Writing: Tips and The Blue Fish

Photo by Eepeng Cheong on Unsplash

Writing. Hours of work. Our thoughts gathered on paper. We toil for hours for that perfect opening sentences. We yank our hair, we curse our loud, we stomp, drink, argue with loved ones, but one word is never placed on the page. 

Why is writing so difficult? Why as writers do we doubt we are enough to write something wonderful? We know how to write, edit, and revise. We know the writing rules. We have learned the technical but not the creative. I have taught a few writing workshops and I want you to try this exercise. It got the groups off running.

Write on your page: There is a blue fish. The blue fish is a house door.

Now think about:  How do you get in? Why is the fish a door? Is he friendly? Does he bite?

By personifying something it allows your mind to see things in a different light. It awakens the brain to say, "This is not right, but why?" 

When you see things differently your writing is not judged by your brain. What I mean is if you write. "I saw a blue fish today" then you see water, ocean, or a lake. You place him where naturally he would be, but by putting him in a different place you allow your brain to run rampant with things like, Is he friendly? Where do I knock on him to get in? Does he talk?  Does he ever leave being a door? Doesn't he require water? Seeing things differently breaks down those walls in your mind that keep you from free writing.

Let's try another exercise. Make a list of 4 words. Ready? Go! 

Car, Sky, Waves, Ice.  Got your four? OK now make your opening sentence. What? Yes you heard me. Perhaps mine would be: When I was walking to the car after work the sky was filled with clouds that seem to be making waves above me, but then I got a chill and felt like Ice was flowing through my veins.

By associating different words you open up more writing possibilities. Your mind will try to make sense out of the four words, but let them lay jumbled and write something you wouldn't normally write. Word association is so much fun. Again it allows your mind to wander in a different direction then it normally does.You are not hammered into a spot about what you normally would write about.

Another great writing tool is to free write. This is a hard one for us writers as we want to go fix things when we get to the next sentences and the next and the next. We cannot let bad writing lay there like a huge pile of bricks. I am telling you, let it rest. Stream of consciousness writing is a great tool to flesh out the great ideas. Stopping yourself and fixing along the way hinders the process. Try TRY I said to just write without judgement and without editing.

Something like this: I am now stuck on this blue fish. I wonder if he has kids in the house that he is a door of. If he does have kids, do they come out through their dad? What kind of dad could he be if he is stuck as a door? I wonder where my dad is now. I haven't seen him since I was a kid. You know he looks a little like a fish. Not a door fish, but still he is build strong and could be a door. I wonder what kind of door he has for his house. Hmm Where does he even live? I bet it is a cute yellow craftsman style house. With a family. A girl perhaps ten years old learning to play piano in the living room. Her family gathered around to hear her play. A suburb in south Jersey with two bedrooms and a dog named Max. I bet they have lived there for years.

and then comes: I remember this yellow house at the end of the street where I used to play. Our neighbor had a dog named Max who used to love coming over and snuggling with me on the front porch swing. His owner, Annie, was my best friend. We both took piano lessons and hated it,but we played for our families to make them happy. I am really going to miss her when I go away to camp this summer. Maybe her mom and dad will let her come too.

And off we go on a story.

Ray Oldenburg was a sociology major who studied people. If you have writers block perhaps you could do some people watching. I know you could go for a walk or do a miriade of other things, but  let me suggest this to you. When you go to say a coffee house, watch how people interact, notice faces made and body language. Look at everyone in front of you as if they are characters who were placed in front of you for you to do with them what you want ( on the page of course ). When you see a two old men talking, do they come every week? Do they know each other since childhood? Are they brothers and did they just reunite? Now take what you see and write it out. Perhaps the couple in the corner snuggled up just made up from a fight. Write out the fight scene. Watching people as characters is a great exercise and gets your mind off the block and your fingers back to typing a story.

Writers have so many difficulties and I hope these ideas and tips help. I also suggest Grammarly for checking spelling and that there are numerous websites that allow your writing piece to be entered and read back to you. It is a great way to hear the flow of your work. It allows you to see the spots that are lumpy, words that don't fit, and its a great way to hear the way the readers will receive your story.

Okay now, head off and write. Remember my tips and go forth and write great stories!

Your story teller/poet

Debbie

xo