They say us Brits are never ready
for the snow, and when it comes have no clue what to do except drive into ditches
and call snow days at our schools and most places of work (even if just for the
excuse). I must agree the snow (that doesn’t want to leave) is becoming a bit
of a chore, but perhaps being snowed in again wouldn’t be so bad if armed with
armed with this top-five list. It’s a perfect opportunity to break out the
creative child within and get down to some serious writing fun.
1. Story Games
I’ve only just read about Rory’s
Story Cubes, a story game involving six dice with images to generate ideas to be used in a story. You cast the die, and whorl away
with a story to fit. It’s much like online story generators, but these cubes in
a variety of themes, including Actions and Voyages, turn a writing tool into a
well packaged afternoon game. I’ve even
seen a picture of the cubes used to represent Ned Stark's storyline from A
Game of Thrones. Simple, honest, geeky fun.
2. Poetry
Yes, I can feel your eyebrows
turning from here, but poetry can be fun. I read Stephen Fry’s book, The Ode
Less Travelled last year, and he reminded me how before distractions of the internet and television that poetry and writing exercises were key
entertainment. There are a variety of closed-form poems, acrostics,
rictameters, or perhaps you could play with a serious sonnet or laugh with a limerick. Think of it like doing a cross-word with a chance to create something unique. Here’s an example of my own patterned poem.
The
Man
of
Snow
A
Carrot
for a nose,
Two
lumps
Of
coal
A
Silly
hat
To
keep him warm
Whilst
we all eat within our
Homes,
until upon a sunny spell,
That
melts away the fluffy white,
We
venture out, and gasp upon
The
melt; a carrot that was once
a
nose, two lumps of coal that
once
were eyes.
3. Seek
This sounds both odd and obvious
at the same time, but venture out (as far as your snow boots can carry you) and
seek inspiration. Notice how different everything looks, and feels. Does it
remind you of any far gone place? A ski resort? A Disney film? Take pictures.
Build a snowman, or do what I did and help push a car up the hill, doing you
community service for the day, then write about it. Embrace this different sort
of day, and see if it gets the synapses firing!
4. Read/Watch
Dig out your DVD collection, put
on that new series you got for Christmas, break out a book, or even read a
script. I know that time old phrase, along the lines of you must read, read,
read if you want to write, write, write gets rather annoying (and therefore
probably true), but today you have time. Enjoy.
5. Write
You heard me. Write that project
you’ve been putting off. I used my snow
day to write a ton of pages for my thesis screenplay, and now would use any
extra time to write a scene for my new play, unless of course I were to be distracted by any of the above.
A simple list, but hopefully will
inspire any creative stuck in the snow to get their story juices flowing.
