5 Top Reasons to Live THE ARTIST'S WAY

Have you joined the
Progressive Book Club yet?

The more books on the craft of writing I read, the harder I am to please.

All I want from a how-to manual is just one good, useful, life-changing tip - is that so much to ask? Just one. But it has to be a doozy. 

Many writing manuals are packed chock-full of tips and advice, in fact too many. At the most, my scattered little brain can only remember up to three good points, otherwise I get sparks and steam coming out my ears as the cogs grind. Most are good tips, but really, once you've read half a dozen writing guides, you've probably heard them before.

No, it must be an earth-shattering, mind-blowing piece of advice. And this book has it.

The Artist's Way Handbook was already listed on my Ten Best Writing Workbooks post, but it warranted a revisit. Why did I like it? I got my one good tip. 

Morning Pages - this is the term Julia Cameron uses to describe a daily task. First thing you do when you get up in the morning is to write three pages in longhand. It doesn't matter what you write, as long as you fill three pages. This was amazing for me. Here's my top reasons you should try writing morning pages:

1. Focus. This small act lets me know my day is set for writing. When I don't complete my morning pages, I find I have a disorganised day.
2. Capture dreams. If I get started quickly enough I can hold onto that vanishing story from my dream time. Last night I dreamt of a flat cat, that once I administered first aid, it inflated back up again. I can't make that stuff up.
3. Inspiration. By delving into my aspirations, I can clarify my career desires.
4. Stories. Sometimes my writing pages are blessed with stories, I don't even understand where they all come from. One of my favourite sassy characters, big Rosie, manifested on these pages.
5. Info dump. Sometimes my head becomes overloaded with clutter. I get so frazzled with the hundred different aspects of my life that I can't sit still and work on my WIP. On those days, my morning pages dump all the garbage out of my head and leave a nice clear space for the creative.
6. To-do list. I'll often finish up my three pages with a quick to-do list for the day. Once I get the kids up and off to school, I feel like I have a guide in place so I know exactly where to start when I get back.

This time I got further with the book. Some tips I enjoyed, such as listing things I love to do, other lives I could have lived, but then there were other activities I couldn't get into, such as remembering someone who wronged you from the past and pondering what blocks your creativity. I found the later too negative for me, I'm all about bouncy happy bunnies, no time for doom and gloom.

Coming up with your own writing affirmations is also a big winner for me. They serve as a reminder that my writing and teaching writing is a professional career and deserves respect.

In summary? Get yourself this workbook. There are several editions, but I recommend the workbook. Do the activities that speak to you, and miss the once that don't appeal to you (like the downers). Go for it. The Artist's Way is a fantastic workbook. 5/5 for me!

Don't forget to sign up for our awesome blog hop!

Imagination Sparks Blogfest

Starts August 1, sign up now!

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Imagination Sparks Blogfest

You might remember this blogfest from 2011, well I've brought it back!

This is the IMAGINATION SPARKS BLOGFEST

What does that mean? It's easy. We all know at least one good warm up exercise to get our brain geared up and ready to write. That one creative task that gets your imagination bubbling with ideas. I thought we'd share them and try eachother's.

Here's what I want you to do:

1. Register your blog in the link list below to show you are going to try and participate. Sign up will be available from now until the end of the blogfest. If you'd like to use the image above to let others know about the blog hop - go ahead!
2. On the 1st of August (or there about - I'm not strict), post one of your favourite writing exercises that we can all try. 
3. Read other people's blogs and try some of those exercises.
4. Around the 8th, do a follow up blogpost to let people know which exercises you tried and what results you got. Visit the other blogs to see how they went with the exercises. (we all have different time zones, so anytime that fits your schedule is good for me)
5. Get new ideas and make new bloggy friends!

