Every time I think about posting, another atrocity occurs. The violence in Israel is heartbreaking. Though war has been hell since long before General Sherman said so, targeting civilians goes against the rules of even the most hellish engagement. I spent too much time living in the Middle East not to feel this deeply. For now, all I know to do is to offer this, the Global Empowerment Mission, a vetted organization providing aid to everyone on the ground in the Israeli-Hamas war. Israelis, Palestinians, and every other person on the ground who they can access.
Nothing in my past experience, however, says that this is a moment to stop making public art. By public, I mean shareable work, which means working from scars, not wounds. If you’re like me, you might find that challenging right now. So give yourself a break. I repeat, give yourself a break. First, though, let me spell out what I mean by break.
Sitting in my chair feeling miserable while trying to push through something for the sake of saying I pushed through rarely yields inspired results. Sometimes, the next best thing is a nap. Or a run. Or take myself on a artist’s date.
That said, I value butt in chair time. I have some carved into my schedule every day. When I can’t get into my current project (like the new stand-alone novel I’m starting), then the next best thing is not to work on admin or social media (my all-too-easy fallback), but to find a new way in to the project. Some of that will come through the napping, running, or wandering. When I do sit in the chair, that might mean approaching a current project differently, or starting something altogether different. In fact, the stand-alone novel is a diversion from another project I’m stalled on. To keep the new work moving forward from the butt-in-chair perspective, this is what I’ve done this past week.
Casting for my book.
Who would play the main characters in the movie version of the book? I did this for the stand-alone novel I’m working on, but I haven’t posted it yet. But you can check out the one I made for Blissful Thinking.
Writing a logline for my book.
A logline lays out the protagonist’s crisis and the stakes involved in two or three sentences. If I can write one, I have a book. If I can’t, what I have might be a scene or an act. Here’s a post I wrote about how to put together a logline so you can try applying it to an idea in your head. (Not yet ready to share the logline I wrote for the current WIP!)
Make a Spotify playlist to evoke the mood of the book.
This one is for the current WIP, you can listen here.
Take a class and work from fresh prompts.
See below.
Writing a book is something like falling in love. To sustain the energy and momentum needed to stick with the project, I must fall in love with the book. The best way to conjure that love is to cast a spell—look for what’s right about the project. What about the story excites me? Why do I think other people need to read it? (Entertainment alone is enough of a reason!) How do I want readers to feel when they read it? How do I want to feel writing it?
Research backs this up. Exposure to other people’s creativity (artist’s dates), engaging in imaginative acts (taking classes), and using your analytical mind (making something new) all boosts the brains ability to develop new solutions.
My plan next week, if the writing doesn’t flow (and yes, I take the weekend off where I keep the spell going by writing in my phone’s Notes app), is to start a vision board and turn that into a reel.
How do you cast a spell to keep up enthusiasm for creative projects? This is not an idle question, btw. I’m always looking for ideas.
I’m also curious, if you haven’t read Blissful Thinking yet, based on the characters in my Book Casting Game reel above, what plot would you guess the story is about? My favorite answer wins a prize!
And, if you’d like, share the ideal cast for your book or screenplay.
Free classes all next week!
I’m thrilled this FREE coaching summit starts next week, Write Anyway! It’s the perfect opportunity to get back to your writing, because it’s designed as a series of micro-sessions aimed at helping you overcome obstacles in your writing, I’m teaching a session called, Unblocked: How to Tell a Different Story, applying storytelling techniques to come at your manuscript a different way. Click the image for free access to all the sessions.
Hosted by Sue Campbell, the guru behind Pages & Platforms, a service that offers craft and marketing help. I’ll be joined by—
Gabriela Pereira of DIYMFA.com
Brooke Warner of She Writes Press
Bill Kenower from the Fearless Writing podcast
Allison K. Williams, author of Seven Drafts
And a whole lot more!
If you’d like to explore more deeply, I’m offering yoga workshops!
If you’re in Chicago or Pittsburgh, join my yoga workshop. In it, I cover these topics alongside the physical practices that help me get beyond things that block me.
Click here for Chicago, Oct 22.
Click here for Pittsburgh, Oct 29.
Til next time!
L.L. Kirchner
Author, Blissful Thinking: A Memoir of Overcoming the Wellness Revolution, and American Lady Creature: (My) Change in the Middle East.