You writers and creative-types – you’ve been there. It’s a hellish place, for sure. A chasm of fear, doubt,
agony, frustration…
While everyone else around you seems to be excelling in their craft, awards are given to others, your
neighbors hit the jackpot…
Come on, I’m not the only one. You’ve surely been there, right?
Idea-less.
A hellish place for sure. It’s worse than that moment you’re about to start the first sentence on a blank
page. It’s miles before you ever even get to that point. Only in a galaxy far, far away do you feel your
idea – your one perfect, once-in-a-lifetime, crowd-pleasing idea – awaits.
It’s out there. You might feel like Horton standing at the edge of the field of pink clovers looking for that one tiny speck that’s out there somewhere calling your name.
“We are here, we are here, we are here…”
Sometimes you can just feel it, can’t you?
You know how I find my ideas? It’s embarrassing, and no one has ever seen me do it, except Sarabeth
when I thought I was alone or I got carried away.
I dance.
I talk out loud.
I sing.
I act.
And I’ve yelled.
It’s humbling, but true. I imagine myself standing before the heads of Universal or Disney Studios and I’ve got five minutes (I’m generous) to pitch them my idea.
So I yell, I act, I pitch like a storyboard artist convincing the director that my idea is the only thing that will work. I talk aloud about something that I believe in.
I might not yet have an idea to believe in, but I believe that I will find one.
I’ve found several this way.
When I worked in retail, I would often disappear to the shipping room when it was empty and I would plot my book out loud, pacing, lost in my imagination.
“So this guy Robbie,” I would say, “he wants to be a good father and husband, like most men do. That’s relatable. But something keeps him from that. I want there to be action, but not much action happens in today’s reality… so he finds a fantasy world! In a… wardrobe! No, on a star! No. In a… in a…” I glance around the shipping room and I notice that I’m surrounded by – “In a box!”
Thus, The Man in the Box was born.
Working from home makes it really easy to do this on a regular basis. And if you are stuck in a creative rut, I encourage you to give this a try. Crank up some Fun. or Owl City, or Delta Rae on the ipad and dance.
Yes. Just start dancing. Let your body go. It sounds zen-like, but just release the stress of everyday life. The last thing you want weighing you down when you’re trying to be creative is the rock-hard facts of life that your readers are looking to escape from.
So… escape.
Dance.
And talk.
And then ask yourself later, What did I talk about? Anything interesting? Jot it down.
About Andrew Toy:
Andrew Toy lives with his wife and dachshunds in Louisville, KY. He is currently editing books
of nearly every genre and is a writing coach for aspiring authors. He and his wife are trying to
adopt their first child, and he is using the means of writing and editing to accomplish the goal of
enlarging his family. Check out some more of his writing and upcoming books on his popular blog:
adoptingjames.wordpress.com
Andrew's Links:
Blog
Amazon
Book Synopsis:
Work provided Robbie Lake the perfect escape from his family. But his life is turned upside down when he is unexpectedly fired. When he finds a new way of escape through a cardboard box, everything changes. The imaginary world of his childhood has evolved in his absence and is now more savage and hostile than even he could have dreamed. Robbie is drawn in by the excitement of his secret world, but will the cost of abandoning his family prove too high?
4 comments:
Thanks for having me on your blog! It's awesome!
Sounds like a good story. I'll have to check it out.
I like how you come up with ideas.
You're most welcome, Andrew! I like how you come up with ideas as well. Great post!
I adore this man! Thank you for introducing him. I love how he comes up with ideas. I need to try some of them myself.
Post a Comment