I have a recipe for breaking through barriers to writing.

When you believe you are blocked in your writing, when you think you have nothing to write about, show up wherever you are, look at your surroundings and write what you see.

Write what you hear.

Write what you smell, touch, taste.

Write the associations with what you see, hear, smell, touch, taste.

Write about the memories associated with the same.

Today I sat in Hart Park and mid-live broadcast when someone asked, “What inspires you to write?” I spoke aloud a riff of all the inspiration write in front of me.

It went something like this:

I may write about the trees here, that tree, the cottonwood I used as a chair a moment ago, I could write about all the seed pods hanging from that tree or I could write about all the types of trees. I could write about this picnic table here. I could write about memories from being at picnics. I could write about the sadness I feel when I see an empty table – empty of all the people I loved who I once sat with at picnic tables. I may write about that water fountain, see it there? It was at that water fountain in November, 2015 – I came here one day and it wouldn’t shut off. I took a photo and I captioned it ‘Show up. Look up. Translate” – and you know, I’ve been reminded of that and called to continue showing up, looking up, and translating ever since.

I know, this isn’t a recipe for something you may cook but I’ll share a quick one with you I shared with my daughter today.

For the most simple quesadillas ever, take two tortillas. On the inside, put whatever your heart desires. The simplest is naturally, just cheese. Microwave for sixty seconds. You’re done! Play with it, experiment! Quick, easy and tasty meal.

To my eighteen-year-old daughter, this was brilliant.

My writing recipe, for the folks on this morning’s scope, was brilliant.

I’ll settle with “it works for me.”

In case you thought, "I want to see that broadcast Julie is talking about" here it is… just for you – –

LIVE on #Periscope: ✍? How to Prepare for a Successful Writing Session #5for5BrainDump #amwriting https://t.co/h06MR6H254

— Julie Jordan Scott (@juliejordanscot) August 7, 2016

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Julie Jordan Scott inspires people to experience artistic rebirth via her programs, playshops, books, performances and simply being herself out in the world.  She is a writer, creative life coach, speaker, performance poet, Mommy-extraordinaire and mixed-media artist  whose Writing Camps and Writing Playgrounds permanently transform people's creative lives. Watch for the announcement of new programs coming in early Summer and beyond.

  To contact Julie to schedule a Writing or Creative Life Coaching Session, call or text her at 661.444.2735

  Check out the links above to follow her on a bunch of different social media channels, especially if you find the idea of a Word-Love Party bus particularly enticing.

Are you on SnapChat?

I am to provide value for folks there mostly about writing, art and life coaching. I do my best to NEVER be boring because we know that's the worst thing for an artist to do.

To follow me -hhere is my….. SnapCode? Is that what it is called?  

I thought I was posting a photo on Instagram about gratitude.

The reality is, that IS what I was doing.

I wasn’t planning to make a discovery about improving writing. After all, I’ve been facilitating writing programs since 1999. I’ve got most tips and tricks possible rumbling around my head someplace so I wasn’t expecting to have a “Eureka!” and an “A-ha!” and a “By Jove, I think Instagram’s got it!” all at once.

It was a simple enough photo, after all, nothing fancy. It was nothing fancy on purpose. I was attempting to convey visually that Gratitude didn’t have to be a mountain-top, sunset on the beach, “some enchanted evening” sort of experience. Gratitude is in the puddles after a March rain, it is in every day architecture and the fast food restaurant getting your order right sort of moment.

Here’s what came out in a rather curvy, meandering fashion.

I woke up grumpy after falling asleep angry. I know better than this. Guess I needed a refresher… Perhaps you did, too. Reminded of a going to sleep gratitude practice a la Meister Ekhardt and apparently Alice Walker has a similar quote. Love this image being decidedly ordinary. We don't need sunsets on the beach to be grateful, we simply need to open our eyes to what is and let our hearts offer the narrative.

•  I wasn’t looking to “write well” I was simply allowing my thoughts to unfold on the page. I didn’t recognize it until the last sentence came out, but I was allowing my heart to offer the narrative.

Let me repeat that final sentence:

We don't need sunsets on the beach to be grateful, we simply need to open our eyes to what is and let our hearts offer the narrative.

• Sometimes on the way to writing well we forget to have fun with the process. When I was writing this Instagram description, I my only aim was explaining gratitude and having fun with the process. What would happen if I took all my writing to be based in fun, gratitude and surprise?
  
• Instagram is not a space we look to for spectacular writing. We look there for images and perhaps for hashtags. Lately there have been more paid ads and now there is talk of it becoming more "like facebook" with our feeds being based on relevance. I note in my profile I include – almost as an aside – "expect to be surprised!" What if each of us looked to bring more surprise into our social media activity? What if we each brought more surprise into all aspects of our lives?

What will happen if I don’t keep all my writing fun, even social media snippets? Writing will become another chore, another “must do” in an endless string of duty instead of the love affair I have known it to be.

 Are you ready to experiment with Instagram?

Here’s your challenge:

Sometime in the next twenty-four hours, choose a photo to post on Instagram. Decide on a maximum time to spend on writing the post. I suggest no more than five minutes.

Then simply write. Five sentences should do the trick.

