What To Write...

[wyldphyre]

Another idea that I don't think anyone else mentioned is a media journal. I started this 3-4 months back when I got my first two fountain pens. It's nothing fancy, just a small notebook that I use to write down my thoughts on movies and tv shows I've watched, and books I've read. Assuming you consume some kind of media on a semi-regular basis this should provide you with stuff to write about periodically, plus it might give you the chance to gain a better understanding of what you like and why. I can't claim to have made any break throughs in that department, but I've noticed a few things that I found interesting.

[Sasha Royale]

My friend of 30 years achieved her lifelong goal. I will always remember

the celebration. She died too soon at 51. I wrote her a long letter.

 

You might also write about disappointment, frustration, and pointlessness

of writers block. Some of us are long-winded babblers, who have no clue

about your plight. How does it feel?

[Draless]

I write my family, some of them write back others by email and I just respond to their email with a letter.

 

Also I journal and when I don't know what to write about I just go into great detail about something regardless of how meaningless it may be because when I go back to read it I will remember that moment vividly.

[Effin1]

When I obtain a new pen I like to know as much about it as possible. Most of my pens are Parker or Conway Stewarts and there is a wealth of information on the Internet. I copy all this information out using a number of different pens. At the same time I note how the pen is writing and how much I enjoy the experience. Eventually I transfer all this information on th the data base I downloaded from FPN. All my pens get scores but I'm devising a new system of scoring so I can give weight to the more desirable features such as nib quality. I enjoy writing all the information down and it helps me to retain it so I can sound reasonably knowlegable when talking to other FP users.

[RCC]

Someone already mentioned it, but there is a tradition of writers writing out in long hand the works of others to "absorb" and understand the style of the original work. It does work.

 

I often write out paragraphs or sentences I have read that I thought were really great and then I try to write my own versions using a separate subject after I analyze how the sentence or paragraph was put together.

 

There are also lots of books out there that talk about journaling.

 

1. Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within (Shambhala Library) by Natalie Goldberg

 

2. Old Friend from Far Away: The Practice of Writing Memoir by Natalie Goldberg

 

3. Writing About Nature: A Creative Guide by John A. Murray

 

These books are all great and each one contains tons of little exercises you can do to keep you writing and journaling.

 

Natalie Goldberg is a free spirit and you might find some of her material a bit out there depending on your politics, but she has lots of good exercises, things like going to a coffee shop and writing descriptions of people who come in, or writing down snippets of conversations, or taking a headline from the paper and writing up a story or whatever based on the headline etc.....

 

I especially like the Murray book.

 

You might also try reading personal essays. There are some great books out there. I recommend

 

1. The Art of the Personal Essay: An Anthology from the Classical Era to the Present by Phillip Lopate.

 

That anthology is a treasure chest!!!

 

 

Enjoy

[wmfowler]

I use a Black and Red hardcover notebook and write historic or patriotic quotes I like in one and scripture that I like in the other. It's a great way to get to use my pens as well as give me something entertaining to read when I'm not writing. At other times, I have rewritten my wife's recipes from her index cards into notebooks for her.

 

Many good ideas already given. Pick one you like and go with it. Write on!

[Redbarchettayyz]

If I'm feeling at least slightly creative, I'll grab a Rhodia pad and write short stories, comedic articles, mini essays about things that have interested me that day, poems, random thoughts, etc. On the odd occasions that I really want to write but have absolutely nothing to write, I'll pick a movie and watch it while writing out favourite quotes and thoughts on certain scenes as they happen. Anything to use my pens at home.

[pajaro]

I sometimes will write describing what I see. I might describe the shapes, color, light, the roundness or angularity of what I see, and then try a little sketch.

[penrivers]

Drink 900 cups of cofee at day, belive me, you will feel the urge to write even if you dont want.

[CAG_1787]

I love this topic; I'm finding all sorts of new things to write about!

 

My journal (originally Moleskine, now Leuchtturm) is a bit of a smorgasbord. I write a brief account of each day almost every night, but I don't beat myself up if I miss days. Life happens, and it would be the height of pathetic irony to miss doing things because you had to write about - do that, and you wouldn't have anything to write! The daily entries are interspersed with quotes, notes from books I'm reading, thoughts on some particular issue of the day (normally political or religious), and notes from Biblical studies.

 

I've actually been keeping a journal since I was nine or ten and still have all of them. Somewhat different from most people, I rarely go back and read my entries. For me, they are less records for posterity than they are the sifting and processing of activities and thoughts.

[Marlow]

Great thread!

 

I would advocate a daily, first thing in the morning, process (for such it becomes) sometimes referred to as 'Morning Pages'. Before doing anything other than 'necessary' ablutions and, perhaps, with a cup of your favourite morning beverage, sit and fill three sides of A4 with 'stream of consciousness' writing. This means that you write WHATEVER comes into your head, including, when you dont want to do it, the thoughts that run through your head as to why you dont want to do it. This can and must include angry, sad, obscene or 'wrong' thoughts. The key is to do so without pause, scribble, draw, just write WHATEVER comes into your head, uninterrupted, for at least three sides of A4! It is intended to be PRIVATE, never to be shared with another...

 

If this intrigues you (i have to go to work so cant elucidate further here), just google 'The Artist's Way' - Morning Pages. The book is by Julia Cameron. Morning Pages will at the very least clear your head of clutter for the ensuing day and, at best, well...anything could come of it... absolutely anything...

 

[JLukeW]

I'm in the process of copying out the book of Proverbs from the Bible. There are quite a few gems in there, and I find the process of writing them out forces me to spend the time to contemplate them. Best of all, there's an easy stopping/starting point every two lines!

[DanF]

Over a period of a couple of months, I collected pages and pages of quotations that I copied off the internet. I use them in groups that I do at work, (I'm a counselor) and for my own benefit. There are a number of websites out there that have assembled thousands of quotes, and they are mostly categorized by topic as well as author. i found it quite enjoyable and they are very useful too. If you are interested just google "life quotes" or "wisdom quotes".

 

Dan