I like a teacher who gives you something to take home to think about besides homework. ~Lily Tomlin as “Edith Ann”

Writers block? Go back to the basics.

I learned to read and write one letter at a time. What about you?

A then B then C.

Writers block? Back to the basics.

So when I get a case of writers block or just writers blah, I go back to the basics. I cannot remember where I learned this or else I would give proper credit – it was over 20 years ago so give me a break!

When I just don’t know where to start, on a poem, a project, an article, or a blog I write my ABC’s. Start with A and write a word, any word that starts with A.

Anticipate.

Then B, any word that starts with B.

Bark.

And so on and so forth.

Anticipate. Bark. Closer. Don’t. Express. Friend. Goodness. Hope. Into. Just. Kind. Likes. Mother. Nothing. Presentation. Quiet. Rest. Street. Tried and True. Under. Violet. Waves. Xpect. Your. Zest.

(Well! I must confess I have NEVER done that exercise on a keyboard! I usually use pen/pencil and paper. You just witnessed a first.)

Try not to think too much about what you are going to say. It doesn’t have to make sense. In fact, if it makes too much sense then you were probably trying too hard! Try to relax and refrain from editing your words.

If once isn’t enough try it again until something inspiring jumps out at you. Often, but not always, you will see hidden fears or joys or plans in your writing.

For example, my exercise above reflects a few things I know are going on:
My dogs just went out for their evening jaunt in the yard and I knew (anticipate[d]) they were going to bark to be let in; this is not my favorite sound [don’t!].

Next, I have been thinking a lot lately about friendship and what that means to me. How to be a friend and how to have a friend: infuse goodness and hope into; just be kind. You get the idea!

Recently I read an exhortation in the book, “Accidental Magic”, edited by Wizard of Ads founder Roy H. Williams. In it he charges writers who seek to write to inspire to use more verbs.  Sadly,  I had to really think about what a verb is (sorry Mrs. Kelly from AP English! or should I say, Mrs. Barnard from 4th grade?!). Anyway, back to Roy…

“Another function of Broca’s area is to attach imagined actions to the words you and I call verbs. Since Broca guards the door leading into the imagination, it only stands to reason that verbs are more important to persuasion than nouns…” Chapter 4 “Seussing”

I didn’t quote more because then I would have to explain Wernicke’s area and I had already thrown down the word “Broca’s area” and I don’t have Roy’s brilliance to explain all of that succinctly.

Anyway, verbs. I decided to do the above exercise with verbs. May I confess to you that I started out with adjectives?

vivacious. creative. informative. outgoing. insightful. oh wait, oops!

Rewind. Try again. ACTION WORDS:

Argue. Believe. Cradle. Destroy. Energize. Forgot. Graduated. Hounded. Insinuated. Joked. Kept. Listened. Mulled. Networked. Organized. Paid. a bill, a compliment, a toll. Quit. Ran. Stop. Talk. Understand. Veered. Wondered. Xamined. Yodeled. Fizzle.

Make what you want to of that! For me it was harder than the first exercise because I’m not used to it. Consider it Writers Block 102 (WB102). Two footnotes: don’t be afraid to branch out if you have a creative thought as with “T” in the former and “P” in the latter; and don’t get bogged down in “X” or “Z”, improvise!

Creativity or inspiration or at the very least some oomph to get started will come. If not, hire me to do it for you.