I’m so excited to have DiAnn Mills guest posting today. She’s a talented writer, has a heart for helping new writers, and is an absolute joy to be around.
~Dani
What’s in Your Writer’s Sandbox?
Sometimes it’s a challenge for a writer to stay creative and engaged in a project. We want to avoid boredom and ho-hum writing at all costs. That’s why writers need a sandbox full of favorite toys to help dig into unforgettable fiction.
Space
Our excitement for a project doesn’t always occur with our fingers placed on a keyboard. The perfect spot to write is where our mind leads each individual writer. Our imaginations should never exist within the confines of our sandbox. If our space is cramped and dull, we need to dribble some of the sand outside the boundaries and see what develops.
Explore new places to write and at various times during the day. Add music, trickling water, or a change of scenery to build a mobile sandbox that can travel anywhere.
Sand
The erosion of rocks and minerals forms sand. We find it on beaches, in landscaping, in the manufacture of glass, and in an ingredient for concrete. It’s fine or coarse, different colors, and sizes. The person using the sand chooses its purpose and destination … like words strung together in fiction, nonfiction, and poetry.
Our hearts and minds fill with ideas. While one grain of sand means little, adding more allows the expressive person to compile interesting stories and information pieces. Start a file of “grains of sand” to keep the writing muse energized.
Shovel
Shovels move things around. In our unique sandbox, we scoop up our treasures. Sometimes we let the jewels sift through our fingers to see where they fall. Other times we place them back in the sandbox for a burst of imagination on another day. But as we watch the concepts trickle and fall, we find the unexpected. Those surprising moments of inspiration carry us forward. We place the nuggets aside and thrust our shovel again into the sand to see where our artistry takes us.
Bucket
No sandbox is complete without a bucket. The bucket is our storehouse of writing prompts—topical phrases or text to take us on an adventure. These tools get us in the mood to play and they vary depending on what needs to be written. Prompts can be as simple as reading poetry, getting lost in another book, or a special meet-up with writing buds.
Our bucket is filled with innovation. We can take it anywhere to find writing ideas. I once chose to pick blueberries when my plot refused to come together. Four hours later, I had my storyline and enough berries for two pies. Consider a trip to the grocery, shop for something new, plant flowers, yank out weeds, host a party, bake, visit the beach, hike in the mountains, organize closets, work on a hobby, or other sources of activity.
The equipment in a writer’s sandbox depends on the genre, time restraints, personality, and a twist of whim. Whatever sparks the writer’s creative soul and helps to build an exciting project should be sprinkled with gems of sand and enthusiasm.
What is in your writer’s sandbox?
Thanks so much, DiAnn, for being here today!
DiAnn’s new release, Airborne, is available now. Be sure to grab your copy here.
DiAnn Mills is a bestselling author who believes her readers should expect an adventure. She is a storyteller and creates action-packed, suspense-filled novels to thrill readers. Her titles have appeared on the CBA and ECPA bestseller lists; won two Christy Awards; and been finalists for the RITA, Daphne Du Maurier, Inspirational Readers’ Choice, and Carol award contests.
DiAnn is a founding board member of the American Christian Fiction Writers, a member of Advanced Writers and Speakers Association, Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and International Thriller Writers. She is the director of the Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writers Conference, Mountainside Retreats: Marketing, Speakers, Nonfiction and Novelist with social media specialist Edie Melson where she continues her passion for helping other writers be successful. She speaks to various groups and teaches writing workshops around the country.
Connect with DiAnn here: www.diannmills.com
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Dani, thanks so much for hosting me today!
Thanks for joining us, DiAnn! And big congratulations on your new release. 🙂