Welcome back to Motivational Monday.
Have you ever been at a place in your book where you feel antsy/stuck/ill-at-ease? Usually it’s in the Muddled Middle, but it can strike anywhere. Time to walk away from your work in progress for an hour or so, and concentrate on something else.
Here’s where a hobby can come in handy. I doodle. Well, actually I do “hard-core doodling.” It’s called Zen Tangle, and if you’re not familiar with it, do a Google search, or check in with Pinterest or You-Tube. You’ll be amazed at what people are doing with simple doodling these days! Just draw a shape and fill it in with any doodling of your choice. It’s fun, and mindless, and that’s the point.
Another “mindless” activity, gaining popularity these days, is adult coloring books. They’re everywhere, and contain everything from animals to mandalas to garden themes. So grab a box of colored pencils or gel pens and have a ball. (Come on. You know you secretly love to color.)
But what do these and other “mindless hobbies” do for you writing? They free your subconscious mind so it can work on the problem you’re having with your story. Any hobby that you do “automatically” is good.
Use these like pre-sleep suggestions. Ask yourself, or one of your characters, “What comes next?” before you begin your hobby. Be as specific in your question as possible. “Okay, Stevie. How are you going to react to the senator’s veiled threat?”
Whenever you ask questions before sleep or before doing a mindless hobby, you give your subconscious time to work out the problem. And when you awake, or finish with your doodling, the answer will come to you like a wonderful serendipitous miracle! It’s always works for me, and it’s something you might want to try. Besides, you’ll end up having fun with your new hobby. It’s one of those win-win things.
Happy Reading, Writing and Doodling to you all,
Jill-Ayn
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