Inspiration for the Snowbound Writer

No matter how old you are, it’s been a tough winter. The prospect of school extending into summer is crushing our youngest writers’ spirits.  And you parents out there are no doubt going stir-crazy with the kids at home.

So we at The Writers Circle thought we’d help. Here are some ideas for the snowbound writer – young or old – to entertain you, hopefully in front of a fire with a cup of hot cocoa.

And talking about that hot cocoa – drink it slowly and evoke the senses. Go beyond the taste.  What does it smell like? What memories does it bring to mind? How does it feel slipping down your throat? What texture do those marshmallows add?

Our For Boys Only classes are both working on inventions this session. What invention should help clear all that snow from our driveways and streets? Is there something you might create to prevent that snow in the first place? And is there something that you might turn the snow into, to make it useful beyond snow-forts and snowmen?

Ah, snowmen. Think about a snow family living right outside your home. (Has anyone read the children’s book Snowmen at Night?   Give them each names and personalities. Ask yourself – what do they feel like, looking into our windows and seeing us warm and toasty? Do they think we’re crazy? Or do they, too, want to turn into real people? And what happens to them when the thaw (eventually) comes? Do they migrate north or just melt away?

A portal opens up inside the snow mound outside. It can take you anywhere you want to go. Where are you headed? (Please make it somewhere warm, maybe even tropical!)

And what if the snow never leaves?  What if it takes hold and transforms the Northeast into a frozen wasteland?  What if other parts of the country are deathly hot and dry?  What would you or your character do to survive?

Are you writing a novel? Consider storyboarding your story today – and then give the stack of storyboard cards to your kids. A new order to the story might spark your imagination in a way you hadn’t considered before. (You can always put them back after all this is over!)

Kurt Vonnegut says every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water. Make the snow a character in a story or poem. What does it want? And why won’t it leave us alone?