Unstick your writing

Author Ray Bradbury once said the way to solve problems is not by thinking of them, but by allowing them to ferment. Feed yourself and make sure you have all the information, he advised, then ignore it, pretending you don’t care, and soon the answer will come.

And so it is with writing.

Recently I was stumped for a lede (btw, “lede” not “lead” is the correct spelling in journalist’s terms) to a business profile piece I’d been assigned. Although I’ll often start in the middle or even at the end of a story, my gut told me I needed to start at the beginning this time.

Unfortunately, my mind was as blank as the fresh Word doc I’d opened. Instead of fretting over it, however, I embraced Bradbury’s way of thinking by shutting off my computer and jumping on our riding mower. Within the hour, most of our lawn was cut and I had the perfect lede for my story about an attorney-turned-HR-guru-turned-dot-com-entrepreneur.

The bottom line? Creativity cannot be forced. Give yourself permission to walk away and let creativity come in its own time. (Without missing a deadline, of course.)

By JanO on 7/23/07, In writing, Tags advice, dialogue, great copy, hate to write, how to write, how-to, ideas, inspiration, non writers, self-publishing, shortcuts, typing, writer's block