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Keeping a Dream Journal -- 7 Tips

Dreams disappear quickly upon waking. One way to hang onto those fragments of inspiration is to keep a Dream Diary. From your dreams you can take the abstract idea and brainstorm story plots. Do you record dreams? Here's some tips:

1. Make sure your paper and pen are right by your bedside, chances are you won't bother getting up in the night to find them.
2. If you can't see well enough to write immediately (my eyes are blurry for about an hour after waking), you can say the dream out loud to help solidify the memory.
3. Think about your WIP as you drift off to sleep. Talk to your characters, this might help you dream about them.
4. Don't try to write a sensible narrative of your dream, just scrible images and interactions as you remember them. They don't have to make sense, you can use them as writing prompts later.
5. Meditate before sleep to promote vivid dreams. I've posted about hypnosis for writing before in Stories from the Subconscious I use a hypnosis recording on my iPhone. You can also learn self-hypnosis. Try iTunes or Audible for plenty of free hypnosis podcasts.
6. Fall asleep listening to an audio book. I do this accidently sometimes and it always prompts weird dreams.
7. Reading fiction right before bed can get your brain in an imaginative mood.

Here's some recordings that I use:

Ever wondered why we forget our dreams so easily? 

The Naked Scientist tells us dreams create short-term memories, and because we often don't consciously move those images to our long-term memory, we quickly forget them. This is why you are more likely to remember a dream if you are awakened during it.

Freud's idea was that dreams are our secret wishes and desires, so we decide to suppress them. That doesn't really work for me because there are plenty of dreams I wish I could have suppressed, but didn't.

And because we move in our dreams through our imagination we are tying our memory to that kinetic memory, but when we wake we move our body physically (stretch, sit up or reach for the alarm) and this breaks the link between our dream state and physical state. This theory suggests lying very still upon waking, with your eyes still closed to recall your dream before moving your body.

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Setting Rules Story

Snoopy's world was limited in space, but imagination meant anything could happen!
Click on the picture if you want to get this as a wallpaper

Setting is often a key element in our story. Sometimes it can even be a character in the story like the big old house in Tim Winton's Cloudstreet. But often new writers overlook this and just have the setting as somewhere for stuff to take place.

I have an exercise I do with students when I run creative writing workshops for kids, it helps them to understand how setting can affect our story. I thought I'd share it with you now. Try this exercise with the setting to your WIP, but first use a few of the random ones suggested here as a warm up. We did this exercise in my writing group today and there were some interesting writing prompts from it.

If you're in a group, write these settings down on scraps of paper (add some of your own if you like) and disperse randomly. Otherwise, pick out two or three to work with.

Possible Settings:

• Pirate ship
• Prison
• Australian bush
• Homeless gathering
• Skyscraper
• High school
• Space
• Fantasy land
• Ski lodge
• Police station

Now you simply write two lists. 

One list is for plot ideas or motivations that can be generated from this setting, e.g. in a Prison, escape, trying to stay good for parole, guard might on their last day because they're quitting for a safer security job, governor or head of the prison might be trying to meet budget cuts or there could be an alien invasion on earth and the prison is the safest place from land attacks. 

The second list is all the threats that setting presents. In the Prison it could be knifing, drugs, vicious guards, attack dogs, lockdown and left without food in your cell (as all the guards have been killed off by the aliens), riots, lack of empathy from outside community, or losing your sanity.

Once you have a few lists, pick a plot idea and at least one threat then write for 10-15 minutes and see what you come up with, you might find yourself with a decent piece of flash fiction or the start of something bigger!

Now you've warmed up properly, pull out your own setting and see if you can find more threats or possibilities that could strengthen your WIP.

I'm currently working on a story where the little sister of Isis is resurrected in New York City 5,000 years later. So my setting is split between Ancient Egypt and New York City. Here's my list for Ancient Egypt:

Plot ideas

• Mummification
• Prophecies
• Secrets and plots
• Gods
• Superstitions and religion
• Afterlife
• Amulets and protection magic
• Came race

Dangers

• Mummified alive
• Cobras
• Assassins
• Rabid Camel
• Crocodiles
• Heat, sun exposure
• Dehydration
• Floods (The area by the Nile was not a desert but quite lush back then)
• Evil Gods
• Sacrifice
• Sentenced to death

If you try it out I'd love to see some of your suggestions for plot ideas or dangers for setting.

This post is part of the Insecure Writer's Support Group, challenges are posted once a month, you can sign up to join in here (or click on the picture). Now there's a few hundred participants, so it'll take me a while to get around to everyone, but I'll certainly try before the next challenge!

Realised, I should mention my writing insecurity! Mine is when I've finished that first draft and got all the plot details down, I won't be able to figure out that magic ingredient that adds life and pop to the book, it'll end up a bit bleh. What I do about it is exercises like this one to strengthen different elements of the story.

