TIP: Snowbound

Discussion in 'Creative Writing' started by lovelyxmalia, Dec 3, 2007.

  1. lovelyxmalia

    lovelyxmalia Banana Hammock Lifetime Supporter

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    A Writer's Book of Days - Judy Reeves

    Snowbound
    (or the Serendipitious Effects of Bad Weather on a Good Writer)


    There's six feet of new snow outside your window a gauzy shroud of white obliterates any horizon.


    Or it's been raining since eight o'clock last night and it's still coming down. You now understand deluge, monsoon, and torrent.

    Or, some cosmic cook has over-seasoned the soup and the fog is as thick as bouillabaisse.

    Let's just say that, for whatever reason, and through forces outside your control, you're homebound for the day. Consider this a gift. You've been given a writing day, free and clear.

    This is a day for snugging in. Think of words like warm, fuzzy, cozy. Brew up some cocoa; hot, spiced tea; coffee with warmed milk. A few cookies or buttered toast won't go astray. Build a crackling fire or, lacking a fireplace, encircle your nest with candles. Get your notebook, your favorite pen, and settle in.

    Warm up with a five-minute writing (Topic: Write about a small thing, for example), then maybe a ten-minute writing (Topic: You are in a garden). Refresh your coffee or tea, give the fire a poke, and encamp yourself once again. Release all constraints of time and begin another writing session. Continue writing one of the pieces you've already begun or start fresh (topic: it's Monday morning...). Instead of stopping after fifteen or twenty minutes, keep going. When you come to what might be a stopping place, rather than a period, put a comma and keep writing. Or begin with a connector such as "then" or "however" or "instead of" or "but" and allow the pen to begin its meandering anew. Write as long as you want. Let this be a leisurely session; there's no schedule to keep, nothing to do instead of write.


    Stay warm. Keep writing.

    P.S. It doesn't have to be a snowy or rainy day for you to give yourself a homebound day. Simply take one. It will be good for any old winter doldrums that might have crept in.

    I don't know about you guys, but this exercise is perfect for the New England weather we're experiencing today!
     

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