walk to think. I live in a pretty awesome neighborhood, so I dunno why it didn’t occur to me to do it sooner. Thanks!