Your Summer Creative Challenge - Juicy Scenes

I think our brains are hard-wired to take it easy during the summer months - a lingering memento from our school days when we were allowed to stow away books and pencils to spend those hot and hazy days dreaming, playing and living off ice cream and the fruits of the season.

For writers, this season is ripe with juicy creative possibility. I'm getting the message loud and clear from all my lovelies that summer is a busy time for their family - there are vacations, day trips, time spent with kids, a whole new routine to get used to, in essence. And for my writers who don't have families, this season means an opportunity for a social life and some well-deserved R&R. Despite the siren's tempting summer call, they want to write and see their work moving forward, taking shape. Alas, there's pressure - to have a somewhat social and enjoyable summer and still be creatively productive.

The Answer: if the summer siren won't back down, give in and play a little (after all, you need something to write about, right?). Forget about page or word count if you're having difficulty breaking through and connecting one scene to the next. You'll push and push and eventually end up with a chapter that reflects the disconnect. Instead, I want you to focus on SCENE. Write a scene that takes your characters to the next level in their development. Write a scene that gives your characters context. Write a scene that moves your plot forward. Write a scene that is tight, where every word counts, that moves you and that will move us. Give it texture and flavor - put your reader in the moment. These don't need to be high concept, big blockbuster scenes - they just need to count. Put all your creative energy into that one scene and forget about word and page count. Allow yourself to be totally in the moment with your craft and let it take you somewhere. Enjoy your trip!

The Result: after writing several powerful scenes, you'll not only enjoy forward momentum with your work, you'll have reconnected with two of your most powerful creative tools - passion and the senses. You may forget these good friends while being bogged down with word and page count goals or are rushing to get something to an agent before they forget about you (they will only forget about you if you turn in something less than inspired. They'd rather wait for perfection).

There is no rush, writers. Take time to enjoy the season and let it inspire your creativity. Live a little and give us something juicy to sink our teeth into!

Your Action: If you're stuck mid-draft (or have yet to begin), take a break and do a little summer living - GO OUTSIDE OR SOMEWHERE FOR SEVERAL HOURS (I don't care how humid it is). Come back to your pen ready to write a scene that captures your experience or insert the people you met or observed and write about them! If you must write about how much you hate humidity...at least write a scene where you or your character is dealing with the sweltering heat WHILE doing something else (let's see 'em sweat!). I'd love to know what you come up with.

Extra credit for those who blog this exercise. Post the link with your comment so others can check out your work and I will too. (I review all comments before I post, so please, keep it classy.)

Have a fruitful week, writers!

TLC

Passion and Other Circumstances

"It is a fact often observed, that men have written good verses under the inspiration of passion, who cannot write well under other circumstances."

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Don't you love that sweet spot of time when it's just you and the page? When just the right words are flowing, your pacing couldn't be more perfect, your characters never more alluring. You look up and notice an hour or three have passed and there in front of you is your passion manifested in black and white, something tangible. You wonder where the time went, you feel alive, maybe even a bit touched by the Muse, and dare I say, a little bit proud of yourself (good!).

But, the getting there - that's another business altogether.

We have obligations and "other circumstances," as Emerson put it. And these things take up valuable real estate on the creative mind. These things look like your job, your children and all their activities, your bills, your health, your education, a social life, sometimes your parents or others you look after, your pets. And as I've said before, these are all important obligations to mind (the non-negotiables)...but it's difficult to make the switch from the productive, responsible human being to the creative genius you're capable of being. Who's ready to search for that elusive writing sweet spot after a full day of exhausting work and other challenges? Writing yourself into that magic groove is...work! You do usually get there and remember all over again why you've been listening to your gut, heart and brain all this time about this writing thing but it wasn't without a fight.

What's your passion for writing worth?

Aside from all those obligations you really do have to tend to...the stuff that keeps you and your family alive, fed, clothed, warm, healthy and thriving...what do you need? Do you need to say "Yes, I can" every time someone outside your family circle asks for your time or could you choose the activities you're willing to put your energy into a little more selectively? Do you need to watch TV every night or could you swap out five hours of TV time for reading or writing time? Do you need to spend hours a week on all your various social media channels letting people know what you're eating, where and with whom or could you manage to use that time connecting with those around you; finding inspiration from a conversation a table down from you at a coffee shop, overheard in a thrift store or with a child?

You always have a choice of where and how you spend your time and your choices place a value on your passion for writing.

It's nearly impossible to write all the time unless you're independently wealthy (or are making a good living on your books) and have very little to no family around - and even for those who have few obligations, most can't sit to write for longer than 5 hours at a stretch. But for those of us with very busy lives, it is possible to inspire our writer's mind by paying attention to all the creative energy going on around us. Writing doesn't just take place on the page, it happens when we look at old pictures, listen to music, watch a lightning storm, take a road trip. It happens when our brains are at work, which is all the time!

Take charge of your "other circumstances" so that when it's time to connect your perspective to the page, your passion for your craft is that much easier to access.

Here's to your "good verses!"

TLC

Action: When your preparing yourself for writing, what gets you in the mood? Do you listen to music? Do you have a routine of things you must do before you sit to write? Run a few miles? Feel free to share your inspiration. Lately, I have been almost obsessively listening to Ralph Vaughan Williams. Works every time for me. Your turn!