Writing Desk

© Photo by Leah Ranada.

I am in that lovely phase of contemplating the start of a new project. A short story, maybe two. There’s a flock of ideas and the accompanying excitement, but I know now not to commit them to the page too early. I’ll permit a few messy scribbles in my notebook, moments of staring into space. The trick is telling the difference between ideas that inspire and ones that hurry. The former usually take root, push through the ground, grow and ripen before there’s even a known word count; the latter end up being unfinished drafts. Right now, I’ll just enjoy the sight of blossoms and wait for that exquisite moment of harvest.

Your Prompt: Take a walk in a neighbourhood park or anywhere there is nature. Find an object that doesn’t belong there. Someone’s lost sandal, a forgotten water bottle, an empty packet of instant noodles seasoning. Bring the object back to your writing (mentally, you don’t have to pick it up!) Have your protagonist wonder or do something about it.

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Feeling uninspired or bored by your work in progress? Maybe there is something flawed about the idea in the first place. Step back from the manuscript and think back to the time the concept was still exciting. What parts were you eager to write or research? What elements have you added to the work that now feel like a burden? Could they be discarded? Consider big changes. Could the time period be different. Should it be told from a different point of view?

See previous Quick Tip.

About Writing Desk

Years ago, I gave up blogging for good. But I changed my mind and here we are. Aside from maintaining a consistent writing practice, my goal is to build a live space outside social media for content that supports the creative process, free of mindless, addictive, and AI-generated distractions.

May your visits here be frequent but brief. The idea is to offer something that will light a spark, not distract from your writing. For this reason, I don’t post Writing Desk on social media. Thanks for stopping by!

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Found Words

“The more I wrote, the more suspect the good sense and studied beauty achieved by the mechanisms of narrative seemed to me. I didn’t want to give them up—didn’t want to live without their consolation. I wanted to employ them in a form that could contain the formless… ” –Nicole Krauss, Forest Dark

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