holistic creative writing techniques

 

1. build a vocabulary of visceral imagery

read good writing regularly, develop a sense of powerful imagery and the language used to create it. 

write down bits that resonate with you 

things to consider:

when are your senses engaged?  do you ever feel like one sense is over-stimulated while others are lacking? 

 

sensory symphonic: do you notice your senses being played with individually then together like a stringed instrument?

 

does the writing ever lift you into a metaphysical reverie?  a beautiful arrangement of words can create electric energy i feel engaging my spirit, it feels like an epiphany i've come to on my own, unlocking a supernatural or incredibly vivid experience inside me, like a powerful dream

 

does it make you dizzy?  does the dizziness feel good or bad?

 

is your awareness increasing internally (yin), externally (yang), eternally (yun)?

 

consider these questions also when you are writing.

 

good writing is like painting with imagery.  build your pallette before you get started layering/building elements together. 

 

2. write stream of consciousness about the images/elements/themes you wish to blend into a poem or story. 

ex: what does breathing look/smell/taste/feel like?

what different realms of respiration can you explore (human/plant/cell/cosmos/gods/etc, you can make anything breathe with strong imagery).  explore the science behind it.  picture it from a distance, another world or dimension.  zoom in and out and back in on your subjects.  capture as much detail and energy as you can, in ways that blow your mind, that you had never considered before

 

3. word chemistry lab

go through a dictionary and write down columns or clouds of words.  mash them together and see what images/metaphors they invoke in your imagination. 

play play play!!

make your own magnetic poetry: buy magnetic strips or sheets, write strong words on them, put them all over the fridge, play some more.

 

experiment.  think gymnastically around ideas and words.  read rhyming dictionaries, thesaurii, foriegn language dictionaries, cookbooks, engineering textbooks, etc.  don't limit your sources.  go to the library: the whole thing is a word garden to gather from.

 

do you feel new neural pathways opening up in your brain when you encounter novel word connections?  how can you create this in your work?

 

Recommended titles for inspiration

House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

The Arcadia Project: North American Postmodern Pastoral ed. Joshua Corey

 

Recommended online book store:

www.betterworldbooks.com