Don’t listen to anyone who tells you you’re crazy for wanting to be a writer. Writing is craziness. As Ray Bradbury said, “You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you.” And staying drunk on stories and make-believe requires you to do a lot of stuff that seems pretty crazy.
Writing is fun but it can be hard work if you resist the craziness. The keyboard is not the place to bring your prim and proper attitude from the outside world. Leave it at the door. It’s time to create. Time to get a little messy. Time to get crazy.
5 Unconventional Writing Tips That Totally Work (But Make You Seem Crazy)
If you’re feeling Resistance (to borrow a term from Steven Pressfield), you might want to try one or more of these five unconventional writing tips. I use all of them on a routine basis and they consistently get me into a good creative flow.
1 – Discuss your creative problems with a fluffy friend
This is a little tip I picked up when I was learning to code websites and develop iOS apps.
Coding can be bloodcurdlingly difficult.
But the answer you need is often right in front of you the whole time.
A lot of coders will actually have a rubber ducky or some other plushy on their desk as a constant reminder that all they need to do is talk through their problems logically out loud.
This works for writers too!
Ever had a scene that just didn’t work?
You can’t put your finger on whether it’s due to weak character motivation or mismatched pacing or voice or a host of other reasons…
But if you simply talk through the problem out loud – yes, out loud – you will have that “AHA!” moment in a few minutes.
I promise.
That little blue dude on the desk is my buddy and he always helps me through a rough writing patch.
2 – Nail the intention and obstacle
This is a tip I picked up from Aaron Sorkin’s excellent Screenwriting MasterClass over a year ago (review here).
It still serves me well on a daily basis.
If you’re having trouble with a scene, get out a pad of paper and do this:
- Write the scene title at the top
- Define the characters’ intentions in the scene
- Define the obstacles to those intentions
Actually get the character to express their intention in the seen by saying, “I WANT…” or “I NEED…”
Then press on the intention and obstacle.
- Is the intention strong enough?
- Is the intention urgent enough?
- Is the obstacle formidable enough?
Do that and the rest of the scene takes care of itself.
That’s all story really is:
Someone wants something but something is stopping them.
Find out what that is and you’ll have a blast writing your story and your readers will have a blast reading it.
3 – Write down your problems before bed
I got this tip from James Scott Bell in one of his great non-fiction books for writers.
His advice was this (paraphrased):
If you’re having a problem with your story, maybe you don’t know how it should end or you don’t know the main character’s internal conflict, write the problem down in the form of a question.
Write just one question.
Do this before bed.
Right before your head hits the pillow.
Then go to sleep.
Your subconscious mind will work on this problem through the night and often you’ll have the answer in the morning.
This doesn’t work all the time. Sometimes the story fairies are off visiting the beds of other little boys and girls who want to be writers.
But I find this does work maybe 8/10 times.
I also find this works if you write down the problem then go do something else where your mind can wander: showering, walking, and hitting the gym are the best for me.
4 – Write out movie dialogue scenes by hand
Watch that scene from Michael Mann’s Heat.
Isn’t that beautiful?
Isn’t that pure poetry?
I’ve written it out by hand.
I’ve listened to that scene on repeat before writing sessions.
I’m not even writing in the same genre as Mann but I find this exercise to be incredibly inspiring and exceptionally powerful at refreshing my clarity, motivation, and the amount of fun I have when doing my own work.
If you’re struggling to write, it might be because you need more artistic influences in your life.
When was the last time you went to the ballet or read a poem?
The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, The Doors – they were all fans of music first, creators second.
So watch some good dialogue scenes and let them invigorate you.
A few more recommendations off the top of my head:
- Dialogue scenes between Clarice and Lecter in Silence of the Lambs
- Anything from Glengarry Glen Ross
- Anything from Sorkin
5 – Hood up, lights off, headphones on
When all else fails, this one crazy tip has a 98.3% success rate for me:
- Put a hood over your head
- Put noise cancelling headphones on
- Sit in the dark like a maniac
This works because you’re blocking out everything except your story world.
You’re giving yourself no other option but to dream and put those dreams down on paper.
Find some sounds like binaural beats or rain that works for you and give it a few minutes.
Here are some of my favourite sounds: