Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Are We Stretching Our Writing Muscle?

Like every other part of our body our brain where our writing muscle tightly  packed with its creative cells resides, need its regular  workout to churn out wonderful stories.  This intense workout  can comprise of  pushing our daily word count a little higher day by day, it also extends into exploring  genres and themes previously untried.

Even changing the POV for the next WIP and  changing the narrative from the third person to the first person is a part of the writing exercise. Trying different forms of fiction: Short story,  Flash Fiction (100 to 1000 words), Micro fiction (140 words), Drabble (100 words)  even Haikus (17 words in three stanzas of 5,7,5) is a  wonderful way to give that small muscle an  intense workout.

Except for  the short story, the other four are like heavy duty calisthenics for our writing muscle, flushing it with the feel good endorphins, when we see that we have managed to express ourselves well while keeping within the strict word counts  required by drabble, haikus, flash fiction and micro fiction. To say a lot  and to say it well using  less number of words is  the best reward we writers can give ourselves.

Sometimes even spending a few minutes describing what we see around us is a fantastic way of exercising those creative cells. Just describing the scene we see in front of us: it could a be crowded hospital lobby, a traffic jam, a small child throwing a tantrum, or an old  couple sitting on a park bench, with all five of our senses has outstanding results. Sensory descriptions is gentle like yoga. It slowly stretches that  muscle we writers cannot do without. These random descriptions and scenes can sometimes creep into our manuscripts in one way or  the other,  or maybe stick around in our minds long enough to give birth to  some other strain of creativity.

Another great way to stretch that muscle is putting our MC in a What If situation. What if our MC is stranded  on an island? What if he wins a lottery? What if the bus he is traveling in gets hijacked? What if loses his job? What if he unknowingly  befriends a criminal? What if he ends up witnessing a murder? What if he or she is kidnapped by an alien?

The answers to all these What If questions can trigger s series of plot points or lead us into introducing those much needed twists and turns that we crave. Maybe it may even direct us to the doorstep of an entire new character who  can turn the story on its head.

How do you all exercise the writing muscle? What kind of work out  do you do to keep that muscle  in peak condition? Do you have any workout tips for us?   

14 comments:

  1. Great post, Rachna! Loved the What If questions. Will surely try them.

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  2. Reading helps and inspires my writing. So do long hikes and meditation.

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  3. I try to exercise it, but it's hard work! I often do the "What if my Mc...?" kind of thing. It's very helpful.

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  4. It's very true that by exercising our writing ability we can keep it in top shape. Every once in a while, I write a poem. Or I try to describe something mundane in a different way. Attending my writer's group and giving critiques is another way I exercise my brain because thinking about someone else's work and how they can improve it is a challenge I like to engage in.

    Jai

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  5. Great Post, Rachna. For awhile I tried writing fast fiction exercises from Roberta Allen's FAST FICTION, CREATING FICTION IN FIVE MINUTES. You had to write to a theme on her list without stopping for five minutes and then stop. But you had to try for a beginning, middle, and end. I actually got some flash stories out of these (and they got published). But an additional benefit was learning to write to the word limitation of a picture book (since writing for children is my main writing love).

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  6. Some great ideas here--thanks for the suggestions! Sometimes I pick out a writing exercise I find in writer's books to start the creative juices going. Other times I try my hand at acrostics. They can be fun, too :-)

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  7. Just like real life exercise is work! I try and do a few things a month to keep my muscles strong. I have to read, I love to play with my thesaurus and read some more. SO important if we want to continue to grow!

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  8. These are all excellent suggestions and reminders. I remember a fellow writer once suggested doing calculus, since it stretches the brain.

    Thanks for the post. I'd never thought about it that way, but it makes sense--creativity is earned!

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  9. Always love this comparison of exercise and writing. To stretch my writing muscles, I write different things, read, critique writer friends' work, etc. Good post!
    Happy Tuesday,
    Karen :)

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  10. I'm stretching my writing muscle with my current wip. Different pov than I'm used to. Different gender. Different genre. I'm trying something new, and it's fun!

    And before I begin a manuscript, I read Plot & Structure as a way to remind myself of what good stuff I need to toss in the first draft.

    Great post!

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  11. Most of my brain-cersize is done via short story format.

    I can get gritty and mean or fluffy and pink, or even very snooty and obtuse, it doesn't matter.

    I can even hate my MC in this format, which is a great relief after having to love one for so long, in novel format.

    Great post!

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  12. We continue to be on the same page, Rachna. Great thoughts! I was just thinking about this very topic today ... how, when I became interested in outdoor running, it also started to exercise my MIND more. I find that, somehow, some of my best writing ideas come up while I'm exercising. The 45 minutes kind of frees me to think, brainstorm, and free associate without even knowing it. I've had to get back home to jot down some lines that just 'appeared' to me. I also think that blogging is a great exercise for the mind. You're writing, thinking about audience, thinking of how you can most creatively convey your insight. The other way I exercise my writing muscles is to READ...Reading the work of others is often a catalyst for new, fresh ideas of my own.
    PS - my blog today talks about the very issue of sensory description that you mention.

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  13. Rachna,
    You suggested the very nice exercises and activities for our minds.it's useful not only for writers but every creative person.
    i usually use writing daily dairy----or report about my daily works.and in this writing i try to write/ad some small poems/haiku also.
    Hemant

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  14. I love these suggestions to give our writing brains an exercise. Our brains, just as much as our bodies, need a good workout.

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