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P is for Plot

I came across this brilliant resource (which admittedly I found it linked on someone else's blog but can't remember which one to credit) for writing novels. There are many different methods writers use, and mine has usually been, get an idea and just start writing, once I can see some direction, I then plot the whole thing out.

Some writers claim novels don't need plot, but realistically that makes the story hard to follow and most readers won't want to continue the meandering journey. I love plot. This video from The Plot Whisperer will help anyone just starting out that can't find the direction they need to write a novel, and experienced writers who'd like some motivation and increase productivity in their writing time.

So enjoy, and remember, these tools are only useful if you USE them. As soon as you're done watching, make some notes on that next novel!

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C is for Create Chaos

Chaos. Doesn't matter how much we try to avoid it, we are enveloped by it constantly. It's hard to ignore, we worry that it will prevent us from finishing our manuscript, from getting to our workshop on time or from even finding where we saved that darn WIP. But Chaos can be our friend. Chaos is creative.

The popular film I Don't Know How She Does It uses chaos as the conflict in the plot. It's the chaos in Oliver Twist's journey that added colour to an otherwise drab and grey environment. I'm a plotter, and one of the drawbacks of that method is creating carefully planned events to form a plot. Sometimes I need to just let go and let chaos take over my WIP. This way my characters end up in predicaments that take me days to figure out how get them to rescue themselves. I need chaos in my writing, and, in my writing practice.

How can you write chaos if you don't experience it. Do you go somewhere peaceful and quiet to write? I do. But what about heading into a crowded loud place, like a food court at the shopping centre? Don't ignore the chaos, soak it up and write it! Describe the calamity, the overlapping conversations, the movement and mixture of smells.

Order and planning lives in the left-brain, while chaos sprouts from the right side of the brain, the same side creativity resides in.

"Our real discoveries come from chaos, from going to the place that looks wrong and stupid and foolish." Chuck Palahniuk.

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No More Excuses

The last quarter of 2011 was a whirlwind for me, and I've allowed that to flow onto 2012. No more.

Time to get back to writing and blogging. It's hard to break a slump, here's some ways I find helpful.

• Write something small, maybe a diary entry.
• Browse and comment on writing blogs, they're very inspirational.
• Get up before the family and don't let yourself away from your writing until you have at least one page.
• Listen to a podcast on writing. I love Writing Excuses because the episodes are short but extremely helpful and they always end with a prompt.
• Join a writers group.
• Take a writing class.
• Find a writing exercise (in how-to books, podcasts, blogs or anywhere). Just try doing one writing exercise unrelated to your bigger work-in-progress.

I've chosen to start my writing off with a blog post, but I might work my way through the rest of the list.

My new writing spot in Auchenflower, Brisbane:

Our furniture hasn't arrived yet, so we are camping out - in:

How do you lure yourself back into writing after a break? Are you in the zone now, or in a writing slump?

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5 Benefits of a Writers Workshop

Merimbula, a great place to relax and write.

This weekend we drove down to Merimbula (coastal town popular during whale-watching season). While visiting the in-laws, I also got to take part in a writers workshop run by Writers of the Far South Coast. I met some wonderful writers and am always in awe of how people from such different backgrounds and lifestyles can come together with a common interest and goal.

I know I could spend the time that I travel around participating in workshops actually writing, or doing writing exercises from a book or the web. But I get a lot out of writing workshops.

So why take part in workshops?

1. Learn - This gives me an opportunity to hear from published authors and writers with different experiences from myself. I learn a lot from the speaker and the other participants.


2. Reminder - Even if I've been going through a writing lull, hanging out with other writers reminds me to get back into my WIP.


3. Sharing - It's a good environment to bounce your ideas of other writers and see if they can help you smooth out any wrinkles in your current story.


4. Socialise - You are all passionate about the same thing, writing is a great thing to have in common.


5. Push your boundaries - This is my favourite reason. During a workshop I will take part in exercises I might otherwise shy away from because I think they're too hard or outside my comfort zone. You are pushed to perform when you take part in a workshop. For example, in this workshop we were asked to write a Haiku. I'm not a big fan of writing poetry and even less of writing haikus, so I would never have tried this if I wasn't in the workshop. We were asked to continue from the line 'For deliciousness'. Here's my attempt:

For deliciousness

try pieces of lemonade

sprinkled in the sun

We also did some sensory invoking exercises, worked on characterisation details and setting's mood. I came away with a new scene for my mystery novel The Warracknabeal Kids, as well as a small inspiration that promises to ferment into a new story idea. Best of all, I made some new writerly friends.

