Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Creativity 24/7

Greetings!

Creativity has been working 24/7 since long before 24/7 became the popular catch phrase it is today. Come walk with me through a typical "day off" for my fictional friend, Angie, to see what I mean.

Angie rolls over to grab her dream journal from the night table. She smiles at the scribbles on the page, remembering the great plot twist for her novel that came to her at 2:00 am. No time to revel in that now, though, or she will forget the potential title idea that came to her just as she was waking up.

In the shower, she is "showered" with three more title ideas that grew out of the first.

After breakfast, Angie starts sorting laundry, a job she finds boring. As her mind wanders, she thinks of her main character. What chores are the bane of her character's existence? Better yet, what chore is her character absolutely obsessive about? How does that quirk help to move the character development and plot along? Angie laughs as she jots down these bits of comic relief for the book.

After lunch, Angie takes her dog, Rusty, for a walk in the park. It's a beautiful day, and Angie feels a spring in her step. Soon she notices a song running repeatedly through her head to the beat of her own footsteps. One phrase jumps out at her, something about getting a second wind. "Second Wind"! Yes! Another great title idea! She stops to jot it down, and out tumble three ways that the idea could strengthen the book itself, whether she uses it as a title or not.

On the way home, Angie hears a snatch of conversation that sets off some great dialog ideas in her head.

As Angie tosses sticks for Rusty in the yard after dinner, key details for her novel's setting bubble up to the surface of her mind. Tomorrow is going to be a great writing day.

The pieces to our creative puzzles are hidden in plain sight. We just need to be open to seeing them!

To your success,
Susan

P.S. Email me at scleaver@dejazzd.com for a complimentary exploratory coaching tele-session!

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