reynoldswriting.com Blog

I don’t know whether it’s the unusually early onslaught of triple-digit heat here in Austin, my ongoing experiments in finding the ideal sleep schedule, my sedentary lifestyle or all of the above, but lately I’ve found that my brain needs an extra jump-start or two on most days. Afternoons pose the greatest threat, with my creative juices bearing more of a resemblance to molasses.

I’m forced to create anyway, of course, because I have to pay the rent. Like most other working people on the planet, I have to perform regardless of whether I feel inspired to do so. I usually have to be flat-out sick before I’ll give myself permission to slack off. Those deadlines won’t meet themselves.

Fortunately, I’ve learned a few tricks along the way to unblock the old grey matter and get rolling again. If you find yourself up against a creative deadline without two brain cells to rub together, you might want to try them yourself:

Play the “What If” Game. The original writers of Saturday Night Live used this technique when they felt stumped for ideas. It involves constructing completely surreal premises out of two or more unrelated parts. They phrased these premises in a “What if” format, asking questions out loud such as, “What if Eleanor Roosevelt had magical powers?” or, “What if Spartacus had fought the Romans while flying a Piper Cub airplane?” Some of these bizarre notions actually found their way into SNL sketches — but more importantly, they freed the writers’ imaginations from all constraints so creativity could run wild.

Keep a list. A young Ray Bradbury once decided, almost on a whim, to write down a list of nouns as fast as they would come to him. He ended up a huge stockpile of compelling images (and prospective stories) such as THE LAKE, THE NIGHT, THE CRICKETS, THE RAVINE, THE BABY, THE OLD WOMAN, THE DWARF, THE MIRROR MAZE and so on. He would then return to this treasure trove to get inspiration for future stories.

Get comfortable. Maybe you’re just tired, in a bad mood, eating or sleeping poorly. The brain is a part of the body, after all. You may find that with a little more sleep or some daily exercise your thoughts will start flowing again as if by magic. You may also want to experiment with different writing rituals, as I discussed in a previous post, until you hit on an environment or schedule that unlocks your muse.

And stay out of the heat!

For more about my writing services and current package deals, check out my website at www.reynoldswriting.com.

Okay, it isn’t your blog, it’s my blog (though I do hope to attract readers from California to the New York Eye-lands). But I’d like to make it as useful, informative and interesting a blog as possible, so I’m enlisting your aid.

Do you have a particular question about copywriting or its role in a marketing campaign? Do you have an illuminating anecdote or experience to relate about your own efforts to promote your business? Or maybe you’d like to offer input on some aspect of writing in general.

I hope to make this blog a lively landing point for valuable and fascinating information in these areas, so I invite you to put on your thinking cap and email me with any topics you’d like to see covered here. General blog comments are always welcome too, so don’t be shy. (Except for spammers. You guys can be shy. Thanks.)

So whether you’d like to regale the blogosphere with your wisdom or you just have a great URL to recommend, feel free to send it on for future consideration as a blog topic or link.