August Writing Challenges: Day 12 - Senses and Color

AugustThe summer is nearly over. Kids are going back to school. You now have some time on your hands.  Okay, you still have a list of chores a mile long, but let's put writing at the top of the priority list, okay?

I am going to challenge you with a writing prompt every day this month. Are you up for it? I hope so.

The writing challenges will be about a variety of topics and hopefully cause you to dig into your writing toolbox to complete with emotional skill.

Watch out, I just might throw in a fun one, well, just for fun!

For the twelfth challenge we're going to discover how our senses and color affect our writing.

Here is your challenge:

On your paper, draw a circle with five lines coming from it. Label each line with one of the five senses:

   Sight

   Hearing

   Touch

   Taste

   Smell

Close your eyes and imagine what color is prominent in your mind. Let the color wash over you as you think about it in terms of each sense. 

Fill the next ten minutes by writing down what comes to mind by this color, sense by sense. Some of the senses are more difficult than others, but making the extra effort will help you with being more specific in your future writing. 

Once you've written for ten minutes, adding to each sense, pick a number between one and ten. Write it on your paper. 

Check below and find your number. 

1. Yellow

2. Black

3. White

4. Gold

5. Blue

6. Green

7. Brown

8. Pink

9. Purple

10. Orange

Now, go back and use the color that matched your number and write for another ten minutes how that color affects your senses. 

THINK ABOUT THIS:  Imagine the colorful people you have met in your life. Jot down notes about the way these people look, dress, act, talk, walk, and smell. This is a great way to work on character development and perhaps flesh out a character in need of a little more personality. It's fun to pick and choose from all the choices offered by people you know as you invent characters of your own. 

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29 Ways to Stay Creative

I found this great image that gives a list of the 29 ways to stay creative. 29 ways?!? You've got to be kidding, right? So, I figured I'd go through them with you and see if we can come up with any more to add to the list.

1. Make lists. Okay. Sounds easy enough. I make lists all the time. I think this one we can make a bit more specific. Make a list of topics you want to write about.

2. Carry a notebook everywhere. Definitely something I'd advocate. Even if it's just your smart phone. If you get a burst of genius, get it down. There are plenty of applications for your phone to help you keep track of topics you want to write about. Evernote is a great one. iPhone comes with two: Lists & Notes. I use both. 

3. Try free writing. This is a perfect way to start writing. You don't have a topic so just start writing about whatever is on your mind or just type the same word over and over again until you finally break free and a topic comes to mind. Works nearly every time.

4. Get away from the computer. This one my dog loves. When I need to take a break from the computer I take my dog for a walk. Win - win situation for everyone.

5. Quit beating yourself up. Please, stop berating yourself if things don't go right or if you can't think of a topic. Please, no violence against writers. Give yourself a break. oops, I think that's another tip later on. But, I'm serious. If you still can't think of something to write about, don't worry. An idea will come. If you beat yourself up about it, nothing good can come of it.

6. Take breaks. See, there you go. Take breaks. Flip through a magazine. Go for a walk. Watch a TV show. Call a friend. Stroll through Facebook. Google strange stuff. Your brain needs a rest. Why do you think some of your greatest ideas come to you when you're in the shower or driving? Murphy's Law at it again? Not necessarily. Your brain is constantly working. When you give yourself a break, your brain can finally concentrate on what it needs to do. Find you a topic to write about.

7. Sing in the shower. Well, okay, I think that's a bit personal. I'd prefer not to, but to each their own. But, like I said before, sometimes the best ideas come when you're in the shower.

8. Drink coffee. Fire up those synapses. Give yourself a bit of a jolt. Just don't go overboard and get all jittery and end up walking circles in your living room mumbling to yourself. I don't think this idea wants you to get addicted to caffeine. 

9. Listen to new music. That's always a great one. And, really listen to the lyrics. You can get some great writing topic ideas.

10. Be open. I'm not exactly sure what this one means. I'm an open person, to a point, but I think it mean be open to new ideas. Be open to new options of finding topic ideas. Sometimes an idea comes from the strangest places or person.

11. Surround yourself with creative people. Join a writer's group. There's nothing like being in a room full of creative people. The room literally buzzes with creativity.

12. Get feedback. Everyone needs this. Even those of us who think we've got it all together. Another person's opinion helps to alter our perspective. You never know when someone else's opinion might send you on another path to another great idea.

13. Collaborate. This only works if you work well with others. Think back to kindergarten? Did you work well with others or did you spend a lot of time in the corner? eh?

