How to Use a List to Generate Writing Prompts Using a list can be an effective way to generate writing prompts for yourself for poetry, fiction, or life story writing. Just like when we write a shopping list to make sure we remember what to purchase at the grocery, we can also lists of many kinds to inspire our writing times. Photo by Suzy Hazelwood from Pexels There are several ways you can incorporate writing lists in your day-to-day writing life.1. Reflect on whom you’ve significant spent time with over the last week (at least an hour) and write notes on who was with you, what you did or talked about, where you were, how you felt. You can use the people as inspiration for characters, where you were as a starter for describing your setting in your current writing, or your conversation and how you felt as prompts for practicing incorporating dialogue.2. Keep a food journal. Sometimes a nutrition coach or medical doctor may ask you to keep a food journal, too. Using it as a writing prompt generator might look like recording what you ate, how you prepared it, notes using all five senses, how you might alter the recipe, where you’d like to eat next, who was with you, what other food you thought or talked about while you ate, etc. Writing about food can inspire you because it can engage all of your senses and it’s something that most people can relate to.3. List specific events in a timeline of your last 24 hours. Start by writing 7pm, 6pm, 5pm, etc. till 6pm yesterday in a column on the left of your page. Once you’ve made the list, then you can choose one hour that stands out to you to write about in more detail. After you do that once, you might choose another hour to freewrite about, or you might choose to stick with your current prompt and select a refined moment from your first part of freewriting.For example (your 24-hour list might look something like this): 6-7pm – Made stir fry dinner, talked to Max, listened to podcast, started class5-6pm – Class prep, emails 4-5pm – Read “The Bookwoman of Troublesome Creek”, talked to Sandi3-4pm – Talked to England friends2-4pm – Talked to England friends1-2pm – Worked on Em’s commission circle painting, Lucy’s birthday video12-1pm – Put groceries away, ate lunch, listened to podcast11am-12pm – Grocery shopping10-11am – Art talks with Kelly9-10am – Art talks with Kelly8-9am – Get ready for the day, drive to Kelly’s11pm-8am – Sleeping10-11pm – Watching Supergirl with Max9-10pm – Watching Supergirl with Max8-9pm – Prep and eat dinner & watching Supergirl with Max7-8pm – Strength training, stretching, showering Generating lists can help you find inspiration for characters you are developing in a piece of fiction for a novel or short story. Lists might also help you remember a moment in time and bring you back to a vivid image you would like to capture in a poem. Using your life of mundane tasks might yet inspire you to find specific details, all five senses, or moments of conversation that you might otherwise forget, but could include in a memoir piece or personal essay. However you use a list to generate prompts, I hope that you are inspired to make creativity a habit in your everyday writing life. Want free inspiration for your creative life delivered regularly to your email inbox? Sign up here. What are some other lists you could generate to get inspiration for writing prompts? Let me know in the comments! Happy writing!
How to Make Freewriting Work for You What is freewriting? Freewriting is a tool that writers often use to kickstart creative thought. It’s like doing leg swings or dynamic stretching warmups before heading out on a long run. It’s like practicing tongue twisters before a big speech or theatre performance. Freewriting is just that: free and writing. It is all about conquering the fears of the blank page by simply getting words, whether they are weak or powerful, down on the page. Sometimes we can feel stuck in our creativity, like we’re in a slimy mud pit, void of creativity. Often we can worry that we do not have anything valuable to say, so we wait until we feel like what we have to say is “good enough.” Sadly, this leaves so many profound and thoughtful ideas left unwritten, unshared, uninspired. Photo by Tirachard Kumtanom from Pexels When you feel blocked as a writer, or even on any project whether you’re a civil engineer building bridges, or a great neighbour building relational bridges, the act of writing one word after the next to get something out can release the floodgates and at the very least, bring inspiration when you have words out that you have something to work with. What are you listening to? This is a question that goes beyond the surface. Many of us have negative voices from our past that told us we couldn’t do this or we’d never accomplish that, or this creative endeavour is a waste of time because you can’t make that much money doing it. Or, maybe you listen to your own limiting beliefs and tell yourself a story that’s just as unhelpful. When we write, there can be a fight that we wrestle through each time, or we can simply get something out. We can acknowledge our Inner Critic or Inner Editor who says it’s not perfect yet and let it know you hear it and acknowledge that its ideas are valid. But, right now is time for first thoughts and fresh, crazy ideas to come out to play from your five-year-old self and that, in a little while, after the playing, then the Critic and Editor can come and hone and craft the playful words into something polished. Photo by Bich Tran from Pexels So, open up a new word document or grab a pen and notebook, set the timer for ten minutes and simply write. Keep your pen flowing, your keyboard clicking and let whatever words present themselves come out as rubbish or bizarre as they might be. Know that you can trust your instinct with words to play for ten minutes, knowing that afterward, your editor can edit. Happy Writing! For more tips on creativity regularly delivered to your inbox, sign up for my Creativity Club Email List. What are your most common barriers when it comes to sitting down to write? Leave me a comment. 🙂
What is Project Perseverance? Journal Entry #1 Monday 5 February 2018 New: Project Perseverance I’ve been 31 for a little over a week now. Looking back at my year as a 30-year-old, many things changed. I moved to a different country: from England to the U.S.A.! That was one overarching major change. Now that I’m in my new year and I’ve been in my new Minnesota life for five months now, I have discovered a theme in my life, one that I’ve actually noticed over the past few years, and especially now as I’ve been fighting all the battles associated with change and settling in. Photo by Disha Sheta from Pexels Not only do I need to, but I struggle to…persevere. Probably on a daily basis I want to quit something. I don’t quit, but I usually want to. Life is hard. That’s one guarantee. I am stubborn. I am trying to make changes in my life because I want to grow. When I don’t grow, I am stagnant and the pain of growth, for me, is so much better and more worthwhile of a pursuit. One area in my life where the struggle to persevere is clearly played out is in my relationship with books, reading, and writing. I love books: the smell, look, feel. I love reading! I fall in love with the characters and I love to learn. I am a writer. I regularly have narratives of thoughtful essays spinning through my mind– colourful dialogue between characters I’ve only just met darts about my imagination. Enter: Project Perseverance. I am committing to read books in their entirety, pressing on toward that last page. I am committing to read for pleasure and to read to learn. I am committing to writing regularly about each of the books I endure and enjoy in my year as a 31-year-old. I am excited to give value to how I spend my time with words. Photo by Thought Catalog from Pexels What is something that you struggle to persevere through? In what areas of your life would you like some more grit? What activities require an extra dose of encouragement for you? Sign up here for some creative encouragement regularly delivered to your email inbox. Leave me a comment, if you like!
Would you rather day dream or take action? On Dreaming Most of my life, day and night, I have spent dreaming. One time when I was on a school trip, driving through Paris I saw a nude statue of a man sitting pensively with elbow on knee, chin on fist. Often I fancy myself to be quite the intellectual ponderer like him—sat in contemplative silence, continually wondering, watching the world go by and processing it all. The thing with this possibly brilliant man is that he only watches the world go by—I mean, he’s a statue, so I’m pretty sure his eyes don’t really work, but stick with me. He only watches. He doesn’t do anything. He has bicycles leant against his naked body and is pooped on by the over-flying bird. Deep in thought. So focused. I admire his continued thinking. So passive, he does nothing in response. But here’s my trouble with him: he is unmoved. He is undisturbed by the life passing him by. How often have you found yourself being unmoved by your surroundings? Simply daydreaming like me? Are you living a passive life? Photo by Pixabay from Pexels As much as I love a good day dreaming session, I don’t want to stay stuck in my thoughts. I don’t want to be passive, or even passive-aggressively grumbling with irritation toward others, while unwilling to first change my own behavior, simply thinking about changing. First, I want to allow God to transform my heart, so my behaviour can change. If I’m going to spend my life thinking about the world around me, and dreaming about how it could be, I’d like to actually do something about it—not just think. However scary it is to make the first move, I want to actually do something, to stand upright to face the world, to wake it up with ripples of action! I want to share my story of what God’s done in my life and I want to point people to Jesus. Afterall, when Jesus sent us out on the Great Commission, he called us to action. He didn’t call us to think about taking action. Sticky Verse: Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Matthew 28:19 A Few Moments for Reflection: Photo by olia danilevich from Pexels What consumes your thoughts, what do you dream about? Ask God, is this from him? And does it please him for you to think about it? What would you like to do? Ask God to show you the hopes and dreams in your heart. How would you like to respond or take action? Sit with God for a moment and ask, “What is one step I could take today?” One for this week? One for this month? One for this year? Actually Prayer: LORD, you have put it on my heart to care about certain things and this is good. Show me practical ways that I can actually do something, to point people to you and to do something that means I can have an impact to glorify your name in this world today right where I am. Help me to be bold and stand up for your name, for justice, for love, for truth, for life. LORD, put people in my life who are like-minded so that we can encourage each other to stand up and move as you call us to do. Thank you that you hear my prayer. In Jesus’ name. AMEN. Leave me a comment. What is God stirring up in your heart and thoughts today? What might be preventing you from taking action?
