This week on Twitter--or it might have even been today...time has been funny lately--some of my fellow writers and I lamented the fact that our Muses visit us with new ideas while we're still in the midst of trying to follow through on other, older ideas. In my experience, if I drop what I'm doing to follow a new idea, nothing ever gets finished. But just making notes about new ideas while pressing on with the current WIP results in an ever-longer list that I rarely go back to because by the time I'm done with the current project I've got ten more new ideas. Either way, I have far more ideas than I could possibly ever follow through on.
And yet I hoard my ideas, keep them locked away from other people's sight, thinking...what? That someday I will stop needing sleep? That I'll be able to clone myself and thus be ultra-productive? That someday I will be able to stop time by touching my fingertips together like Evie Garland in the 80's TV show Out of this World, and then I really will have unlimited time?
It's just silly. Yes, okay, so I like the ideas my Muse brings me and would love to be able to explore them all. But that's just not realistic! So why not give them away? Well, some of them, at least. I mean, it's not like you and I would write the same piece anyway. So yes. I'm going to do this. I'm going to stop hoarding ideas. Starting now.
Maybe you won't even like them! Maybe you'll use them as prompts in your daily writing warm-up ritual. (Ooh--that's a good idea. I should totally have a daily writing warm-up ritual.) Maybe one will strike your fancy and you'll end up writing something you really like. Who knows? This is an experiment. A game, if you will.
Here's the first prompt: As he passed, the air in his wake carried the scent of a candle that had just been blown out.
If you use this as a warm-up, I'd suggest just starting with a freewrite--meaning write stream of consciousness as fast as you can for 5 minutes. Don't edit; don't worry if it doesn't make sense. You can even write "I don't know what to write" over and over if that's all that comes to you.
And I would *love* it if you were to post what you end up writing--or even just an excerpt--as a comment on this blog post! =*D But obviously that is not required. You are allowed to not share. That's one of the rules of the game.
Happy writing!
I do this, too! (Hoard ideas, that is!) Every now and then one really grabs me and pokes at me until I do something with it, but I am getting better at ignoring that and focusing on my bigger projects. I really do like the prompt you've offered today though. *glares at pokey plot bunny part of the brain*
ReplyDeleteHaha! So maybe we're discovering a new use for all these ideas that we do nothing with. Maybe they are warm-up prompts and not meant to turn into bigger projects. I like that idea because it allows me to do something with them while not committing to them for the full length of a poem/story/novel/essay. Doesn't require me to take them (or myself) too seriously.
Deletegenerous idea - I agree these wonderful ideas become a stash before one knows it - warm up prompts = good idea, turning maybe into 20 vol series also possible who knows thats the fun of words:)
ReplyDeleteIndeed--writing is a process of discovery for me. Thanks for the encouragement, Alberta!
DeleteVery generous idea! I have written that idea down and I'll use it at some point to try and get my muse back in the room! Thank you for your kind comment over at my place, I do appreciate it! Have a wonderful week :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for checking out my blog, Em! I do hope you're feeling a bit more empowered this week. Maybe this week's prompt (which I'll post soon) will help with that. =*)
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