Dear aspiring creative writer, how are you doing? Welcome to this week’s article on creative writing tips. Last week, among other things, we examined how to read slowly with the intention of identifying how the author achieved certain effects in his writing. We also analysed how your innera critic tends to prevent you from soaring. I place more focus in this article on how to silence that inner critic and how you can successfully activate your creative thinking potential when you write to let your ideas flow abundantly.
To begin, consider the following approach for silencing that inner critic. For one, you can just tell the voice to be quiet – ‘hush, be quiet!’ – almost like Jesus saying that to the troubled waters; for another, you can use a meditation technique. When the voice comes to your head, just say to yourself “that voice”, and put the thought aside.
The voice will not give up – it will keep returning constantly, but there is no reason to get beaten over by it or to get exasperated. Always gently push it aside and keep on with your writing. If the negative thoughts begin to get overwhelming, try to counter them with more positive thoughts and expressions. This can go a long way. Also, do not think you have to do this on your own. You can seek help. Talk to people who love you and are both encouraging and supportive of your cause.
However, if you have close persons tell you that you’re wasting your time or that you’ll never get your works out in print, do not bother sharing your innermost feelings with them. They will keep pulling you down. On the contrary, talk only to people who know what writing involves and can help you along the way. Yet another thing you can do is to name your inner critic. Give it a funny name or one you do detest. Think of it as a boring, tedious figure you might meet at a party. Then go ahead and get rid of it. One more thing to do with your inner critic is to just get on with the writing. Decide that you can deal with the voice later. This whole thing is about you, and you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do.
On the matter of creative thinking, it is mostly a problem for writers in general who have the perception that there is only one right answer to questions. This stance creates a creativity-blocking problem for writers. Undoubtedly, some students in class may have more original and creative answers than the teacher’s or than those in the textbook. It isn’t rocket science.
However, such students’ answers may be regarded as incorrect because it does not fit the stereotypical answers that were expected. Remember, though, that no artists or scientists ever came up with something new by doing what was expected of them. Did you get that? And what does it tell you? You’re on the right path! Well-known artists and scientists broke the rules and produced the supposedly wrong answers according to the theories and expectations of the time. How can you manage this and invoke creative thinking?
Clearly, the thing to do is to suspend logical thinking. This is because logic can kill the creative flow of new ideas. Am I saying to put away logical thinking completely? Far from it! You do need logical thinking in many, many situations; however, writing isn’t one of those situations. So, what should you do? Endeavour to think laterally, backwards, and back to front – or don’t think at all. But don’t get me wrong. You need to just let your ideas flow. Most great ideas don’t come when you’re sitting at your desk trying to feel inspired. Such a posture releases pressure on you, and you end up not being productive or coming up with a workable solution. Why is that so? It’s because you’re concentrating so hard on the problem that your mind has no space for an answer to emerge. And this isn’t what you want, is it?
Now, what tips might work to help you let the ideas flow? Try to find the time to relax. Going for a walk, reading a book, or relaxing in the bath may inspire an awesome idea! Or you may suddenly find a solution to a problem blocking your writing. Alternating periods of working at your writing with relaxing activities is important. Extremely. Again, realise that it is noble to do nothing at times. Make some empty time to think.
Nowadays, people are so surrounded by noise and activity that they seldom get time to let their minds free-wheel. Even when on the bus people use their mobile devices, listen to music, or read the paper. At times, try doing nothing but staring out of the window, watching the world go by. Or try sitting in the park for half an hour at lunchtime, observing the birds, trees, and people – if you have such warm environment. You could also just sit at home on your own with a cup of tea or coffee for just 20 minutes and relax.
Did you know that ideas can also be generated by play? If you can make your writing fun, you’ll find dreaming up good ideas much easier. If you think of writing as a game to enjoy, rather than a task to be completed, you’ll find yourself becoming more creative. So, remember to play. Then, too, ask the question, ‘What if?’ Many a great innovator was successful because they asked this question. Good thing is that they didn’t stop with the first answer that popped up. For a writer, ‘What if?’ is a great question. What if a man discovers the secret of extending life? What if someone tries to steal the recipe for the drug from him? What if a rival pharmaceutical company decides to have him killed? And the ‘What ifs?’ can be endless, opening an avalanche of opportunity for ideas to flow.
In all, do not be afraid to make mistakes. All creative activity involves making mistakes. People who don’t make errors never achieve anything. Sometimes mistakes help you see where you need to buckle down in your writing. You not only learn from them, but you also reinterpret them to write something much more original than what you’d originally planned. Part IV will be loaded with additional tips for beginner writers. Cheers.
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