“Freedom lies in being bold.”
Robert Frost
Writing dangerously is all about becoming bolder. Here’s how my handy Oxford Compact English Dictionary defines the word “bold:” 1) confident and courageous; 2) audacious, impudent; and 3) (of a colour or design) strong and vivid.
Confidence, courage, audacity, impudence, strength and vividness — can we bring these to our writing? Of course, we can! What practices can help engender these qualities? Some ideas from a fellow creative:
Put the work first: Make fueling and fulfilling your creativity a top priority. Whatever the demands on your time or challenges that life throws at you, figure out a way to keep you writing center stage — carve out the time and space to let the magic happen.
Spark creativity with play: Creating a playful writing mindset might mean using Julia Cameron’s idea of “Morning Pages,” to loosen up our brains, or reading poetry, or taking three words from the dictionary and weaving a story around them for 10 or 15 minutes. Or even using a coloring book to relax and stoke ourselves. Whatever works!
Focus solely on this one thing, no distractions: Once you are in work mode, stay in the zone. Save emails and social media for later.
Welcome accidents and discovery: Messy, unruly drafts can take us to exciting, unpredictable places. So go all out—don’t hold back! You can always fine-tune and revise.
Revise=re-envision: Let’s zealously push our writing to the next level, polishing and repolishing it until it shines.
Find models of excellence: Constantly look for inspiration from other creative souls.
Practices to ponder and apply as we all write on.