Think Like A Kid And Overthrow Writer’s Block
Be spontaneous, have fun, be absurd… and watch the ideas flow
It seems rare, when I present writing assignments to my elementary-aged students, to see a blank face staring just over my shoulder at the fly droppings (or is it chocolate pudding?) on the bulletin board. My students are almost never at a loss for what or who to write about.
It’s uncommon to hear these six- and seven-year-olds whisper, “I don’t know what to write!” They always seem to have ideas. Wonky, and wonderful ideas.
Why does the evil entity we know as Writer’s Block pass by these young authors? Is it only adults who encounter Writer’s Block? What do these kids have or do that we as adult writers don’t?
There is hope for us out-of-schoolers. And it involves the simple task of thinking and acting like a kid would.
Be Absurd
We as adults seem to embrace and promote being logical. Kids don’t. Their story elements aren’t framed plausibly or logically. They don’t ask: is this reasonable or realistic?
“Kids don’t think in terms of limits,” writes Steve Bloom.
We, as adults, however, limit ourselves. I don’t know when we suddenly build these barriers and impose these limits. Or why. Maybe body hair and mortgage payments hoist a gooey barricade between left and right hemispheres.
Steve Bloom suggests that stress plays a factor and that, as kids, we “didn’t think of the world as a place full of endless obstacles”. Yes, for us grown-ups, obstacles seem to be everywhere. And I’m not just talking about Lego on hardwood floors in the middle of the night.
You know, things like: What will the neighbor think if I murder my grass and plant daffodils instead? What gossip will my mother-in-law spread if I say no to cooking a 45-pound turkey and to removing the skin from the 6 pounds of cranberries she had flown in fresh from Nova Scotia? I’m sure I don’t need to tell YOU about the endless obstacles we experience and contrive.
Have faith. Creativity can be re-kindled. “Innovative, new ideas come from uninhibited thinking,” explains Julie Austin.
Austin, CEO of the consulting firm Creative Innovation Group, proposes 3 ways we can think like a kid: take things to the absurd, be fearless, and ask a lot of questions.
When kids imagine and create stories, I rarely see them halt and assert, “Oh, that would never happen”. No. They are, most often, completely absurd.
This week, as returned assignments from primary students now learning at home dinged and lit up my inbox, I chuckled at the results of my language task of creating non-fiction story titles. The LadyBug Who Ate Humans. Super Dog Fights The Evil Mop. My Family Becomes Mermen and Mermaids When We Touch Water.
Kids aren’t afraid to both have, and to reveal their imaginative ideas. Why can’t Santa wear a Speedo and spend all his cash saving orphaned jellyfish? Why can’t Little Iris, who helps her grandfather at his bakery on Saturdays, also have three extra toes — on her neck — that are constantly slip-sliding into their world-famous marshmallow croissants?
Play
Something else we rarely do as adults is to play. And play is critical to creativity. Most of us know that play helps children cognitively, physically, socially, and emotionally (Kimberly Zapata). But how many of us know that it helps adults in the same way? How many of us grown-ups ever take time to play? Do we even know what that looks like?
“It’s about giving yourself permission to explore and free time to play. It would not just increase your creativity — it would also motivate you to create.” Darya Zabelina
Stop thinking of how many chiropractor treatments it might take for spinal re-alignment and allow yourself to just slide back into that snowbank. Make an angel. So what if it looks more like the Jell-o we ate from those Tupperware mold containers that resemble something the Queen would wear to tea.
Be Spontaneous
Another suggestion, with which we as adults struggle, is the idea of doing things that are novel and unexpected. Spontaneity and impulse are not always easy. The fear of routine can be real.
“Do something spontaneous, preferably every day.” Michael Robinson
Build a fort in your living room, using a dog bed and your plaid shirts. Bounce a ball. Shoot a Nerf Gun. Blow some bubbles. Finger paint your neighbor’s shed — okay, perhaps your own shed might be the preferable option. This is not meant as revenge for the letter they wrote to the local paper about detesting your daffodils.
Writer’s Block have you stuck?
Think like a kid. Be absurd. Have some fun. Play a little. Do something spontaneous.
Laugh — at least an eensy snicker — and then write, write, write…
©Jennifer J. McDougall 2021