Writing through noise

It’s noisy out there. I don’t mean noise in the literal sense. Though there is a lot of that, too. The noise I’m referring to is our own brains spiraling thoughts of concern about our world, natural and man-made disasters, injustice and so much else. As a creative, you’re probably very sensitive to the things going on around you, observers of human nature that most of us naturally are.

But your mind can fill with so much of this that your body and brain go into survival mode. And your story stalls.

This is not the same as “writer’s block.” You do know your story, your characters, and “what comes next.” But you can’t hear yourself think. The characters have gone silent, too fraught themselves to shout over the din for you to hear, or you’ve started to engage in negative self-talk about the “worth” of your story: What’s my little story matter with all *this* going on?

The fact is your story does matter. Even when you’re writing for an audience, the first draft is always, always for you. Yes, you. And you matter. Your perspective, your philosophy of life, deserves to shine outward. And that story is going to make you feel all the feelings.

Recognize your themes

No matter what you are writing, there are themes. Theme is an author’s intended message. That message can be absolutely anything, but it is a core belief that you want to shout to the world. “Sex should be fun, safe, sane, and consensual,” or “every person deserves a love that strengthens them when they’re weak” or simply “have fun storming the castle and defeating the evil Prince Humperdinck.”

So, when you’re struggling to hear your story in all the noise, take time to meditate on your themes. Here are some tips that can help you hear yourself once again. Rejuvenation of creativity is best tackled from the perspective of reminding yourself what inspired you in the first place.

Note, if you are prone to diving down rabbit holes or losing track of time, set a 15 minute timer. You don’t want to avoid writing. You want to shift your mind and prime your creativity, so the words flow. Just like an engine, pump the gas too often before putting things in motion and you will completely flood out and go nowhere.

Option 1: Build a playlist

If your story was sparked from music, a song, or a genre:

1. Find songs that remind you of characters, of situations, or the setting, on your preferred streaming app.
2. Listen for 15 minutes.

Not with a pen in hand, just contemplate the riffs and rhythms and lyrics.

Option 2: Build a mood board

If visuals sparked your story…

• Find images on the internet that evoke your story, whether it’s the characters, the setting, or the conflicts.
• But choose a search engine, enter a phrase (maybe the theme!) then select “images only” to filter the results and scroll the results pages of just the images.
• Right-click on any image that evokes something for you and copy/paste it into a document to build your mood board.

I don’t recommend Pinterest, because visiting the articles so often linked behind the images will distract you from the strictly visualizing purpose. You also want to take images on their own, not in context with other images around them.

Option 3: Setting immersion

If your story is set in a real place…

Visit that place. If you can’t travel physically, travel through sight and sound by perusing photographs and listening to sounds of the place. Read travel guides or find that community’s tourism site. Travels with Rick Steves, a longtime public radio/tv travel host has a fully stocked website of destinations. Again, spend just 15 minutes, so save a bookmark when you find a good resource to revisit next time you need a boost.

If your setting isn’t real…

Go D&D and draw maps, then exteriors and interiors of significant places and things. Don’t worry if you’re not an artist. It is the exercise of a different sort of creative muscle that matters here. Perhaps you’re into painting, or working clay, or knitting or quilting. Whatever your medium, use it to represent elements in your setting.

Rebuild your strength in just 15 minutes a day

Note, for all of these tips I suggest 15 minutes for the meditation portion. I recommend writing sessions be 30 minutes minimum. Some days, you may get the meditation done, but the writing still falters after. That’s OK. It takes time to rebuild strength after an injury.

But do try one or more of these methods at the beginning of a writing session when you’ve been struggling to find the words. You’ll soon find your creative muscles will move more and more quickly through the steps of dropping out of the real world and dropping into your book’s world with each subsequent session.

Happy writing! And take care of yourself!

~ Lara