When I’m not sure what to write, guess what, I write nothing. When I am visited by clarity, I drop whatever else I’m doing, and I write. With energy and excitement.
This visitation of clarity can come from our unconscious mind continuing to work on a problem, as we do something else – like walking, playing, cooking, showering, driving.
If you have a problem in your mind, like “what should I write?” or “what should happen next?” and several criteria that make the answer to that question difficult, your left brain gets to work.
It keeps showing the problem, like a flashcard, to your right brain. And the right brain fishes back into its experiences, everything you’ve read, seen, tried, heard about, and looks for the answer to your problem: “What should I write?”
When the flashcard finds the answer, ding, it comes to you as an idea. A clear vision. A solution to the question you forgot you were asking.
It appears out of nowhere – and that is part of why it’s exciting and puts you in motion. It’s why we think of an idea as “coming out of the blue.”
H2 cue up your brain to seek ideas
There is an exploratory tool that can help you create that flashcard, and answer that need. It is called POEM. And like the resulting poem, it distills your problem into something resolved and solvable. Here is the tool:
POEM
To prepare your brain to seek the perfect answer to your imperfect/unclear question, explore aspects of the situation in writing, by answering these questions. In the end, you write a short poem that distills all the thinking into clear and precise marching orders for your fatigued and unclear brain.
P = People – Who’s involved and what do they each want? •Why are they there? •What is important to them? •What are their preconceptions? •Who do they trust? •Who do they go to for advice? •When do they hesitate? •What scares them? What excites them?
O = Objects – What are the physical elements/aspects of this scene? •How do the objects relate to each other? •How do the objects relate to action? •How do objects contribute to the characters’ problems? •How might objects contribute to the solution of the problems?
E = Events- What happens in this scene? •Or should be happening, but isn’t? •What other significant things take place (past or future)? •What else is going on in the background? •How do other activities affect the action?
M = Messages – What messages are being communicated and how? •Who is communicating? •Who is receiving the messages? •What information is being exchanged between people? •What information is offered to people by objects or the environment?
Now write a poem, using thoughts and criteria you discovered in each category. The letters POEM are there as a guide, but obviously don’t need to be part of your finished poem.
P__________________________________________________________________________
O__________________________________________________________________________
E__________________________________________________________________________
M__________________________________________________________________________
(Write several until you feel you’ve expressed the problems.)
I’ve adapted this creativity tool especially to help writers solve their unique creative problems from an innovation tool developed by Kumar, 2013; and Paradis & McGaw, 2007. I never want to present a tool without giving its provenance, bec not only is it important to credit researchers and scientists who give their lives to improving creativity, but it is equally important that you get to see how long this tool has been in use. Put your faith in mental tools that have already served hundreds or thousands of other creative minds.
If you have a POEM that serves up your problem, please share it with us in the FB group – Write Without the Fight. If you’re not already a member, ask to join, and I’ll be happy to welcome you in.