|
writing
Someone said you give great advice.
I'm really worried. I'm in the 7th grade, and generally I write really well. Really zany Poems and stories. But I haven't had any writing assignments (Yet!) and I'm worried that I won't come up with any good writing ideas! i just don't feel inspired! Does this mean I'm losing creativity?
13/f
[ ]
Want to answer more questions in the Work & School category?
Maybe give some free advice about: School?
My dear fellow writer,
You are among many aspiring young writers - myself included - who, at times, don't feel very inspired. It'll come to you, trust me. For a while, several months in fact, I didn't write at all (save for a few book reports). Then I had a quite sudden kick of creativity and began to write about a girl named Kat and her life. I typed it all. (Very bad idea!!!) My computer died. I don't know if the harddrive crashed or died or whatever; I just know that the computer is no longer alive. I'm now on my grandfather's old computer. If you're going to write - be sure to do what I didn't - put your writing on a floppy disc or some sort of backup file so you'll still have it later. Since I lost that story, I was a little upset and once again didn't feel very creative or inspired. Then, one night around 12:30 AM, I got a sudden idea! Thus, my most recent work. It's still in progress, but it's alot of fun. Sometimes you'll feel uninspired for a while, but (at a very random time) will get a very great idea.
Simply because you haven't had any ideas lately doesn't meant you're losing your creativity. Your creativity has simply, perhaps, gone into hibernation and needs to be woken. Sometimes in my spare time I do a fun grammar workbook. It has all sorts of writing exercises to help strengthen my writing skills and know what to say and what not to say. It has covered everything from discriptive paragraphs to short essays to poetry. You could try something like that. A few good exercises are :
- Pick a small place in your house or outside; it only needs to be an area of a few feet. Then, in as much detail as possible, describe that area. It's acceptable to use "action" verbs to describe something that isn't moving. [example : the shirt is sprawled... the squating stump...]
- Describe - in GREAT detail - your "dream room." If money were not an obstacle, what would you want your room to look like? Any specific "high-tech" toys, CDs, colors, pillows etc. should be described.
- Describe a room in your home. Simple enough right? You can, once again, use "action" verbs to describe something that isn't actually moving.
- Describe yourself. Take a mirror and describe your outside features as well as your personality. Don't forget to include things such as "deep blue eyes that shine like diamonds..." and "hair silky, shining as the sun..." etc.
- Describe a person. Describe them the same way you did yourself.
- Describe your dream pet. It can be a real animal, or something that you've created. Be sure to include what color it would be, what its texture is, its personality and demeanor, what its purposes are (playing, riding, farm work) etc.
- Describe a planet. Make up a planet, name it, give it personality and flair. Create people (or perhaps they are aliens...?) who are unique to themselves.
- Write about one day in your life. It can be a special day or just an ordinary day. Use lots of adjectives and verbs to give your writing class. Try using a new word every now and then. :) Break out the dictionary baby!
- Describe ONE special happening of your life. Perhaps it was the night you got your first kiss (if that has happened to you yet), the day you were saved (or christened...), the day you were held the main role in the school play or such great events. Describe the emotions you had, the people around you, how you felt before, during, and after, etc.
- Write a short story about a made-up person. Tell what happens to him/her during one day (or however long you choose to write about, though I'd start with one day). Show the emotions, class, style and character that are all your own. :-D
You're not losing your creativity, you simply need to use it more. Using creativity comes in more fashions than just writing. Perhaps you could try your hand at painting, drawing or modeling clay. You could make a bouquet or arrangement. Try photography or choreography (you know, dance moves). Perhaps you are a fine dancer. :) Make a collage using only things you find outdoors or magazine clippings. There are endless possibilities. You can make even the most dull and boring things seem interesting if you portray them correctly.
This is taken from a wonderful creative writing course called "Wordsmith" by Janie B. Cheaney, concerning creativity and poetry.
"Do you think you never go anywhere or do anything interesting? What would you think of a girl who grew up in the same house, never moved, never went on vacation, never had more than a few friends, never married, and died at the age of 56? It would be hard to imagine a more boring life. But Emily Dickinson wrote over a thousand poems during her "boring" life, which are still read and enjoyed (and required for every American literature student) today. Here's one :
The sky is low, the clouds are mean;
A traveling flake of snow
Across a barn or thorn or rut
Debates if it will go.
A narrow wind complains all day
How some one treated him.
Nature, like us, is sometimes caught
Without her diadem.
This example demonstrates how a poet can take the simple, ordinary experiences of life and make them special."
Wow! Emily Dickinson was an amazing poet! But, as I've stated before, she lived a BORING life! If she could write such amazing works, surely we can follow in her example.
I hope this has helped you and perhaps encouraged you in some form or fashion. :-D
-FunnyCide
]
More Questions: |