On Sunday, I was invited to my friend’s cottage for a writing day. It was lovely. My friend had gone to a great deal of thought and preparation. She had prepared some lovely writing exercises. Some of which sparked five, yes FIVE flash fiction ideas.
It’s gratifying to spend time who like the same interests as you.
I have often brought objects into my writers group to provide inspiration, but it is strange and fun when someone else does the exercise. They pick things that wouldn’t necessary catchyou eye at first glance. I’ve always loved object writing.
It’s a simple and method of finding inspiration. You pick anobject at random, or in this case someone else provides aselection and focus your senses on it. All your senses. Spend a little time on each sense. Don’t make the mistake of focusingpurely on sight, smell and touch. Say you are looking at an old coin or shell, what would it taste like? It may sound stupid but incorporating senses into yourwriting makes it better.
Humans have different senses. Most people have experienced knowing who’s on the other end of the phone when it rings.They recognise the feeling that something has walked over their grave.
Think about your organic senses. Does your heart beat when you are asked to stroke a snake or hold a spider? Does any smells give you a head ache or make your mouth water?
Kinesthetic sense is fundamentally your relation to the world around you. Do you remember when you were a child, andyou would spin in circles? Think about feelings ofseasickness, blurred vision or being drunk.
Does the object stimulate any memories of organic orkinesthetic senses?
Object writing is best done is small bursts of five or ten minutes. See it as a starting point. You don’t have to be loyal to the object. Don’t feel as if you have to write your story or poem about the object, it was merely a way to open up the flood gates and get you into the zone.
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