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Writer's Dream Diary - Results

Look at that date - 8th August - that means we've come to the end of our Imagination Sparks Blogfest. Well I say Pffffft! to dates. I've read some fantastic writing exercise ideas from the blogs participating (you can visit them too, at the links below. I've been trying them all out this week and gotten some interesting results. Soooo, I've decided to extend the date and blog my results of each exercise I tried separately. If you're taking place, please blog your results too, so we can see how you went.

I'm starting with Milly's post from Paper Dolls. Milly is 13 and blogs reviewing tween and teen fiction with her little sister Tilly (they're also my daughters, so books are pretty major in our house). Both girls like writing and Milly's favourite writing exercise involves recording her dreams.

All writers know you should write down your dreams, and we all mean to... but... sometimes we need reminding. I tried this exercise for three nights with a pad and pen right by my bed, but kept forgetting to actually write things down - I'm pretty dopey first thing in the morning. I'm sure I had amazing dreams those nights.

On the fourth try I finally remembered to write down my dream. I was teaching a very disruptive class of teenagers English in a demountable classroom.

What?

In real life I teach (amongst other topics) English to teenagers in a demountable classroom. Even the kids were the same. I pointed out of Facebook that this dream was a bit of a let down. Who wants to record a dream just like real life? Then I thought more about it. One of the kids was trying to sneak out of the class. Why? There was a visiting carnival to the school and these kids were not allowed to participate. There were rides and shows and a scary looking clown. I kind of think the clown might have been someone evil undercover. 

Ta da! School taken over by evil circus and the only people left to help are the naughtiest kids in the school and the very tired teacher. Or maybe the clown is a pedophile, the kid that escapes class is sneaking around the back of the buildings in time to catch him trying to abduct a child. These kids might be disruptive, but they're brave if nothing else, and they always stick up for each other. There's no way this kid would just walk away.

Did you dream any good plots this week?

And I'm loving this blogfest so much, I've decided to run it again (maybe same time next year?) but next time let it run for a month (although I don't dictate how many times you post about you inspiring exercise).

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Ways to Spark Your Imagination

Today I'm posting as part of the Imagination Sparks Blogfest - and sharing one of my new favourite creativity exercises. It's not too late, you can still join in the fun :)

I recently posted about a creative writing exercise book called The Art and Science of Light Bulb Moments by Tom Evans. I love this book and was lucky enough to talk to Tom about his exercises that energise, calm and exercise the imaginative parts of our brain. Tom was generous enough to share a link to a FREE audio exercise you can try. This is something to do first thing in the morning or right before you start writing, the breathing, listening and visual exercise will energise your creativity! So here is Tom Evan's exercise Getting in the Zone just click the link, follow the instructions and listen:

http://audioboo.fm/boos/285812-getting-in-the-zone

Part of the magic of this exercise is the breathing - I had no idea we could energise different sides of our brain by controlling our breathing! Try it and let me know how it goes for you.

This week I'll post other exercises from Tom Evans and at the end of the week I'll post my response to everyone else's creativity exercises - I'm going to try them all!

If you'd like to see Tom Evan's books on creativity, check out (click on the book):

Or visit Tom Evans at his website for a Free download: Goals of Learning.

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Imagination Sparks Blogfest

It's here! My first-ever blogfest!

This is the IMAGINATION SPARKS BLOGFEST

What does that mean? It's easy. We all know at least one good warm up exercise to get our brain geared up and ready to write. That one creative task that gets your imagination bubbling with ideas. I thought we'd share them and try each others.

Here's what I want you to do.

1. Register your blog in the link list to show you are going to try and participate. Sign up will be available for one week.
2. On the 1st of August (hey, we won't be cross if it goes up a day or two late), post one of your favourite writing exercises that we can all try. You might want to credit the creator of the exercise if you know where you found it.
3. Read other peoples blogs and try some of those exercises.
4. Do a follow up blogpost to let people know which exercises you tried and what results you got. You can post your followup whenever you can. Visit the other blogs to see how they went with the exercises.
5. Get great new ideas and make new bloggy friends!

