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How to turn a Steno pad into a brain-juicer:



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Wed Feb 07, 2007 2:46 am
Cade says...



I've seen plenty of poor, idea-drained writers say, "HOW do I get ideas for what to WRITE?" It's a scourge on literary society, this inability to think of something to write about. Here is my recipe for a nightly brain-drain that will hopefully leave you with a great start:

1. Purchase small notebook and Sharpie marker.*
2. Place these objects on the floor or table next to your bed.
3. Each night, right before you turn out the lights, fill up one page in the notebook with whatever comes to mind.**
4. Once you have reached the end of a page, STOP.
5. Read what you have written every few weeks.


*The notebook must be small (I use a Steno pad) and the marker must have a regular size Sharpie tip or equivalent. The size of the marker will force you to write larger than usual, thus avoiding such cheating maneuvers as writing teensy tiny to fit more in. These limiting forces are in place so that you will write one page and only one page, and small pages at that! The idea is for this to be quick and painless, not a full-blown freewrite.

**Phrases on these pages do not have to connect, although some might run into others. Some nights I end up with near-complete poems or story ideas, while other nights yield disjointed babble. Nonetheless, what I stumble upon when I read it can be intriguing and often inspiring snippets of poetry.

It's important to write things down. You'll forget 99% of your writing ideas if you do otherwise.
Don't just write at night; if an idea strikes during the day, jot it down as soon as possible. As many ideas seem to pop into my mind during third period, my Chem notes are littered with scraps of poetry. The before-bed writing is intended to purge the mind of whatever gorgeous ideas may be lurking there, before said gorgeous ideas slide out of your ears and run away in the night.

Good luck!
Colleen
"My pet, I've been to the devil, and he's a very dull fellow. I won't go there again, even for you..."
  





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Wed Feb 07, 2007 10:38 pm
Snoink says...



But... what if you want to add more? *dies*
Ubi caritas est vera, Deus ibi est.

"The mark of your ignorance is the depth of your belief in injustice and tragedy. What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the Master calls the butterfly." ~ Richard Bach

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Wed Feb 07, 2007 10:43 pm
Emerson says...



This sounds like an amazing idea.

So many people have said to do this! But while reading I was thinking, "I have no lack of ideas.... I'm always working on something...but what about poetry!" since I've been trying to improve my poetry lately/become more of a poet, this might be great.

Now I want a small note book. But my I ask one thing? why a Sharpie? Must it be permanent? Is that the point of the Sharpie?
β€œIt's necessary to have wished for death in order to know how good it is to live.”
― Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo
  





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Wed Feb 07, 2007 10:50 pm
Lilyy03 says...



Oooh, cool. I do something like this. Well, with a somewhat larger notebook, and a pencil. I can't stand the Sharpie smell. :D

But I may try it this way too!
  





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Wed Feb 07, 2007 11:48 pm
Cade says...



Snoink - I'm a poet. I don't add more. I suppose that if you want to add more you end up writing it on the wall in your sleep. The point is just to be short and sweet so that you don't get carried away and start missing sleep. Sleep is good, especially in high school... :D

Clau - I just like the size of the marker. It forces you to write big in order to be legible. Any marker of similar-size tip will work if you don't like the smell of permanent marker.

Colly :wink:
"My pet, I've been to the devil, and he's a very dull fellow. I won't go there again, even for you..."
  





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Tue Feb 20, 2007 3:38 am
TimeConsume says...



I have done this exercise before and I agree that it forces many thoughts out onto a concrete material rather then letting them sink into dreams. I also would recommend turning the lights off and writing whatever comes to mind. I once did this for about a half an hour when I was thinking of material for a scary-plotted story. ..of course you need to turn on the lights to be able to write, but sitting in darkness allows your other senses to reach a peak and collect creative ideas.

kevin
"And why does he hang out with those retarted gorillas, as you called them, because any one of them, if he asked them to, would take a bat to your head, okay? It's called loyalty."
-Good Will Hunting.
  





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Tue Feb 20, 2007 9:58 am
Myth says...



I think I'll do this when NaNo comes round.
.: β‚ͺ :.

'...'
  





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Thu Feb 22, 2007 2:33 am
HeadInTheClouds says...



That sounds like a great idea. I often find that little ideas that have formed in my head all day are bursting out of my brain by the time I go to bed, but are gone by morning. I'll definatley give it a try.
If I don't write to empty my mind, I go mad. ~Lord Byron

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Fri Feb 23, 2007 2:00 am
Cade says...



Oh, yes, some of the best ideas are at night. I couldn't fall asleep last night, so I did math homework until 3:30 AM, wrote some poetry, and read East of Eden until about 6 AM and slept for two hours and got up and ate a donut and now my math homework has poetry on it because I misplaced my Steno notebook while cleaning my room. >.<
"My pet, I've been to the devil, and he's a very dull fellow. I won't go there again, even for you..."
  





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Sun Mar 11, 2007 12:42 am
extrication says...



Nice idea! I'll definitely try it out--god knows I need more creativity out-putters. :)
because memory moves in orbits
of absence, because she holds her hands out in the rain,
and rain remembers nothing, not even how it became itself.
- Las Ruinas del Corazon, Eric Gamalinda
  








Don't be pushed around by the fears in your mind. Be led by the dreams in your heart.
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