What kinds of things should you keep in your creative writer’s journal? How do you collect a rich trove of work-in-progress scrap to mold into something?
Write or record descriptions of people you know. Reflect on real people in your life and write similes to describe them. Does he move like a bird? Does she sing like a waterfall? Is she hungry like the wolf? Go into detail about a person using all the comparisons you can. Then, when it comes time to build characters, choose similes that fit, then expand them. (The fun part is combining elements of different people you know to create a totally-fictional-yet-still-real person.)
Art direct three key locations. If your story is like most, the number of locations will be limited and several will repeat. Think of yourself, dear Writer, as dressing a film set for three locations. Create a separate list of descriptions, items, and feelings associated with each location. What is it like to be in the room, standing at that cliff edge, or crammed inside that car’s backseat? Use all five (+) senses and over-elaborate details. Then, as you draft and find yourself in one of those locations (again), you can grab a fresh descriptor or detail from your scrap pile.
Cool facts or quotes. Of course, never use a quote without giving credit. And always confirm the accuracy of your facts. But, that being said, when you hear a piece of trivia, a unique origin story to a mundane item, a tale local to an area or in danger of being lost to history, save it for later. Even if it’s just a question to remind yourself (like, “Heard that spiders can see UV light. Is that true?” or “DYK: whiteout was invented at a kitchen table by accident.”) you can research later and unravel an entire path of creativity you may have forgotten about if you had not thrown it in your scrap pile.
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