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Art and Science of Lightbulb Moments

I've come across a great read for writers, a book that provides exercises to boost creativity, but also explains how our minds work and what sparks those ideas that turn into gems.

I first came across this author on Joanna Penn's podcast The Creative Penn. Tom Evans is the author of The Art and Science of Lightbulb Moments.

I'm still getting through this book, but I'm loving it. The exercises are fun and new and prompt a different perspective for your writing. I absolutely recommend this book, but don't just buy it, make sure you try the exercises! You'll never get stuck in your novel again.

I'm also having lots of fun planning a writing workshop for primary school kids this week. My first priority is to make sure the workshops are fun, so I'm finding lots of tactile and humorous ways for us to develop story ideas together. After all, writing should be fun! The added bonus is I'll have my target audience for MY ZOMBIE DOG, so there might even be a sample reading. 

What are your writing plans this week?

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The Writer's Hole

I've been hiding down a deep dark hole - and it's done my WIP wonders!

On Friday I took part in a group writing exercise on Facebook hosted by Queensland Writers Centre. The event was called The Rabbit Hole, and those lucky enough to be in Brisbane got to lock themselves into a room for the day with the intention of just writing and writing until your computer bleeds. The rest of us made do by logging into the Facebook event page and posting our progress. 

The actual goal was to reach 30,000 words in three days. Some people hit this target. I did not. Am I disappointed? No way. I hit over 15,000 words in 3 days and best of all... FINISHED my first draft of MY ZOMBIE DOG. 

I was so excited. I quickly put the draft onto everyone's kindle and iPad in my house using Scrivener to convert the file and Calibre to transfer it. Of course there's a few little things I can do to enhance the story and make it even funnier. But I love it and can't believe I got it finished so soon. 

So if you get the chance to lock the doors and commit to some serious writing time - DO IT! Better still, get a group together to keep you all honest (I have to admit to occasionally sneaking off to watch episodes of Chuck). And if you do organise a Facebook writing event? Please invite me! 

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Right and Left Sides of the Writer's Brain

I've been continuing through The New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards and I've found the information on right side of brain vs left intriguing. I studied psychology for a while at Uni and have always found the brain fascinating, especially the placement of different functions.

In this book, Edwards examples special cases where the right side of the brain has been severed from the left (an operation performed to assist severe epilepsy). In such instances, there are exercises the test subject undertakes (naming objects in drawings, solving spacial problems, etc) where the left and right hand will push each other out of the way, so that the side of the brain that is best at that task can take over.

The exercise was interesting too. Perhaps you've seen this optical illusion before - is it a vase or two faces?

Edwards uses this picture in her exercise. You trace the side that suites which hand you draw with (if you are right-handed, you start with the face on the left, and vice-versa).

Here is an image you could start with, I found these at a great art site called Raisin Toast:

Right-hand drawers

Left-hand drawers

The rest is simple. You trace over the existing drawing, naming out loud the parts as you go (forehead, eyes, nose, top lip, bottom lip, chin, neck). Then draw over the straight line at the top and try to go down redrawing the mirror image on the other side, also naming the parts. You may find your brain gets confused with the names - this is your right side and left side arguing!

This exercise also works if you draw your own vase-face. Fiction writers are often creative people who tend to favour the right side of their brain, but the logical and organised left side is also essential to crafting a good story - so we need to exercise both sides! 

I'm up on my drawing, reading and notebook goals, but down on my typing up my manuscript goal - how are yours going?

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Writers Drawing

Drawing was one thing I resolved to do more of in 2011 to help my writing (you can see my list of 7 Tips for a Writer's Year here). I'm a mediocre artist. I'm not being modest, I only push myself up to 'mediocre' because I've taken many sketching, watercolour, charcoal and other art classes (in 'life drawing' they sit you in a room with a naked stranger - did you know that, or was I the only one trying to pretend that I was totally comfortable and often hang out with naked people?).

I've finally begun the course book Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards. This book is aimed at beginner drawers, people who don't usually get artistic or writers trying to free up their imagination. 

