It's Time to Let Loose!

Do you remember when you were a kid and you could make up stories without a problem? 

Sitting around your Fisher Price dollhouse or your Lincoln Logs (my favorite!), you could pick up any random toy and invent a story out of thin air. 

You did this hundreds of times.

Years (eons??) later, you stare at a blank computer screen, wondering what in the world to write. You ask yourself, Why am I here? and Why can't I get my brain to cooperate?? 

Reading a good book can actually tick you off. The audacity of those authors to make their writing so readable and interesting!!

What you did so easily as a kid may seem impossible as an adult. 

How can you consistently generate good, even great, ideas? And more importantly, how do you separate the good ideas from the bad?

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Remember?

Kids have it made. They play all day and constantly exercise their imaginations, blissfully unaware of what is going on around them.

Before she could barely talk, my daughter Ali would stand on the coffee table and sing songs in gibberish that actually rhymed.

They aren't forced to focus and complete tasks by deadlines. They don’t worry about what people will think of the backstory they just invented for their character. They don’t second-guess dialogue or pithy realizations. They don't sit at the computer and ask, DO I HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY??

We, on the other hand, are forced to deal with expectations—from readers, perhaps publishers, and even ourselves. We criticize our writing, our insights, our ideas. 

Working on our manuscripts, we feel the pressure to constantly come up with new ideas, even as our inner adult tells us they’re stupid. 

Here is the truth: you do have good ideas. Even better ones than you had when you were a kid! And you are capable of finishing your manuscript. It’s a matter of getting the writing out of your head and onto the page.

Read that paragraph again.

What if I told you that the key to bringing fresh ideas and creativity back into your writing lies in your younger self?

Regardless of your age, you can harness your creative inner child and channel it in a productive way.

Here are four strategies for tapping into your inner child and generating great ideas for your book.

Strategy #1. Send your inner adult to the corner.

Remember when you were naughty and your mom or dad would send you to the corner? I hated it! Minutes seemed like hours.

Here’s your chance for payback. 

Send your inner adult to the corner and those precious minutes will yield hours of productivity.

At first, this might be a challenge. It’s a muscle you need to exercise that will get stronger the more you use it.

Which leads to…

Strategy #2. Give yourself permission to get crazy.

If your childhood was at all like mine, you were told to "Grow Up!" when you acted childish. Granted, we all need to mature, but too many of us (me included) became too self-conscious.

We convinced ourselves not to get too crazy.

If you feel stuck, then you need to get crazy.

Close the door to where you're writing. You might even want to lock it so no one can watch. Then write everything that comes to mind. Every thought. Every memory. Every feeling. 

You can do it on paper. I do this best when I'm sitting at my computer.

Then apply the same strategy to your book. Remember, your inner adult is sitting in the corner, so go crazy.

Strategy #3. Pay attention to your mind’s wanderings—and write them down.

This similar to #6 in my blog post about stirring those creative juices.

When you’re out and about and an idea hits you, write it down. It could be an insight, a clever line, perhaps even an overheard line in a conversation that you can use.

Don’t hesitate to write it down. Do it right then or you’ll forget. Jot it down on a sticky note, notebook, or the notes app on your phone. If nothing is close by, write it on your hand.

A week ago I was sitting in an airplane when a flock of great ideas flew right past me. Rather than commit them to memory, I grabbed my iPhone and captured them on my Notes app.

Good ideas are gold.

Make sure you record enough information to fully capture the idea.

Oh yeah—and write legibly. (Nothing is more frustrating than having an important note in hand but having no idea what it means!) 

Even if you don’t end up using them all, you’re exercising your creative muscles.

Strategy #4. Learn from the best.

Think of an author or writer you enjoy.

Now write down three things you like about the person’s writing. Then, explore how you can incorporate those elements into your prose. 

True confession: I’m a big-time sports fan. You probably didn’t know this, but I went to college on an athletic scholarship.

They paid me NOT to play athletics. But I digress…

Peter King is my favorite sports columnist. His weekly Monday Morning Quarterback column for NBC Sports is a high priority read for me.

Here is what I’ve learned from him:

• Get to the point
• Vary your format so readers aren’t lulled to sleep
• Tell lots of stories
• Use numbered or bulleted lists when appropriate
• Be authentic and don’t take yourself too seriously

The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown changed the way I write. While it was obvious he had an ax to grind with the Roman Catholic church, and I disagreed with many of the statements he presented as fact, I couldn’t put the book down.

I felt guilty for reading the book, but, like I said, I just couldn’t put it down.

Here’s what I learned from Dan Brown: 

• Write short chapters. It gives readers a sense of accomplishment.
• Resolve tension in the middle of the chapter and conclude every chapter at the peak of the story’s intensity.

This strategy is a great way to identify what you like and give yourself a target to shoot for when crafting new ideas for your manuscript and how to improve it.

Strategy #5. Get crafty.

Get a pen, some index cards or sticky notes, tape, and a poster board or whiteboard. Write down every possible beat in your manuscript on the cards or notes—every plot point, chapter, or main point. Start at the end and work backward, or explore all the possibilities from one starting point. (Color coding your options can be helpful.) 

Arrange all your plot points in order on your board, and explore all the possibilities for your story. This activity gives your brain room to play. Once you have all the options out there visually, it’s easier to narrow them down.

If you write nonfiction, you can outline your book by writing down the premise of all possible chapters onto a notecard or sheet of paper. Then play around with the organization until the right flow emerges.

I once spent a full week doing this until I found the right flow.

You can organize your chapters like this as well. Brainstorm all the different ideas for your chapter and write them on a notecard. Then organize it.

You don't need to include every chapter or idea into your book. Save the leftovers for your next bestseller.

Your Next Strategic Move

Still stuck? Schedule a meeting with me. I can help you sort the good ideas from the bad. I can also work on making your writing journey more enjoyable.

Click here to schedule a strategy session with me.

Let's bring your book to life!

Perhaps you intended on finishing your manuscript and publishing your book this year...but you didn't. That's okay.

But if you need a little incentive to get it done, let's talk.