Writing Traction and My Detail Trick

Today’s blog is short in comparison to Tuesday’s because it was one of those days I struggled to get all my thoughts in order. Now that I’m back into writing again, I have had to figure out where to begin (again).

What I am currently struggling with is with the list of ideas I have for various scenes and I’m overwhelmed. I want to write them all – now. It’s a great feeling but definitely not doable. Facing the reality, I was procrastinating one particular scene I had left in the dust. Rather than put it off any longer, I followed my instincts and used one of my “trick yourself Crystal” moments to get some writing traction.

What I did is what some may say is a form of procrastination. For me, it could be that but I do my best to use this trick sparingly. I started doing research on one particular scene that involves a dress. This dress is just that – a dress in a scene that needs to be written next.

Once I thought of the dress and designing it…and how it played into my character’s life experience then I found the sweet feeling of creativity flowing. My heart raced and my fingers were going faster and faster on the keyboard. 

What I’ve found with me is that when I hit a “writing” wall, I gravitate to details. Perhaps thinking of a detail in your story could spark a revolution of creativity.

Here’s a list of how to do this at a high level (looking at an area of your WIP that is need of depth):

• Focus on a particular section of the story, not an entire chapter. For me, I find I'll read the last two pages at most.
• Search for it if you have to it. Read it as objectively as possible and ask questions of yourself as a reader. Would I want to know more? How would such a small detail impact my story? 
  
• Think about stories you love to read again and again. Was there a small detail in the story that let you in to the character’s life more than you would expect? What did it tell you about the development of the story or other characters? 
  
•  Is there some detail or item in the story that occurs often enough to lend itself to be more important than it seems?
  
• Brainstorm. Write anything that comes to mind.
• Use your senses. Do your best to view your scene through the eyes of characters. Would their view change the item’s significance?
  
• Write and don't stop about that item. Let it go and see what happens. It may not mean anything. Or, it may just give you that moment in the story that takes us a ride we never expected. 

While reading, I look for those small diamonds in the cave of the story…the hidden places where you can figure out more about a character and dive deeper. It usually can show more about where the story is going. Someone reading this may not think that the dress I'm obsessing over means much. In fact, it may not in the end. What matters is that it got me going again. 
But, I think many writers will understand how I could obsess over something that is seemingly insignificant. 

Has anyone used this approach to get the writing creativity thoughts going again? If you try it, let me know if helped. I’d love to hear your feedback!