Don’t try to write well, don’t try to write anything insightful, just write what you see. Tell the photo’s story – and perhaps your place in that visual narrative.

I tried this a moment ago at the same spot where I recorded my Periscope video this morning.

I’m not thrilled with it, but it certainly cracked open a metaphor for me.

As the Kern River tumbles through the canyon into the valley, there is a long stairway and a door leading into the side of the mountain. I've never known where it goes, I only know it looks frightening. I've never seen anyone walk the seemingly infinite number of stairs to get to the door. Where could the door lead? What could make someone brave enough to take the journey in the first place? The fear I feel just considering these questions squeezes my heart. I don't want to ask, I don't want to look, I don't want to think.

And now, for the Periscope Videos that continued this particular stream of engagement:

 Part One: How to Use Instagram to Be a Better Writer:

Stop trying so hard and simply write. Please.

Part 2: The Perils of the ShortScope

By the way, in the comments Marilyn said she tried and failed. Guess what? She tried again and she did a beautiful job.

Kelley accepted the challenge and I have yet to hear back from here – maybe tomorrow?

How about you?

What photo will you take and what words will your heart narrate as a result?

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Related articles

Sometimes the Biggest Risk is Taking No Risk at All…. R is for Risk: The Bold Writer from A-to-Z

Going with the Flow: Photos from the Mouth of the Kern River (less of a Flow than Usual).

My Task in Creating Life Work that Hums in 2015: Integrating Heart Leaping Into It All

I know you can. I know you can. I know you can!

I was excited to sit at my desk and write this morning, but when I logged on and puttered around a bit, I lost all interest in writing. It was as if my desire to write a blog post was like a balloon with a slow leak.

 “I have to write something!” I lamented. I had a writing challenge to consider.

I poked around my “unpolished gem” file, otherwise known as place I put writing I think I may use someday but have not quite finished yet, and found the makings of an article rich in images and ripe with one of my favorite topics.

I did some editing and adding of photos and instantly, I had a new blog post.

I still thought, though, I should write about how I dealt with the slow leaking balloon, though.

1. Move away from the keyboard. DO NOT putter on twitter or pinterest or facebook or linked in or your email. Your intention is to get words on the page, not gush over other pages. REMEMBER THIS first and foremost.
2. 

   Getting a break from the keyboard ALWAYS helps!

   Do something other than writing but still creative. I worked on very simple collages of old dictionary pages and vintage illustrations from a children’s book. Along the way I learned Thalia is “The Muse of comedy and idyllic poetry” which intrigues me and may become another blog post or I may name a future character Thalia.

3. Move. If you are able, walk around the block. Do the twist, wildly, up and down the hallways of your house or apartment. If you don’t end up laughing (naturally) do it again and laugh unnaturally until you get to laughing naturally.
4. Use free flow writing (on a paper with pencil and pen) as your dearest friend. One way to use it is to put a paper and pencil at your kitchen table. Get up and do the twist around your house, wildly, until you are laughing and then start to write from the simplest and most effective prompt in the world, “I remember….”
5. Take photos with your phone or camera, inside or outside your home. Experiment with taking photos of things you don’t normally photograph. Take some macro shots. Take some shots of the ceiling or the sky. Stack up your favorite books (or current reads) and take shots of them.

Once you patch the slow leaking balloon of writing situation, take steps to help you the next time this comes up.

1. Keep an “Unpolished Gem” file.
2. Keep a notebook of random thoughts and ideas.
3. Revisit your “Unpolished Gem” file and your notebook regularly.
4. Pull images and stories from the newspaper as prompts and put them into your notebook for future use.
5. When you watch your favorite television show, notice what topics are being discussed. Pay attention to how the actors, the director, the writer and all the other crew members are telling the story. Write your observations in your notebook.
6. While waiting in line at the check out, scan the sometimes ridiculous magazines that are lined up in all their colorful glory in hopes you will buy them. What headlines either draw you or repulse you? What images work the best. Since you will be carrying your notebook with you always, scribble in your notebook or use your cell phone to take notes and then email the notes to yourself to put into your unpolished gem file when you get home.
7. 

   Go on a Writing Playdate (like at Writing Camp with Julie Jordan Scott, seen here.)

   Collect quotes as a hobby. I am a new GoodReads member. I was shocked at how few quotes they had for one of my favorite women writers, so part of my fun in reading women writers is to add the quotes I find in their collection on GoodReads. I tend to make activities like this just for fun and for me? It works. Collect from your reading or search for quotes along the line of what you are writing, say “inspirational quotes” or “Virginia Woolf” quotes. You name it, you’ll find it.

8. Give yourself a limited time on Pinterest – no more than five minutes. Find a couple images to repin and then use those images to prompt some free writing. If you don’t know where to start, start with a visual description. What do you see in
   

   Remember Why You Write….

   the images.

9. Remember WHY you write. I write because I am deeply in love with words and believe the world will experience positive transformation via writing and other arts. My contribution to this change is to use my writing (and my ability to write) to make the world a better place. If you need to write your “WHY” on a notecard or poster and pin it beside your monitor, do it. Your writing will be rejuvenated.

© 2013, 2016  by Julie Jordan Scott