Writers, have you ever had times of feeling stuck,
unmotivated, or uninspired? It’s on those occasions the doubting voice within
awakens. It reminds you of things like – you’re not good enough, it has been
done a million times, that subject is boring.
After staring at a blank page on the computer and not
feeling motivated, I tried some of the recommended solutions to get inspired; online
prompts, listen to webinars, join writing groups on Facebook, meditate, walk, and
still nothing.
I had a familiar nudge this past fall for me to rewrite an
old poem. I had filed it away after a tough critique. It would be a fabulous
picture book, if only I could get it right. I tried it several ways taking the
suggestions I had been given. The poem went from 200 words to 4000. It
wasn’t a poem, picture book, or novel! I filed it away again and cringed.
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Recently, on my walk,
I pondered what could inspire me to want to write again. I recalled in the past
while creating articles for magazines and writing for Scholastic, my words
flowed. I was thrilled with any subject they assigned me. I wrote
quickly, efficiently, and relished every minute of the creative process.
I thought about an
experiment to see if I could spark the passion that was once there. I’d ask loved
ones to assign me a single word (noun preferably) with only a few
seconds of thought. The next day I would
write about their word, beginning as they did, spontaneously.
My sister-in-law gifted
me the word elephant. She had no idea why that word came to her mind. The
next day the realization hit that I didn’t know much about elephants. They are
gray, wrinkled, and there’s one named Dumbo. I did a quick search to find some
facts and had so much fun with my discoveries. The first sentence in my
sister-in-law’s word story was: “If I were an elephant, I would bat my five and
a half inch eyelashes at you.” I had a blast writing this in first person. I
later thanked her for that exciting learning experience. I had never been an
elephant before.
A friend gifted me the
word song. She thought I would write about my favorite musician at some
point in my life. What came to me were the songs of the world. I wrote about
the countless sounds and rhythms of nature within our environment. I felt so
much gratitude as I thought about how the universe creates its own phenomenal
orchestra.
The nine other words began with a brief list of my first impressions
and then I’d elaborate on the list. Once I began writing for each person’s word,
I wrote more than my intended plan of at least one paragraph.
These words filled me with forgotten memories, others had me
laughing, and some brought on emotional tears. The gift of a single word has awakened
my creative energy. The angels are singing and have already conquered those
doubting voices.
My confidence and passion have returned, along with
motivation and inspiration. The old file has been reopened this time with enthusiasm;
a new story is about to be born. My hope is that you never give up and you add
this experiment to help you get unstuck, if ever needed.
Meline Scheidel publishes under the pen name of Patti RaeFletcher. She is the author of three books, magazine articles, and blogs. Her
children’s creative non-fiction picture book, Whoa Nilly, A Nymph Grows Up! is about the lifecycle of a dragonfly, teacher approved, using both
illustrations and photographs. She has two short memoirs where she shares her
experiences recognizing signs that are undeniably beyond synchronicities and
coincidences. These messages of love helped her through cancer and led her to a
cottage of her dreams. In Patti’s spare time, you can find her outdoors in
nature, gardening, fishing, reading, or playing with friends.
