Category: Writing Prompts & Craft Articles

Kathy fish, Writing Prompts & Craft Articles

50 Random Sentences or How to Face the Blank Page

Kathy Fish

blank pageWe all have experienced that frozen feeling when faced with the blank page. This is an exercise (originally published in Lascaux Review) I have used often and it’s never failed to produce a piece of fiction:

Your goal is to write fifty sentences as quickly as you can. The sentences needn’t be connected in any way. In fact, it’s better if they aren’t. Allow yourself to write whatever comes to mind no matter how weird. You’ll want to number them as you go to keep track. You may start out with a bang, then flounder around sentence #20 or so. Don’t stop. If you have to, go ahead and write a few very simple sentences, like “the car is red” just to keep the words flowing.

When you have finished, go back and read the sentences aloud. Listen for the ones that have the most juice. Where does your voice falter? Which sentences evoke strong emotion? Which ones have their own peculiar beauty? Which demand further investigation?

Highlight these. 

Now write each good sentence at the top of its own fresh sheet of paper and write new sentences beneath it. You want to follow a line of thought if you can. Move forward into a narrative if it feels right, but don’t force it. Write whatever emerges without judgment. I promise, at some point you’ll feel a sense of urgency that tells you: There’s a story here. Now tell it.

~Kathy

Nancy Stohlman, Writing Prompts & Craft Articles

The Importance of Creative Play

Nancy Stohlman

 

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Creative Playcation: Hitting the Reset Button

True creativity begins as play.  And what is play but unstructured time where we allow our intuition to lead us to our joy? If we are writers, writing brings us joy. But too often in our modern world the joy of what we love is relegated  to “later” and play becomes a wistful luxury.

But if we are creatives, play is not a luxury but a necessity.

As artists, we understand that sometimes “writing” looks like walking, singing, staring at nothing, pages of journaling that “don’t count”, and most importantly lots of unscheduled time, hours that allow you to silence the usual demanding voices and get in touch with your true creative self. And while we may know that we need this (just like we may know that we should juice every day and do yoga), we rarely give ourselves what we–and more importantly our work—really need, taking care of everyone else first and our creative child last.

Picasso said, “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist when we grow up.”

A retreat is just one way to hit that reset button, giving yourself the gift of possibility and a fresh start so that you can bring your best, most imaginative, most original self to your work. So if you have always thought that a retreat was an indulgence you could not afford, maybe it’s time to ask yourself: what is it costing you NOT to?

–Nancy

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