Browsing Category: "writing toolbox"
I woke up with a gigantic zit on my chin.
My high school reunion is just a couple of weeks away and I knew if I left that monstrosity alone it would end up getting even bigger. Big enough, in fact, to warrant its own ZIP code.
I needed to get an early start today on some work but, seriously, this huge-o zit just wouldn’t let me focus. It hurt, darn it.
So I popped it. (Ewww.)
Blessed relief.
Sometimes you just gotta get the junk out before things can get back to normal.
And so it is with writing.
If you’ve struggled (even a bit) with formulating your ideas, finishing (or starting) a project, or nailing the copy, perhaps there’s some junk you need to get out before you can move on.
Junk can be circumstantial, such as a cluttered desk or disorganized office, or it can be situational, such as dealing with a family emergency or work crisis.
While I don’t believe in becoming too distracted from our productive work, sometimes it helps to deal with the thing that’s bugging us the most so we can get back to the task at hand or, better yet, break through to new ideas.
Here’s a plan for clearing out the junk and making way for good ideas and great copy:
- Take 5 minutes to decide what’s niggling you. It may be more than one thing so make a list if you have to.
- Decide one action you can take right now to eliminate it — and do it.
- Make a list of other actions to take (if necessary) and plan for them in your day or on your calendar.
- Focus for 15-60 minutes on idea generation, brainstorming or writing.
- If the “thing” is still niggling at you, take another action or two or three, but limit your dealing of it to one hour.
That’s it. That should free up your mind and energy at least in the short term. Repeat as often as necessary.
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Ever since I bought a Venus Embrace razor, I shave my legs daily.
It’s soooo easy.
No soap.
No shaving cream.
Just zip, zip, done.
But recently I noticed my old razor sitting forlornly on a shelf in the medicine cabinet. And, along with it, three unused blades.
Frugality taunted me.
So, I temporarily retired the Venus Embrace and, ahem, embraced my old razor.
But the darn thing has a too-small handle.
It has a super-small shaving head.
There’s no handy-dandy shower holder.
And there’s no slime bar.
(Gillette calls it a “ribbon of moisture” but, hey, they’re not on my client list, so as a consumer, I call it “slime bar.”)
It’s a real pain to shave with the new/old razor.
And so I don’t.
Well, not often, anyway.
The problem is not the razor.
The problem is that it’s the WRONG TOOL for the job (shaving in the shower vs. shaving in the tub).
Which got me to thinking …
That’s what happens to writers: sometimes we use the wrong tool for the job.
And it doesn’t work as well — or as easily — as the right tool.
Take, for example, a thesaurus.
This one is good.
But this one is even better.
Why?
Because one is more literal and one is more thought provoking.
One gives me easy options but the other forces me to be more creative.
And that makes me a better writer.
Which tools do you use? Which tools make you a better writer — and which tools need to be dumped from your toolbox?