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Stimulating Ideas

Jan 8, 2007
4 comments

I. Sensory writing:

This is an old idea that works. It is best if someone helps you gather things so you don't see them yourself but you can do this on your own as well.

Collect the following types of things. If someone is helping, you only need one of each. If you are doing this yourself, then get a couple of boxes and place multiples of each type in a box.

Tactile object (feathers, cloth, sandpaper, ornament, statue...)
Scent object (spice, perfume, dirty laundry...)
Flavor object (something with a strong flavor when it touches the tongue)
Shaped/Geometric object (vase, bowl, box, tile...)

With your eyes closed, pick up each object in turn and examine it with all of your senses, except for site. Allow yourself to relax and you will find memories as well as images come to your mind. Describe what you think the object is like, not knowing what it is.

II. Writing by Triangulation:

Think of a topic, as an example let us say a "candle".
Think of every word you know to describe a candle without using the word itself, then try to write about the topic. See if you can get your topic across without using the primary word.

III. Primers:

Take a word, with all of its various meaning, spelling and tenses, and try to create a small primer. Sometimes you can not use all of the parts but try to get as many as you can.
Example: While drinking my drink I drank my drink until it was drunk. Now just because I drank my drink, it doesn't mean I'm drunk.

Often silly word games can trigger an idea.

IV. Character Development

Sometimes, just playing with character development can spark an idea. "How did the character get to this point, made them what they are..." It never hurts to create notebooks of characters, write down their stories, their thoughts and then find a plot.

Expect to see more primers from me in the future as I tend to write them often. ;)

Challenge 1:

Jan 8, 2007
4 comments

Started by Irma

As the sun set, he looked towards his mother, wondering if tonight would be the night. She lay upon the bed, fragile as a flower with but a few petals remaining. She had been his strength and now, she looked to him for what she had once given so easily. The cancer had eaten through her so quickly, now her age and weight were balanced. Still, she smiled as she looked upon him, he knew what her eyes were saying, no mirror could reflect the brightness of her love and determination.

Returning her smile, he went to her and sat gently upon the edge of her bed. He talked about his children and told her of their escapades. The thrill of adventure still in their souls, her grandchildren were on a trip to China. Soon they would be returning home to spend time with her before she left this world but for now, their adventures were her food, she soaked up every drop and begged for more. He told her of their excursion to the Great Wall, the thrills and chills of water rafting upon the Yangtze River and the awe they felt upon seeing the great palaces of past emperors.

No, tonight would not be the night, he knew she would wait as long as it took until the children came home. He smiled as she pointed to the mp3 player they had given her for her birthday. Nodding, he retrieved it and gently placed the headphone atop her wool cap. He tuned the player to her favorite music and watched as she closed her eyes and sighed.

He simply held her hand and watched the moon rise.

This is how it works: you get 5 words and with these 5 words you have to write an entry. The words might or might not be related. You decide how to combine them, and how long your entry will be. You tag your entry with 5wordchallenge and whatever other tags you like. Finally, you put the words in bold.

First challenge: headphone, thrills, flower, china, mirror