Possibly the worst way to get your writing project off to a rolling start is to wait for the Muse to strike.
Many people conjure a certain image of what a writer is supposed to look like: the solitary creator, sitting before his or her typewriter (or wireless keyboard), their Muse in flowing robes hovering above them, waving a hand of inspiration, while the writer pens the magnum opus.
But the truth is that waiting around for inspiration to drop out of the sky is not going to work.
If you wait until you’re inspired, or until you have a completely original idea (no such thing – it’s all been done before), or you have the time to do it, it will never happen.
A better way is to jump right in and start. There are a number of techniques you can use to accelerate your creativity. Whether you fully embrace a program, such as The Artist’s Way, Julia Cameron’s classic course on creativity, or simply begin a few time-honored practices, there are methods that you can use to keep moving forward on your current project, or even get started on the first one. Here are three techniques you can begin at any time, regardless of what you intend to write. They can spark new ideas, pull you out of a writing slump, or help propel your writing project forward.
Brainstorming exercises. There are a number of different brainstorming exercises that you can use to collect ideas for any writing project. One quick method is known as an idea web or cluster. It’s a simple yet powerful way to generate ideas. You start with a blank sheet of paper – a piece of printer paper is ideal. Write down your main idea (just a word or two) in the center the paper and draw a circle around it. From there, keep drawing lines out from the main idea and add other words and ideas that come to mind, like a word association. There are apps and software that you can use to do this, but I find there is no better way to spark an idea than by literally putting pen to paper. I’ve used this exercise to generate everything from blog post ideas to marketing concepts.
Daily writing. One of the best ways to push forward your creativity is to write on a daily basis, or as close to every day as possible. Nearly every published author I know writes every day, whether or not they are in the middle of a novel or other project. Most tend to commit to a specific number of words or pages. Even if you don’t have a writing project, committing to some sort of daily free writing will likely help you find something to write about. If you’re really not sure where to start, begin by writing in a journal. Looking for story ideas? Writing prompts can be a fun way to find a new idea. There are plenty of writing prompt generators on the Web.
Block out time to write. Writing for sustained periods may be the single most powerful way to accelerate your creative writing process. Having no distractions is key. That means no phone, no email, no internet. (I didn’t say this would be easy.) Virtually every successful writer, whether they write fiction or non-fiction, blocks out a set number of hours per day to commit to writing. If you’re not accustomed to doing this level of creative work, you may feel uncomfortable or even panicky at the idea of sitting down to write for a sustained period. So start with a half hour and then build from there. But eventually, to keep the momentum going, you need to carve out a larger amount of time. Start to do this every day, and a book may not be out of the realm of possibility.
Author Steven Pressfield is a firm believer in the Muse. In his book on creativity, The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks & Win Your Inner Creative Battles, he notes the magnitude of completing the act of writing every day: “When we sit down each day and do our work, power concentrates around us. The Muse takes note of our dedication. She approves. We have earned favor in her sight. When we sit down and work, we become like a magnetized rod that attracts iron filings. Ideas come. Insights accrete.”
Find your muse and other ways to consider what it means to accelerate by getting your ticket to TEDxNavesink on April 11, 2015.
Mary Ellen Landolfi is the co-owner of The Write Room, LLC, a Monmouth county writing and editorial services firm. A lifelong resident of the Jersey Shore, she lives in Tinton Falls with her husband and three children.