Should you write, paint, or teach? Why I’m doing it all! Who am I? I am Molly Ovenden, a writer, visual artist, educator, and creative coach thought partner, based in northern Minnesota. Creativity has always been a part of my life, but after moving to England in 2010, I felt compelled to take creativity more seriously. After seven British years, I returned to Minnesota in 2017 with a bearded Englishman carpenter for a husband, dual citizenship in the U.S.A. and the UK, and a renewed confidence in my identity in Christ as a daughter of the King of kings who is deeply loved by my Heavenly Father, and as a writer and artist who has valuable words and beauty to share with the world. I have continued to pursue a creative life, which, as of January 2021, has become a creative career. Molly proudly posing in from of the feature wall of her exhibition at the Johnson Heritage Post Gallery in Grand Marais, Minnesota in December 2019. What inspires me? Beauty in Nature I’m fascinated by color, line, and light, and my paintings are often an exploration of how these elements all interact with each other. I love the freedom of experimentation since I cannot be in control of what actually occurs. I work mainly with acrylic paint, watercolor and felt tip pen and I am learning to experiment with an even wider range of materials, such as coffee (yup, you read that right–it’s not just for drinking in this gal’s studio!), and various recycled materials for collage and mixed media pieces. Sharing Stories: yours & mine As a writer, I also value telling stories. Not only am I intentional about how I title each painting, I love to write stories, fiction and true. Capturing what I learn from God through everyday life, I tell stories through devotionals and personal essays. The concept of how humans simultaneously live their own vibrantly intense lives intrigues me, too, so that idea is the source of my current novel and short story projects. My Students I teach online community education classes on creativity, writing, and art. My students are a constant source of inspiration. Their questions and enthusiasm propel me into consistent creativity, learning from them as well as being challenged by their different ways of thinking. Why start a blog? I am learning to love sharing my own story! As a five on the enneagram (a personality , I’ve lived in unhealthy mindsets of being overly private and hoarding the information, experience, ideas I have. Often I’ve lived in fear and scarcity–although I can live like it’s the reality, it doesn’t have to be my reality (or yours!) and I’ve realized that the more I share of myself, my creativity, what I’m learning, the more I experience abundance and overcome fear. What will I write about? What I’m learning: as an artist through exhibiting and sharing my artwork in exhibitions, cafes, galleries, and online.as a writer, and tips, ideas, inspiration for your own writing life.in my spiritual life from God and from others around me.What books I am reading, how I’m growing, developing, and healing as a lifelong learner.What I’m writing, drawing, painting, and otherwise creating and where you can find it.How I make creativity a habit, how I grow as a creative person, and ideas of how you can stay in creative growth, too.What I’m doing for self-care, from healthy eating to marathon training to sleeping well. Why do I want to write a blog? I’m a writer! I want a platform to share my writing journey. I’ve learned so much from hearing about other people’s processes and I want to give back in hopes of helping someone who’s where I have been. I want to share to encourage you toward personal growth.I want to inspire you to try new things and to live a creative life.I want to overcome my own fears and maybe, help you do the same as I share my transformation story and process.I want to create with regularity and consistency to stay accountable by sharing what I’m working on with you.Ultimately, I want to tell my story to bring freedom and hope to you in the midst of living your own story. I’m thrilled you’re on this journey with me. Leave a comment below and let me know what you’d like help with: What keeps you from pursuing creativity in your life?
