As writers we are constantly struggling with writers’ block. There continues to be a steady stream of things we’d rather be doing than actually sitting in a little room by ourselves, and writing. You know, we could be at the movies or making kettle corn on the stove, or staring out the window, at whatever drama is outside the window, without regard to whether there is anything going on outside. If procrastination were an occupation, I’d be making millions at it.
During a Book Writing World mentoring class not too long ago, Elizabeth came up with a grand “trick” or two to jump start the writing.
“I think of Jamie and silliness pops out of the ground in the form of a California hazelnut, bearing its tasseled foliage on each slim branch. Amid death and groaning wooden power and the wet complexity of moss and fungus and vines–from the same solemn pit, silliness pops up to dangle its tassels.”
—Veronica by Mary Gaitskill.
1. Feel free to imitate her whole approach, almost like a glorified Mad Lib: I think of _____[noun or proper noun] and [concept] [great verb] in the form of [concrete object], [then show us the complexity of that object as it mirrors that of which you are thinking.]
OR:
2. Read this passage aloud, get inspired by the pure sounds, and write freely without worrying how it works.
What are your “great verbs” and “concrete objects” and how will you fill out your Mad Lib?
Devi Laskar is a founding member of the Book Writing World. She holds an MFA in creative writing from Columbia University, is a rabid Tar Heel basketball fan and will be reading some of her work on April 9 at the Sacramento Poetry Center in CA.