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Welcome to the liveblog of the BlogHer '10 panel: Writing Lab: Writing Inspiration: Stoke Your Creativity. Click here for more info.
Rita Arens, Carleen Brice and Jan Sokoloff Harness are talking about finding creativity.
How to generate ideas - "bolts from the blue" - Carleen Brice, author of "Orange Mint and Honey" was driving down the road and got the idea for her book.
Rita polls the crowd - the majority of those attending write narrative nonfiction, with a smattering of journalists, poets and fiction writers.
Jan: Identify the voice in your head. Is it positive? Get rid of the negative by visualizing a stop sign. Force yourself to hear a different voice.
Jan's fourth grade art teacher told her that her drawing was not done right, and stepped in and redid it for her. Set her mental mindset that she couldn't draw. Important to find a new, positive voice.
How do you find ideas?
Carleen: Sets an intention to find an idea and then does something mindless. Goes for a walk, does the dishes. Takes a different route while driving home a different way.
Jan: Physical activity. "A lot of times when I go on my morning walks, I say 'OK, today I'm going to look for yellow.'"
Then you're not focusing on what your blog should be. You're giving your brain a break from all the multitasking we do.
Rita: Step back and watch your life like television sometimes. "Your life is probably a lot more interesting than you think it is because it is yours."
Basing parts of her novel on real life scenes. Seeing her mom lose hair to cancer, as she was just starting adolescence and growing body hair led to a scene of a girl with cancer talking to a friend.
Fiction can start with a real thing and slowly become its own thing. "You can take your real life and carve it into fiction as well."
Carleen: Put yourself in your character's shoes. Get your character's perspective. Similar to how an actor would approach a role. Adopt the hand gestures of the character, the persona.
Jan: Get out of your comfort zone. Go to workshops. Or try setting rules, i.e. use 4 colors, 3 adverbs, 6 adjectives. Deadlines too.
BUT rules can be restricting.
Carleen: Do what works for you.
Find what best works for you and find out what you can do. The ideal may be to have a beautiful studio with no distractions with children, job, etc. But not always realistic. So can-do conditions may be a full night's sleep.
If you put a deadline on yourself, i.e. "I must finish this novel by the time I turn 35," you are going to be 35 whether you have it finished or not.
Julie, www.stagemama.com: question about finding the right time to write.
Rita: Fits it in where she can. Easier after dinner when other people are doing their own thing. Makes sure to write everyday.
"I'm real good about not answering the phone.... just because the email came in, you don't have to look at it, just because the phone rings doesn't mean you have to answer it."
You can build that time in by ignoring -- not your kids -- but distractions.
Carleen: "I have a great secret, I didn't have kids" (laughter)
When writing her first novel she was married, working full time and editing an anthology. Now, she doesn't work -- should have all sorts of time but still doesn't write any more than she did.
"I get as much done now as I did with a full time job."
All about consistency -- if you can write 15 minutes a day, then you can get as much done as someone who sits down on a Friday night to do it.
Rita: Thought she wouldn't be able to write post-baby but the baby became an inspiration. She wanted her baby to be proud of her mother, she managed time better.
"Turn off Twitter. You can move mountains if you turn off Twitter."
Jan: Find a moment and keep going. If you're really hot and it is coming easy then keep writing. Schedule posts in advance if you have a burst of inspiration.
Question - Linda: How do you keep ideas when you get a burst and you're driving or in the shower or on the elliptical?
Rita: Call yourself and leave yourself a voicemail.
Carleen: Get off the elliptial,
