As writers know, good writing comes from a variety of strategies, among them regular practice of the craft. One way writers can achieve this goal is by keeping a regular journal. While it is great to chronicle daily activities and occurrences in your journal, it can also be very helpful to change things up from time to time and think outside of this model. Looking for inspiration can be difficult at times, but here are a few suggestions to help tap into your storytelling side in your journal entries.
Look Through Old Photos
Looking through old pictures that are sitting around collecting dust can help you to recall events that may not have been accessed by your brain for some time. Take a good long look at the pictures and do your best to remember everything you can about that moment in time. Before you know it, your journal entry will be longer than you expected and a great story just may come out of it.
Clean Out the Drawers
Start digging around in your desk or top dresser drawer and see what kinds of interesting items you come across. It could be something as simple as a concert ticket or a tag off of a favorite jacket you bought years ago. There is a story in everything you have, no matter how mundane it may seem. All you have to do is look hard enough and you will find inspiration.
Old Toys
Remember childhood, how much simpler things seemed? Dig up some old toys or even the toys of the children in your life and try to recall a specific memory related to that toy in particular. Describe the toy. How did it make you feel when you first got it? Was it your favorite toy? If not, what was your favorite toy? Use these kinds of items as a springboard for deeper storytelling.
Best/Worst
The best/worst method can get your juices flowing in a pinch for sure. Best restaurant experience, worst day of your life, best family holiday, worst friendship ever—take your pick. There are so many angles available to write about when you look at extreme examples of regular events. Often, there are opportunities for much humor and/or reflection when using the best/worst method.
Travels
Whether you have traveled around the world or to the county fair, changing scenery is important and has a profound impact on our worldview. Limited worldviews can be just as interesting as the worldly adventurer, but it is all about the way you decide to tell the tale in the end. Make it your own and make it personal. Use your voice and you may have a gem on your hands.
This post was contributed by Holly McCarthy, who writes on the subject of the distance learning top universities. She invites your feedback at hollymccarthy12 at gmail dot com
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment