By Annette Cole Mastron, Communications Director for Southern Writers Magazine
Well, not really. I have a delightfully quirky friend named Sharon. We are
kindred spirits. The other day, on Facebook, she posted this; "I've seen
several trucks moving furniture, lately. In the bed of the truck, is a
chocolate brown sofa with square wooden feet. I've seen this same sofa in TN, AR,
and TX. My theory is that it's the same sofa. It just travels around never
being unloaded."
This post struck my funny bone in a big way. After dropping my phone and breaking out into noisy laughter, for 5 minutes my mind began to concoct a witty response. However, it eluded me. Instead, all I could think about is Sharon's "traveling sofa." I told Sharon she should write a story about the sofa. Then was struck with an idea.
My current work in progress is a mystery series with an eccentric protagonist. She probably owns Sharon's brown sofa. I have not written much since the holidays on my WIP. I took a month-long creative sabbatical and was stuck as to how best to jump back into writing everyday on my WIP. I decided to use Sharon's "traveling sofa" post as a writing exercise to get the creative juices flowing. The result was two days straight of productive 20 hours of writing.
I highly recommend you find your own "traveling brown sofa." Take a
browse through Facebook and find a wacky post that piques your interest. Be
sure to set a timer for no more than 15 minutes because we all know that
Facebook can be a black hole without a time limit.
Focus on only one Facebook post and begin to weave those words. Write for 10 minutes without stopping. Then transition and begin writing on your WIP. See how this writing exercise helps you get back on track with your WIP getting you "unstuck."
Just try it. What have you got to lose?
This post struck my funny bone in a big way. After dropping my phone and breaking out into noisy laughter, for 5 minutes my mind began to concoct a witty response. However, it eluded me. Instead, all I could think about is Sharon's "traveling sofa." I told Sharon she should write a story about the sofa. Then was struck with an idea.
My current work in progress is a mystery series with an eccentric protagonist. She probably owns Sharon's brown sofa. I have not written much since the holidays on my WIP. I took a month-long creative sabbatical and was stuck as to how best to jump back into writing everyday on my WIP. I decided to use Sharon's "traveling sofa" post as a writing exercise to get the creative juices flowing. The result was two days straight of productive 20 hours of writing.
Focus on only one Facebook post and begin to weave those words. Write for 10 minutes without stopping. Then transition and begin writing on your WIP. See how this writing exercise helps you get back on track with your WIP getting you "unstuck."
Just try it. What have you got to lose?
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