5 Questions I Ask Myself to Stay Creative Hello! I’m Molly! I’m excited–always–to help people express more creativity in their lives. Making Creativity a Habit It is just that: a habit. A habit is something that we regularly do whether we think about it or not. It can be something good (e.g.: 30 minutes of daily exercise) or something that we’d like to change (e.g.: biting my nails). “Creative” is something that we’re born to be. When we make creativity a habit, we become more settled into being ourselves. I have lots of habits I’d like to change, but in a time of self-reflection, I discovered these five questions are helpful to keep me moving toward healthy habits and positive life changes. These questions were so helpful for me, that I started to share them with my friends and family. Now, I’d like to share them with you! 5 Questions to Ask Yourself to Stay Creative Who is in your life? Who encourages you? Who do you go to for help? Who are you trying to please? Who do you avoid at all costs? Who sucks the life out of you? Noticing the people whom you surround yourself with will help you recognize who you want closeby and who you might not need as close to you anymore. Now, I’m not necessarily talking about cutting people out of your life. In most cases, there are ways to stay engaged in a relationship, but not investing as much energy in it as you might have in the past. People who challenge you today to become who you want to be, people who help you be who you believe you’re meant to be are great to keep around. Who has been in your life in the past? Good or bad, do you want the memory of them to carry the weight of authority in your life? From personal experience there are two particular people in my life who have passed away, but still are a significant part of my life. I have one person that was harmful and I’ve had to heal and overcome lots of harsh realities from that relationship. I don’t want to give weight and authority to that person anymore. On the other hand, I have a second person that was tremendously beneficial and empowering to me at a crucial time in my life. I want this person’s words, presence, and encouragement to stick with me as it can. What are you listening to? What goes into our physical ears and into our figurative heart has a deep impact on creativity. Do you listen to the same people in podcasts or radio stations? Do you listen to the same genre of music every day? Perhaps trying to listen to something or someone new could be the mini-jolt you need to propel you into more creativity. Does what you hear build you up or discourage you? Are you listening to voices from your past that cut down your dreams? Or are you listening to voices from your past that spur you on? Do you have a destructive train of thought that you hop on to be distracted or do you intentionally choose to listen to affirming voices? What are you reading? Reading is a habit that encourages creativity. Learning via reading non-fiction or learning via reading fiction, we can see the world from a different point of view. Examining our reading habits and how we fill our mind is crucial to safely harbor creativity. I make it a habit to regularly be reading a few different types of books at any given time. If I find myself stuck in one genre, I ask for recommendations or simply pick up a random book from the library, bookstore, or friend’s bookshelf. Poetry teaches me about writing and communicating succinctly.Fiction novels and short stories introduce me to characters that often think about the world differently from me and it can be a release of fun getting to travel around the world, space, and through time from the comfort of my own yellow, winged-back IKEA chair. I learn how to create stunning setting, believable characters, and how to develop a story arc that make sense and is entertaining.Life stories, biographies, or memoirs are fascinating to learn about history and to get to know “famous people” when I’d never be likely to meet them. It’s an inside look at someone else’s point of view. It feels like a privilege to be invited in.Books that challenge my faith and beliefs. The challenge happens either because they are living in a compelling way or their experiences are vastly different from mine. I don’t want to be stuck in my own worldview.Non-fiction entrepreneur, business, mindset, creativity, wellness books of many varieties–even travel stories–which keep my head in the game of being and becoming more of who I want to be and believe I’m meant to be. 4. What are you eating? Garbage in, garbage out. When I eat junk, which I love to eat so many snacks and “fun” foods, I often don’t feel good. I feel a bit sludgey and grumpy and not creative at all, but on the worst days of junk food eating, I feel sad and unmotivated. When I eat primarily fruits and vegetables and other foods that I know aren’t junk, I’m lively, spritely, and full of creative energy. I’m excited and inspired to create and I feel happy to take action. 5. What are you creating? Asking myself what am I creating is an intentional present continuous verb. What am I physically, actually, tangibly making right here, right now? I can easily get stuck in my thoughts and action never leaves my imagination. This can be disappointing and unmotivating. It can also reinvigorate my fears, fueling the fires of disappointment and stagnant living. I believe we humans are made in the image of a creator God, so we are all creative. Whether you build physical bridges because you’re a civil engineer, or you build relational bridges because you’re a good neighbor, everything in between takes creative effort. When we are creative, we are more like the selves we’re meant to be. When we are not creating, then we are not living life as truest self. Try asking yourself these questions and see what happens. #creativityisahabit Want some email inbox inspiration to help develop your creative habits? Sign up here.