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Vent: Got stuck on a story at the library and a librarian gave me a weird trick
Was at the Seattle Central Library last month. Totally blocked on a fantasy plot. Asked a librarian for a book on writing. She said, 'Pick a random book, open to page 42, and use the first full sentence as your first line.' Did it with a cookbook. Got 'Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.' Wrote a whole scene about a wizard mixing a potion. Now I use that trick every time I'm stuck. Anyone else have a weird trick like that for getting started?
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linda_dixon495d ago
That's genius! I bet it works because it forces your brain to make a weird connection it wouldn't normally.
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the_simon5d ago
Actually, it just breaks a boring pattern.
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charlescraig5d ago
Totally! It's like when you take a different route home and suddenly notice a store or a house you never saw before. Your brain just goes on autopilot with the same old patterns. Breaking one small thing, like a boring sentence, can shake everything else loose for a minute. I see this everywhere now, from how people arrange their desks to the order they do their morning routine. Sticking to the pattern makes you miss stuff.
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