Creative Writing Corner

Photo of the Week

, originally uploaded by AAGCTT.

Great perspective in this shot.

Get Inspired by a Museum Exhibit

We're lucky to live in a time and place where there are so many sources of inspiration. We don't have to just read books; we can watch movies, listen to music, go to concerts. One of the ways I get inspired is actually to go to museums. Whether it's the MoMA, the Louvre, the Met, or Boston's MFA, I inevitably find something in an art exhibit that has the power to stop my heart for a moment.

Recently I took a trip both to the MoMA (that's the Museum of Modern Art for you non-New Yorkers) and the Met (the Metropolitan Museum of Art). Both of them are terrific and inspiring in different ways. At the Met, I got a chance to revisit some old paintings that I adored. At the right you can see an all-time favorite of mine, Van Gogh's "Wheat Field with Cypresses." I love the dreamy, swimming quality of the sky, the dynamic, wind-tossed movement of the trees, and the fully textured appearance of the wheat. By seeing it in real life, I got to see how thickly the paint was globbed on to the wheat field, giving it that authentic appearance of texture. The Met also has an impressive ancient art collection, which I also find inspiring. As a scholar of religion, for one, I'm very interested in how ancient art can inform us about early ritual and belief. It's art that tells us how a people sees itself, heaven, gods, and the universe. I love masks, engraved swords, religious statues, and all that; to me they represent the dreams of another time.

Then, of course, there is the MoMA, which is an entirely different experience. You first know you are in a different world when you enter the front door. Unlike the classical architecture of the Met, the MoMA is constructed in the clean, spare white walls and cutout window spaces of modern architectural thought. What you find on the walls here is generally far more abstract and more challenging to my easily befuddled mind. The MoMA can be frustrating at times -- there is actually a square of blank canvas framed on the wall -- but can also be deeply inspiring. There are abstract paintings and sculptures there that still capture the dynamism and movement of the world the way we see it, and paintings and sculptures that challenge that very perception.

These two museums are just examples of very affordable ways we can all get inspired by art. Just about every city has a museum worth visiting, and they're not always the big famous ones. A small city often has small, little-known museums housing gems, so try researching museums in your own town.

Photo of the Week

Her Split Personality, originally uploaded by me_on_flickr.

This shot is very cleverly done and may get you thinking. Try writing something about it!

Write About Love Lost

On Mondays I generally offer an exercise suggestion. For those of you new to the site, you can expect to come by on Mondays and have a concrete writing activity to do or thing to think about that will hopefully get you writing.

This week, I want you to try to write about lost love. Either write a memoir piece, or try creating a fictional story. Lost love can be interpreted in a lot of different ways; you could consider a love who has died, or a couple that never quite got together, or someone who fell out of love with someone. You could write about any one of a hundred bittersweet partings and disappointments. The point is to capture that sense of loss that is so keenly felt when we wonder what might have been. Love lost is always a significant part of the human experience because it exposes our rawest emotions and our barest selves. It shows us at our best and our worst, our wisest and most desperate, our most foolish and most generous.

What I do want to emphasize is that this piece should not be a break-up story. While a break-up story can be beautiful, as I'm learning from my current literary magazine internship, it's the most common storyline in the slush pile. It is common and unremarkable, and should be avoided. But maybe you're asking what a break-up story actually is.

It's a bit of a tenuous definition, but the break-up stories that are a dime a dozen in the slush pile tend to be slow-moving, overly thoughtful takes on a couple in decline. The love is gone in the relationship, and it usually ends in a realization that the other person isn't who the first person thought he or she was.

Do you see the difference between a love lost story and a break-up story? A love lost story still has love in it. A typical break-up story is merely the discovery that love isn't there at all. It keeps the characters reserved -- depressed, maybe, but still not baring the best and worst of themselves. So keep your stories interesting -- write about love, not about the lack of it.

Photo of the Week

Shortcut to the Food Court, originally uploaded by pixel.eight.

This shot is both funny and oddly bleak and bizarre. Will you write something about it this week?

How to Write a Story in a Day

Have some free time? Are you ready for a marathon writing session?