14. Don't give up. Biggie. Never give up. I've been writing for twenty-five years. I still consider myself a child of the trade. I'm always learning. 

15. Practice. Practice. Practice. Practice makes perfect, right? Well, not always, but the more you practice something, the better you get at it. That includes writing.

16. Allow yourself to make mistakes. We all do. Heck, just the other day, I created something for our next writer's conference and I went over it and over it. Proofread the heck out of it. Created an e-mail, sent it in, and wham. Looked back at the piece and saw a blazing error. Argh! I had to correct it and send it again. But, all is okay. Allow yourself to make mistakes.

17. Go somewhere new. A new environment can fill you with new ideas.

18. Count your blessings. Definitely. You are truly blessed. You're a writer, doing what you love, how blessed is that? Keep counting, I'm sure you can come up with more.

19. Get lots of rest. A must for anyone, especially writers. If your brain doesn't have time to shut down and restore itself, how is it ever going to continue working?

20. Take risks. Not literally. I don't mean walk in the middle of traffic or anything. But, consider a topic you haven't before and put your special twist on it.

21. Break the rules. Rules were made to be broken, right? Well, not all of them. Some of them can land you in jail. But, when it comes to writing, definitely break some rules. See what it does to your writing.

22. Don't force it. The ideas will come in their own time. A watched pot never boils. Oh, wait, it will eventually. Same with your ideas. They'll come. Eventually. Just give them time. In the mean time, go back to number 6.

23. Read a page of the dictionary. Now that's definitely an extreme way to find a topic idea. Try the Thesaurus as well. I remember back in the day, we had a set of Encyclopedias on our bookshelf. I loved reading them. What do we have now? Wikipedia. Try it.

24. Create a framework. Hmmm, well, let's see. Framework? Outline? I think that's what this means. Try an outline. Try a flowchart. Start with a word, then move on to the first thing you think of, then move on to what that makes you think of and so on until you've come up with an idea to write about.

25. Stop trying to be someone else's perfect. I'll do you one better. Just stop trying to be perfect. Period. See number 16.

26. Got an idea? Write it down. Don't trust your memory. Especially at my age. I write everything down. If I don't, I know I'll forget. Your brain can only hold so much information before it dumps a few things to hold more. Don't let one of your great ideas be that something that gets dumped.

27. Clean your workspace. A bit of procrastination, but it works. A messy desk is the sign of a genius, right? Einstein never had a clean desk. But, every once in a while, organizing your desk can help you organize your thoughts.

28. Have fun. That's what this is all about. Writing is fun. You get to have fun doing what you love. If it starts to feel like work, it's not fun anymore. Keep some fun in your life. I have a helium-filled balloon in my office. It always makes me smile when it drifts around into my vision.

29. Finish something. Yes, it ultimately comes down to this. You must come up with a topic, write about it and then finish your piece. Just as we've done here. We're at the end. 

Now that we've seen the 29 ways to stay creative, do you have something to add?

Looking for Story Ideas in the Strangest Places

Where do you find your story ideas? Do you listen to other people's conversations? Do you take a walk in the park and get the spark of an idea from the wind in the trees, the waves of flowers as the wind rustles through?

Maybe you see a child playing on the swings and it reminds you of a long lost childhood.

Here's an exercise for you to get more story ideas from strange places.

Do you remember the five and ten store from your youth? Ours was a Ben Franklin store. I loved getting a chance to wander the many aisles and see all the items for sale. Ben Franklin had everything from bolts of fabrics to nuts and bolts of every size.

What we have now in our lives are Dollar Stores. Or Family Dollar Stores. Or Deals. Or Dollar Tree. Or whatever they are calling it in your area. It's a dollar store. Where everything is not a dollar. It's basically a place to sell overstocked items at a lower price.

If you strolled through one you, first you'll find items you never thought you needed, but you are sure you can find a use for, and second, you'll find a plethora of story writing ideas.

Here's a recent visit to a dollar store that had a refrigerated and frozen food section. I'll list some of the story ideas and you choose one to write:

1. Write the story of a nun buying twelve cans of Silly String and a pair of ear buds.

2. Play out the life story of a little boy crying at the top of his lungs because his mother won't buy him a plastic fireman's hat.

3. Write the rest of the dialogue that begins with an elderly woman yelling to her husband, "George, you gotta start eatin' better, like the doctor said. Do you wanna get these frozen fish sticks?"

Wait for a moment.

If you go to your local dollar store, stand still and listen. You'll find story ideas galore.

What was the strangest place you ever found a story idea?