THIS IS WHY WE DO IT! by Janice M. Wilson

I am often asked how I do it or how I get my inspiration (easy – nature!), but once in a while someone will ask WHY do I do it?  Usually followed by a question of have I been published (yes) and how much money I make (not much – yet!) but it seems unfathomable to many that I can sit for hours and just………..well, write.   Usually for no monetary reward.

Well, the idea!

I guess many consider it a chore, or they don’t think they have it in them. Do they mean to finish something or write an epic bestseller?  Probably both, because both require commitment, talent and luck.  Or maybe they simply don’t like to nor have the time to write.

But I ask them who wrote all those books in libraries and bookstores?  They read them, or at least see the latest movie made from the latest bestseller novel.  Yes, those books. Someone else can make the time to sit and write them. I can too.

Who writes?

Ordinary people like you and me, and out of those – the diligent who didn’t give up get published!

About WHAT?

There really are only 7 main topics of life to write about:

1.     man against man

2.     man against nature

3.     man against himself

4.     man against God

5.     man against society

6.     man caught in the middle

7.     man and woman

It’s all been said before.   So why bother?

Because we continue to live it all.  Over and over again – all of them. And as long as man continues to live them, the questions of overcoming them are pondered, experienced, and reflected. With success or failure, the cycle never stops.

Hence – we write.

We write to vent.

We write to share.

We write to understand.

We write to create.

We write to educate.

We write to escape.

We write to capture time.

We write to feel/be felt.

As long as we live and breath in love, fear, joy, sorrow, faith, pain and hope – we all speak through our souls about life somehow.  Some of us do it in affection, gifts, touch, words.

And some bare their souls through ink.

It’s what we do.

Turbo Mind Booster: Exercise Your Brain

Your brain, like many other parts of your body, requires a constant workout. Sometimes, when you're stuck or facing a wall, the best way to get out is to exercise your brain.

And so, I present to you, Turbo Mind Booster 3000! (Because honestly, doesn't that sound super difficult and exercise-y?)

Exercise One: Restaurant Dialogue

Stuck for dialogue in your MS? Next time you're in a restaurant take a notebook and write down the snippets of conversation that you hear. Nothing is better than hearing real life, candid conversations.

Exercise Two: Brutal Ending

Can't figure out how to start your new WIP? Start from the ending. Write that brutal death of the main character that's been percolating in your brain. Start with that fatal last line. Figure out the overall goal for your MC. Will you keep the ending? Probably not. Will it be utter trash? Maybe, but it will give you direction for when you start.

Exercise Three: Diary of a Journalist

Stuck on how to write your character? Try writing a blog or diary from their perspective. Go through their day to day.

Exercise Four: Group Therapy

Take a few people you know, five to ten and write one sentence about them. Strive for things that make them unique or noteworthy.

Exercise Five: Talk Radio

Record five minutes of a talk radio show. Write the dialogue and add narrative and action as if you were writing a scene.

Exercise Six: Room to Room

Write 300 words about a room in your house. Make sure to pick out things that describe you and your personality.

Exercise Seven: From 1st to 3rd

Take a scene from your WIP and rewrite it. If you're writing in first, try writing it in third and visa-versa.

Exercise Eight: Tabloid Break

Flip through the tabloids at the local grocery store. Choose a story that sticks out in your mind and write it. The story may end up crap, but it'll sort of reset your brain.

If all else fails, hop on a treadmill with your favorite jams and hope that you don't end up like the guy above.

Got any writing exercises and getting away from the writing wall? Leave it in the comments below.