So far, I've completed the first three pre-instruction drawing tasks, one of a self-potrait using a mirror, another of a person's face from memory and the last of my hand. All turned out a bit okay, but nothing to brag about or hang on the wall. There is a lot of information about how the brain works and how it relates to drawing, but if you'd prefer to just do the exercises, there is also the workbook:

I enjoyed the exercises and will continue some more drawing today. I may be able to use this in the classroom too (I'll be teaching Art and Spanish this year and have a LOT to learn). Of course, I had a little help with my sketching...

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7 Tips for a Writer's Year

We've entered a sparkly new year and with it we've come up with many resolutions, plans and ideas to become better writers, readers, marketers and people. Is it really all just hype? Once we first break our resolution, whether it be to write a daily word count, pursue new agents or eat more broccoli, are we doomed to lose interest and return to slackdom?

How do we keep momentum and become effective and productive writers? This is my list of ways to push myself with my goals for 2011:

1. Prioritise. I want to write more, but realistically that's the easy part because it's sexier and more fun than the writing tasks I need to do. I need to edit the many manuscripts I've written and start sending them out. I'll be spending the first half of this year sending out Dog Show Detective and editing The Costume Maker and Digging Up Death. Only then will I let myself continue writing The Warracknabeal Kids and new tales.
2. Write. I'll make daily notes into my ideas notebook. To keep sharpening my writing skills I will keep a notebook with ideas for plots, locations, scenes, dialogue and characters. I won't start any new stories yet, but I will fill this notebook with ideas for future stories.
3. Draw. When I was a kid I loved to draw, because I wasn't great at it, I gave up. I intend to draw and doodle more, for no greater goal than to enjoy it and free up my imagination. Drawing and free-writing are great ways to inspire creativity.
4. Learn. By taking my Kindle everywhere with me, there will be no excuse not to read more. I learn a lot from the fiction I read and I intend to read more non-fiction books on the art of writing as well. Of course I will share what I learn with my blog-readers :-)
5. Indulge. Last year I took on some writing/editing classes. This year time is tight as I need to learn Spanish and Art for the classes I'll be teaching at high-school. So, a little later in the year, I intend to take one writers' retreat and attend the Byron Bay Writer's Festival. 
6. Laugh. As always, I will continue to see the funny side of life - this always provides a good twisted way to approach scenes and characters.

Number 7? LOVE. That's pretty easy with this pretty little girl who has joined our home. Pinkachu has settled in well.

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Forgetting Dreams

Image from http://www.kylemstone.com/paintings34.html

I've had a bit of a fascination about dreams lately and how they can be used for inspiration for plot ideas.

In 7 Tips for Keeping a Writer's Dream Diary, we talked about writing down your dreams because they're so hard to remember. I was curious. Why are they hard to remember? So... I did some research.

Do we all dream?

Seems to be a difference of opinion here. The Naked Scientist says we probably have more than four dreams each night. The one we remember is more likely the one we have as we come out of deep sleep towards waking.

But, Dreamsearch believes some people dream very little or maybe not at all. Although this site also says we are not sure if animals dream, and if you've ever owned a dog and seen them running, growling and wagging their tail in their sleep, you'll know better.

Why do we forget dreams?

The Naked Scientist tells us that dreams create short-term memories, and because we often don't consciously move those images to our long-term memory, we quickly forget them. This is why you are more likely to remember a dream if you are awakened during it.

Other theories included Freud's idea that dreams are our secret wishes and desires, so we decide to suppress them. That doesn't really work for me because there are plenty of dreams I wish I could have suppressed, but didn't.

And that because we move in our dreams through our imagination we are tying our memory to that kinetic memory, but when we wake we move our body physically (stretch, sit up or reach for the alarm) and this breaks the link between our dream state and physical state. This theory suggests lying very still upon waking, with your eyes still closed to recall your dream before moving your body.

I wonder if my pets remember their dreams?

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Turning Dreams into Stories

 

I love this image I found at: www.josephinewall.co.uk/stairway.html 

In my last post, 7 Tips for Keeping a Writer's Dream Diary, I talked about ways to provoke, inspire and remember your dreams. But what if you have a big list of bizarre images, how does that help you create a story or add to your WIP?

Don't worry if you think your dreams don't make sense, mine hardly ever do. To show you how I turn a dream sequence into a plot idea, I'll give you an example of a dream I had just a couple of nights ago. This is how I recorded the dream:

Black Tweety-bird, human size. Lives in it's own house.

For some reason it's essential to modern society, it performs some necessary function for our lifestyle and it's a machine.

