writers block......?

Question

ok im supposed to write a rough draft for my essay and the draft is due tomorrow. The suject we are supposed to write about is "the perfect day" and the purpose is descrptive. for those who dont know what that is, its an essay that describes something or an experience. it includes all the senses, like describing the smell, look, touch, sound, etc about the topic. and for my essay i dont want to just blabber on about a perfect day with everytihing my way cuz its unrealistic, unorininal, and that day will never happen. i often like to think outside the box but im totally blank. So do you have any ideas? .

Answer 1

I'm working on a novel, myself. All I can do is tell you what I do for writer's block. Sit down with the phone book, some paper and a pen. Start copying entries out of the phone book. Keep copying until an idea comes to you. You'd be surprised how quickly that happens.

Answer 2

Here's something that I use regularly and years ago we used it with a Marine who had just transferred into the base I was on. He was already an experienced writer, but when he went to work for the base newspaper, he hit a block. This technique broke the block which had gone on for weeks in less than a day.

Mind mapping.

Have you already had it in school yet? It's very effective. Simply put the central idea, in your case "Perfect Day" down in the middle of a blank page, and then scribble whatever words that occur to you around that word -- above, below, alongside; in red, blue, green, yellow; printed or script, words or even doodles. Write down all the sensations you can think of, perhaps as a halo around that "Perfect Day."

Do this until you're either quite bored or have started daydreaming and then when you turn to the paper you're going to use to write out your essay you'll often find that it is half written in your head already. All you'll have to do is write.

I'll also suggest that you try another angle on "Perfect Day." Talk a bit about what is perfect in any old ordinary day, what makes the day, this day, worthwhile. This is the old "glass half empty, glass half full" approach. It'll probably be easier than attempting to construct an artificial day where everything goes according to some artificial ideal.

Good luck.

Answer 3

I got an idea. How about a day communing with nature? Spending time with an animal (dog, cat Kangaroo, it doesn't matter) and talk about how you became friends with the animal.

Another idea is taking a walk on a June morning. Describe the smell of the budding grass and trees. the sounds of the birds. What would the clouds look like? Did it give you a sense of hope? Yearning? sadness? expectation? How did the dewy grass feel under your feet? Was the breeze soft and caressing? did it give you chills. What did the songs of the birds sound like? Did you hear a dog barking in the distance? Did you pass by a brook and stop to listen? How many different sounds did it make? I've been able to identify 7.

Answer 4

Is there any experience of the "perfect day" that you can draw from? Was there a time that you felt like you were in the moment?

Otherwise, it seems that a day which is the "perfect day" should be made up. Maybe you could describe how your senses were alive, you smelled your favorite scent or it was more alluring to you, you made eye contact with that special somene and held it for more than a second or two, you could hear birds chirping in your aural background...I'm not really good at describing things myself but you can always get down to the details...I'd recommend starting off with structure. So make up a story that revolved around this "perfect day." Was it a blind date gone wild? How about a family reunion? Did you have your first kiss? Did you just graduate from junior high/high school?? I think you get my point...But to think outside the box, how about putting yourself in someone else's shoes, what if your perfect day is coming from a Indian guru, or what if your perfect day is said from the point of view of an African Grey Parrot...There are many different sides you can take from it. Just let your imagination fly late at night, turn off the lights w/ candles on, play your favorite tunes and let it rip so to speak. Good luck!!

Answer 5

How about writing about your first feelings experience, when you fell in love for the first time. Describe the day, the sounds, what were you doing when you began to feel butterflies for this special someone. And how the worse day during that period didn't seem to be that bad. Usually, those memories don't really go away with time because it's part of you.

Well, it's only an idea. It sounds good to me but you have the last decision.

Good luck on your essay....

Answer 6

a perfect day? everything goes wrong...but behind it all you realize the good in life....what keeps you waking up every day. And somehow you just know it will all get better because of the things most important to you such as dreams, friends, family, love, ect. The perfect day is when nothing goes right....but somehow you can still see through the clouds. It's perfect because we take so much for granted in our lives...if we stop and realize what we have and what we live for, that's what brings true happiness and that's what makes it so perfect. Life isn't good because of the good events that happen throughout it..but because of the things that motivate you and keep you standing through it all when you feel like giving up. And sometimes thats all we can ask for.

Answer 7

When was the last time that you had a day that started off well, and ended even better? Vacations are usually a good time to think about. A family reunion, a sporting event, or maybe a day with a person that you hadn't seen in a long time could bring back a lucid memory that would be easy to write about.

Answer 8

Just dream.
What I do is think of any random thing that pops into my head and write all over a paper. Just be totally random.
And a perfect day doesn't have to be perfect, it could be a normal day with no mishaps, or maybe some mistakes, just normal life, that you are breathing and living.
Just write about what you love to do. Or you did something that you would never, ever, ever, dare to do. It can be surreal, don't worry.

Answer 9

Think about the happiest days you have experienced and write about one of them.

It could be your birthday, Christmas or some other holiday, the day your dad got out of the military, the day you were saved from some horrible fate such as drowning, the day you became a Christian, the day you earned your first dollar, etc.

Hope this sets the creative juices flowing and I really hope this has been helpful.

Answer 10

One way to get past writer's block is to freewrite. That is setting a timer for 5 minutes, pressing start, and then writing your stream of consciousness thoughts down as they come, without stopping and without erasing or editing in any way. (That is important.) What you write can flow from one topic to another. It's not going to be your final product, but it is going to hush that inner editor that is keeping you from getting started. And it might even give you a brainflash as you are doing it.

Another similar exercise is to do word webs for that space of time (on your topic this time) and see what you come up with.

I hope this helps!