Every now and then we get the urge to have a real creative sprint. We get an irresistible idea, or have finally reached the climax of our novel project. We see a great movie that makes us want to write, or read a book that makes us want to do better. And in that rarest of rare occurrences, we sometimes get a day -- a magical, unexpected day -- when we have free time and no other obligations. The trick is taking advantage of that day to write something great.

1. Write first, ask questions later

If you really want to accomplish something huge in a day, you can't start by worrying and planning and mapping. You'll only feel productive and proud of yourself if you actually get a ton of words on the page. So to make sure the day isn't wasted, just begin by beginning. Sit down, get a drink, open your word processer and start going. Don't look back. Don't edit as you go. Think only about your character and the needs of the scene you find yourself in. Let your mind and your words go where they will. At this stage, the name of the game is volume.

2. Make a plan and find a direction.

Now that you've written a good amount, the pressure to actually write is off and you can start thinking about your story in a more relaxed way. If you stop right now, you'll feel glad you did some writing, but you still won't have a story. So now it's time to look back on what you've got and decide where the story is going.

This isn't editing. Editing is improving what you've got; but today, you still want to keep your forward momentum. Instead, study what you've written and decide what the main thread is. What is the large, overarching problem? What is the fundamental comment you are making about your character? What is a climactic scene in the future that you're hinting at? To make a story, you've got to start cutting off possible avenues and heading down a more straight and narrow road.

3. Write with more purpose and direction.

Now it's time to write again, but this time, you're writing with an end destination in mind. If you can imagine an end scene, bear towards it. If you know what you want to say about your character's life, start writing about that. Whatever you're doing, you're still writing without looking back, but you're writing more thoughtfully, not in a headlong rush. Write slower, but don't edit.

After these three steps, you may be surprised to discover that you have the rough draft of a story on your hands. It only took a day, and yet you have a brand-new work to call your own. Now you'll be glad you didn't waste your day.

Photo of the Week

autumn, originally uploaded by idlphoto.

I always love a great autumn leaf shot. I hope you enjoy it and write something about it this week!

Photo of the Week

Newhaven - Edinburgh., originally uploaded by devilineden.

Hope this great image gets you inspired this week!

Photo of the Week

Jama-a-a-a-aica!, originally uploaded by Natalia K..

How about a beachy scene to keep you feeling warm today?

How to Get Out of a Writing Rut

Sometimes we can get in a serious writing rut. A rut might be when we have one successful story about one topic, and then we can't help writing about that topic over and over. Or else we can't help continuing to write with the same old, overused and flat phrases. Like in other aspects of our lives, it's easy to fall into old habits that don't leave us room to grow, improve, and change. It's important to force yourself to climb out of that writing rut periodically, so here are a few strategies for doing just that.

1. Force yourself to choose a different topic.

Sometimes we think we can only write about one plotline over and over -- a death in the family, perhaps, or an unhappy relationship. To get out of that storyline habit, make your next project a deliberate step outside your comfort zone. Write about a murder, or if you normally write about crime, try a subtle family drama instead. Try comedy if you can only write about tragic situations.

2. Try some short-fiction exercises.

Sometimes the prospect of getting into another long project, like a complete story or novel, makes us feel like we have to follow old patterns in order to succeed. To break away from this, try avoiding the pattern by writing in short bursts. Write an impression of the view outside your window, or try writing an interior monologue from the perspective of a new character. Use any exercise that will force you to break away from old routines.

3. Change your reading material.

Our writing is often largely influenced by what we're reading at the time. If you find yourself writing the same thing over and over, maybe you're reading the same things over and over, too. Try picking something off the shelf that you might not normally be interested in, such as a non-fiction book of essays, a book of poetry, or some science fiction. Try anything that you don't normally read, especially if it comes well-recommended. It could influence you to write in a different style.

4.Change where you're writing.

Sometimes the place where you write can become part of the humdrum routine as well. If you're always stuck sitting at your computer in your office, go to the public library for a day. Take a notebook to the park, or sit in a busy cafe for a while. Anything that gives you a different setting than normal will help you think different thoughts while you're writing.

5.Change your last story's ending.

Our writing ruts often manifest themselves in how our stories turn out. When reading submissions for a popular teen fiction magazine, I was amazed to see how many teens finished their stories with car crashes. It was an easy way to have a dramatic finish, so it became an irrestistible plot device. If you see your endings heading in a predictable direction, spend a little more time picking a different plot turn.