Every so often, it happens. You stare at a blank page, and… stare. And then stare some more. You go back to your notebooks, then back to staring. You try coffee, tea, warm milk, eight-year-old scotch, late-night phone calls, and nothing works. As far as you can tell, you’re officially “blocked.”
Every so often in this space, I’ll be putting up writing prompts, exercises, and other suggestions for beating the block. I’ll put something up just as soon as I think of something…
Okay, only kidding. Here’s your first batch:
1. “Campfire stories.” Lots of times, we neglect some of the best stories from our life–funny or even gripping though they may be–because they don’t seem to fit what we imagine the grand narrative of our life to be. Maybe you think of yourself as deadly serious, an agnostic, or an altruist; think of a time, or series of times, you acted against type. Write the story down without regard as to how it “fits” the rest of your life. Revisit it later on and revise, if you’d like, with the benefit of a bit of hindsight.
2. So, your life is an open book? Write the review.
3. Write a poem or short-short story made up entirely of snippets of song lyrics.