Happy 2017!

I’m in the thick of planning out my 2017 with all the usual resolutions about eating better, exercising more, and spending more time with the ones I love. My year is lining up to be pretty busy with my publishing goals, final planning for a major conference in March (the California Dreamin’ Conference), a research trip to London (keeping my fingers crossed on that) and most exciting of all, the birth of my first grandchild, who will require baby-sitting!

Left Brain/Right Brain

Oh, and somewhere in there, I also want to write new stories. Sometimes I find it hard to switch gears from left brain to right brain, from taking care of business to storytelling, but I recently found 2 exercises I’m implementing in 2017. No heavy lifting required!

Todd Brison, writing in Medium, recommends:

• Micro journaling, and
• Stream of Consciousness Writing.

Make a List

Micro journaling involves listing ideas. I’ve heard of it before, as a technique to solve plot problems. I’ve never found it very useful, probably because it comes at a point of creative desperation. I rather like the idea of making lists every day just for fun, like doing ten minutes of stretching every day.

I’ve also heard of stream of consciousness writing and have used it occasionally. I’ll see whether regular practice helps my muse loosen up.

Liberate your Muse

In any case, these are easy-peasy, no internal judging required activities, thank you. Honestly, don’t we have to throttle those editors inside our heads before the creativity can flow?

All you need for this is paper and a pencil or pen. I’m using a composition book that looks like this (mine is red).

What about you, readers? Do you have any special resolutions for 2017? Please share them in the comments!

Images: Wikimedia