FAQ: What is the point of those stupid 10 Things exercises?

Some people have been clamoring for answers.  Ok, that’s a lie.  None of you clamor.  But you could.  I would totally listen.  If you were clamoring, I imagine that one of you in that restless mob of readers might ask, What the heck is the point of these 10 Things posts you do?  I’m going to pretend you asked and give you an answer.  You’ll like it too.  If you don’t, try clamoring in the comments.

A couple of years ago at my fabulous local library, I came across Lynda Barry’s beautiful book What It Is.  Part memoir, part guidebook for developing a creative practice, this book is illustrated cover-to-cover with doodles, quips, squiggles, noodles, and blots.  Anyone familiar with Barry’s work as a cartoonist will recognize several of her archetypal characters, including the giant squid and the monkey on the cover.  Barry writes about how she developed her own creative practice, getting herself to write, generating ideas for her writing and her drawing.  She is a strong proponent of writing with a pen (not surprising, perhaps, for a cartoonist), arguing that the physical act of moving the hand is part of the creative process.  She also finds that her ideas are better, and more abundant, when she allows them to come to her rather than trying to think up things.  So, she moves her pen, in doodles or squiggles or by writing the alphabet, until words and ideas come to her.  She keeps the pen moving, and when the ideas get stuck, she simply moves the pen over to a scratch pad, making continuous lines and marks until the ideas start to flow again.  

One section of the book is a sort of workbook, wherein Barry encourages her readers, step-by-step, in developing their own creative practice.  She provides some exercises and guidelines (always keep the pen moving! Use a timer.  Use two timers. Don’t stop the pen.)  The basic unit of Barry’s creative process is to take some prompt (a word, a photograph, a scene from a magazine) and by using a timer for a few minutes and never stopping the pen, to write down the first ten ideas that come to you when you contemplate that prompt.  So you see, my 10 Things exercises are shamelessly stolen from Ms. Barry.  No, not shamelessly.  Proudly.  Whenever I feel stuck, I browse that book, take out a clean sheet of paper and write down ten things.  The exercises don’t stop there, but you’ll have to go read her book to find out what to do next.  

The 10 Things exercise is about shaking loose the cobwebs, getting the ideas moving.  And we don’t have to use random prompts.  Say you’re working on a character, and you’re stuck for ideas about the character’s motivation.  Blank sheet of paper, timer, pen.  Write the first ten things that come to you as you contemplate what your character wants.  It’s ok if they’re absurd (sometimes those end up being the best ideas).  It’s ok if they’re boring.  You don’t have to use them in your story.  You’re just trying to see what floats out of the ether.  Your brain is always composting everything you see and hear and do.  You’d be surprised at the good stuff that bubbles up when you stop and listen.  This shaking-it-loose exercise can work for action or plot or any other level of story development.  OR. And this is a good OR.  Or, it can just be about you, writing down the ideas that are sticking in your brain.  Just to write them down.  Not for a story.  Not for a purpose.  Just like a sort of pen and paper pensieve, to put your ideas down and let you take a look at them. 

As Frau Gruber (neiiighhh) pointed out, it’s sometimes harder than it looks to let the ideas flow.  It takes practice.  But if you’re like me, and you have a million ideas cluttering up your brain, but you can’t always pull out a good one when you need it, this is a good method to add to your writing toolbox.

Comments

[Cab]

Finally!!!!!! This has totally been keeping me up at night. I'm now looking forward to my first good night's sleep in weeks!

;-)

[Eglentyne]

Yes, rest easy, friend. I will answer all pressing questions in time. ;)