It's lonely.

The people try to find it a match, they send them in boxes with barcodes.

The robot (it's changed now) scans the barcodes to get a probability percentage of happiness with the match.

Finds a reasonably high percent and chooses that box.

It's changed again and is a woman. The match is a man with his two kids, they move in.

The kids are thrilled but the man is not.

What the...?

After brainstorming the idea with my daughter, we came up with this story plot:

Woman with OCD, decides to find herself a partner because she's lonely. She can't stand the idea of taking her chances with strangers, so she joins a dating service. She's sold by the idea they will give her a percentage rating of compatibility with each match. She's a numbers girl (really, she sometimes has to recite increments of seven or count the number of parked cars she passes on a walk).

Let's call her Nancy. Nancy agrees to a date with a man she's never met or seen, because the lady who runs the agency (let's call her Jill) told her the compatibility was 98%. That's good odds.

But...

Jill has a loser brother called Chris, he gambles, drinks and picks up cheap women. Party-boy Chris thinks it will be easy to pray on desperate woman looking for dates through the agency. No way is Jill going to let him join. So... Chris steals the identity of one James Brown, accountant and prepares to turn up to meet his blind date - Nancy.

This couple has nothing in common. Chris is wild and unpredictable and Nancy is straight-laced and needs routine. She is not impressed by Chris, but believes in the numbers so much that she overlooks all his obvious faults.

Chris has never had to work so hard to win over a date, but he can not accept failure - womanising is the only thing he's been proud off. He has to pretend to be a bit more like she'd want, less drinking, less flirting. He even turns up for the job interview she helps arrange for him, and to his disappointment, he gets it. He finds Nancy's ways rubbing off a bit, he's started washing his hands three times before and after meals and has caught himself counting parked cars.

Nancy slowly starts to unwind. She's still OCD, but learns to have fun in spontaneous moments as well.

Finally it looks like Chris will get his night of passion with Nancy, but...

Jill finds out what her brother has done and rings Nancy to warn, just as Nancy was heading to the bedroom! Nancy storms out.

Chris is miserable. He can't even be bothered getting back into the drink and gambling.

Nancy dates the real James Brown, accountant. She discovers he would have indeed been perfect for her, but... that was before she met Chris, before she started to change.

Jill realises she's interrupted true love when she allows her brother to join the agency and runs his statistics to find his perfect match is Nancy. She arranges a secret blind date for them so the lovers will be  reunited. They find compatibility is not about being the same, but about creating a balance with differences.

I'm sure your dreams won't be any worse than a lonely giant-Tweety-bird, so see what plot ideas you can get from your dream notes.

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Formula for Creativity

A little bit rude, but...

Still think there's no set formula for creativity? See how these boys have figured out the secret to writing hit songs. BE WARNED - Aussie boys using course language, not suitable for children at all! (but very entertaining and clever):

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Flexing the Creative Muscle

Always stretch your brain before a writing workout

A common problem I see writers online facing seems to be getting themselves out of a non-writing funk. You've been on holidays, busy at work, sick or there's just been a great season of Castle showing non-stop for a week on pay-tv, whatever the excuse, sometimes we take a break from writing and have trouble picking up the pen again.

I also see loads of advice online for this problem. There are many techniques to get your WIP up and running again, but they all boil down to one simple solution. Just write. Writer's block seems to have  a lot less to do with a lack of ideas than time and motivation. Write anything, journals, riff-writing, clustering, letters, short stories or scenes. Once you get yourself started you'll be amazed at how silly it seemed to procrastinate.

This week I've been reading Now Write! (edited by Sherry Ellis), a collection of fiction writing exercises guaranteed to spark ideas. Several writers and creative writing teachers have contributed to this anthology of writing exercises on topics that cover point of view, character development, dialogue, plot and pacing, setting and description, revision and more. 

These exercises are simple but effective and force you to reevaluate the priorities in your writing, like character motives. If you're impatient (like me) and don't like creative exercises that take time from your WIP, you can even do many of these to expand your current plot and character depth.

I'll be using some of the exercises in the classroom with my students, so this book is both inspiring and practical for me.

Have you got a favourite tip to get the writing flowing again?

I'm so happy to be back online, and I am making my way through my blog list to catch up on all your writing and reading exploits!

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