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CARL 'J.C.' PANTEJO
How to Create and Capture Writer's Inspiration
Writing while “in the flow” of inspiration is a delicious, highly personal, and exhilarating experience. It seems like you can’t type fast enough to express your thoughts on the page!
And like the masters from the Renaissance era, you create a beautiful mental masterpiece, passionately painting nuances here and mysterious shadows there with each additional word, sentence, and paragraph.
The mental high is intoxicating. You celebrate this adventure and, when finished, marvel at your literary creation.
But how do you create and capture writer’s inspiration in those times of low/no inspiration?
Here’s how I do it…
INCREASING AWARENESS
Some people go about their days and nights on auto-pilot. To them, they feel like they’ve seen it all so many times that nothing is new or exciting. But is this really the case?
Indulge me for a moment.
If the following exercise does not make you aware of some previously “hidden” things in your daily life; make you remember a long forgotten experience, place, or person; or immediately crystallize a new idea to write about, don’t waste your time reading the rest of the article.
AN EXERCISE FOR SUPER-AWARENESS
The following is an exercise that I formulated to boost awareness and magically manifest writer’s inspiration instantaneously!
1. First, relax. Slow down your breathing.
Close your eyes for at least 10 seconds.
Now, open your eyes and look around you and stop at the first object that interests you. It could be an object that you’ve never noticed before. Or it could be an overlooked aspect of an object you’ve seen everyday. It might even be a hint of movement that you catch in your peripheral vision.
Imagine that you just pressed the “pause” button on your mind/eye remote control and “Freeze Framed” your image in your mind.
Once you’ve envisioned the frozen frame, close your eyes again and see if you can still see the “still picture” that you’ve just created.
If you can’t, do the above steps again.
If you can still see it, then go on to Step 2.
2. Do a “Matrix-Style Still Pan” (i.e., imagine viewing your “still” and then floating around it to get a 360 degree panoramic view.)
Describe what you see.
Describe what you feel.
Describe what you think happened before your still image.
Describe what you think will happen next.
For most people, the above exercise reveals that everybody’s daily lives are filled with hidden details, images, feelings, imagination, anticipation, and predictions.
THIS IS THE STUFF THAT WRITER’S INSPIRATION IS MADE OF…
Here’s a quick and simple example:
I am in front of my laptop writing this article right now.
To relax, I think about the last time I felt totally content, serene. It was last Sunday (the only day of the week that I don’t teach English). I lounged about my apartment, savoring the opportunity to just watch T.V. with my girlfriend.
No lesson plans to prepare. No homework to grade. No attendance or test scores to record. The upcoming week’s work clothes were laundered and ironed. It was a total respite from my normal hectic schedule; just some sweet, unhurried time for us to enjoy each other’s company.
Feeling relaxed, I am slowing down my breathing. Now I close my eyes for ten seconds.
When I open my eyes I see my girlfriends stuffed animals on the bed. I “Freeze-Frame” it in my mind.
Then, I close my eyes and see my “still picture” in all its vivid detail.
I mentally float around my mind’s “still picture” and imagine what I would see while getting a 360 degree panoramic view.
I see her stuffed animals on the bed. Her folded T-shirt is beside her pillow. I see the neatly folded blanket at the foot of the bed. Glancing back to her T-shirt, I see her mobile phone headphones and late night novel peeping out from under it.
I am aware of many feelings connected to my visual (i.e., love, gratitude, anticipation, excitement, contentment, humor, dedication, etc.).
I imagine the scenes leading up to my “mental, panoramic, still picture.” For example, since I leave early every morning to go to work, I can see my girlfriend waking up to an empty apartment. I can see her sleepily, but lovingly folding our blanket…
Then I imagine what might happen after my “mental still picture.” For example, maybe after changing into some jeans and blouse, she went shopping? Or maybe she’s visiting our sick friend and waiting for me to tell her I’m home from work?
EXPERIENCE WITH ALL YOUR SENSES
Using the above example, I could write:
'…I looked at the stuffed animals I’d given her on our last visit to the fair. I walked over to the bed and picked up the Doraemon stuffed toy (a Japanese cartoon character that my girlfriend is fond of). Even at arm’s length, I could smell her perfume. God, I missed her. (She would still be away for another two days visiting her mother up north). The toy was almost as soft as her hands, the hands that would instinctively reach for mine while we walked. Looking at this silly stuffed toy, I let out a long sigh. My soul ached to enjoy her smile, laugh, and tenderness again.
'Grudgingly, I deal with the next reminder of our temporary separation: eating alone. To be honest, if she were here, I’d even hold my nose and eat that fishy smelling, weird tasting Thai dish she always recommended…
Do you see how I described my “visual” with all the senses (sight, smell, touch, taste, and hearing)?
ROLE PLAY
Another great tool I use to inspire my writing is role play.
This is where I imagine and describe playing a different role in the same situation. For instance, how would the above paragraph read if I were an angry boyfriend?
What if I was a cheating boyfriend (womanizer)?
What if I was a rich boyfriend? A poor boyfriend?
What if I was not American, but a local Thai boyfriend instead?
What if I was younger or older?
How would I perceive and describe the above “stuffed toy” scenario? How differently would the story unfold?
You see the endless possibilities just by assuming a different role in the same scenario.
SIMULATION
The last tool for creating and capturing writer’s inspiration I’ll discuss is Simulation.
Simulation is different from role playing. In role playing, you (or your story’s main character) assume a different personality and perspective. In Simulation you remain unchanged, but the situation or scenario changes.
For example, in the previous “stuffed animal” paragraph, how would the narrative change if my girlfriend left without telling me where she was going?
What if we’d been fighting before she left?
What if she left a “Dear John” letter?
What if there were signs of another man in the apartment (e.g., a strange brand of cigarette butts in the ash tray, mud of unknown origin tracked through the apartment, beer cans in the trash - at noon, etc.)?
What if my neighbors saw her leave with another man?
What if all of her belongings (clothes, cosmetics, books, CD’s, etc.) were gone?
What if she (or someone else) ransacked our apartment and my belongings were gone too?
Again, you see the limitless writing/storytelling possibilities open to you just by simulating a different situation or scenario.
Whenever I am at a loss for writing inspiration, I always go back to the methods outlined in this article. The exercises and answers generated from the related questions never fail to create vivid images in my mind and a mountain of ideas to write about – instantly, effortlessly, and naturally.
It’s my way of creating and capturing writer’s inspiration.
Try it for yourself. I’d love to hear what you come up with.
Carl "J.C." Pantejo Pantejo@ynvurcepublishing.com
CARL 'J.C.' PANTEJO is a retired U.S. Military veteran. Believing that school was too boring, he dropped out of High School early; only to earn an A.A., B.S., and MBA in less than 4 years much later in life – while working full-time as a Navy/Marine Corps Medic. In spite of a fear of heights and deep water, he free-fall parachuted out of airplanes and performed diving ops in very deep, open ocean water. He went to Thailand 1 year ago for a week's vacation, fell into a teaching job, and has never left!
Carl "J.C." Pantejo Pantejo@ynvurcepublishing.com "My Friend Yu - The Prosperity Mentor" Vurce Publishing
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