This week has been a strong start in my going pro journey.
I’ve been getting reacquainted with sitting down and just throwing down whatever words come to me in that given moment. The urge to delete still overwhelms me, a roiling pot in the pit of my solar plexus on the verge of overflow, yet I hold my ground, unyielding. I am a word warrior, firm in her resolve, determined to get my message out. Whatever it is.
I call these sessions idea kindling. It’s a bit more fun than brainstorming (and more accurate, in my opinion), and one I conjured during my latest NNWT session. I just write and write and write and write as many words as will come out onto the page, and eventually, an idea will spark. We’ll strike the flint of this keyboard to the rock that is my brain as many times as it takes to get some idea kindling. And by Jove, we’re gonna have fun while we’re doing it.
And it has been fun, albeit a couple bouts of creative constipation throughout the session. There may be several starts and stops, but eventually the words come, and the delight of it is unlike any other.
I subscribe to Writers Write daily writing prompts, as I’ve found them to be the most inspiring. I Googled writing prompts last week, and holy cannoli are there some overly detailed prompts out there. Writers Write’s prompts are shorter and more open-ended. It can be a phrase or a challenge to use several words or phrases in the introduction of a story. Some of these other resources give you a whole bloody introduction to a novel to build off. That’s too much for me. It almost feels like plagiarism with how lengthy some of those prompts are.
In any case, the Writer’s Write prompt a few days ago was “high maintenance.” I had quite a bit of fun creating several things based off of that that may develop into full-blown projects, but we’ll see! I’m editing the poem I wrote as a result of that session and plan to post it here, but it also provided me with some idea kindling for something else. For now, I’ll just say I’ve met a character named Pamela who has piqued my interest, and I’ve tasked myself with learning more about roller derby. If you know of anyone who partakes or have any resources, kindly shoot ‘em my way!
I’m a bit short on time today—I am manifesting my wizard era by assisting my MIL with sewing a moon and stars robe on this fine Super Bowl Sunday. I may even get my average 27 minutes of football watching in this season. I wish you all a marvelous, potato skin-filled day. Go sports!
Concisely Claire 