Fishing for Ideas

So I’m sitting here trying to think of a post for this week.

Last week was awesome because I got to interview Kenneth Barker, so this week seemed like kind of a drag. So I did what I always do after I have a hectic but productive week.

I went fishing.

This is nothing new, I go fishing once or twice a week. It’s a good way to clear my head and get frustrated with fish instead of people. But it also gives me some time to think about my writing. I’ve been working on a short story for about a month now and I can’t for the life of me get it ended. It isn’t even a long short story (..?) but it’s packed with cool stuff, so it has to end PERFECTLY.
And fishing helped me work it out.

Now I’m not telling all of you to go fishing per say, although I highly recommend it, but there has to be some unwind time. A lot of us indie authors spend way too much time working. I understand that being a writer is a lot of work; I write every week. And that writing is done on top of other jobs. But if you spend all of your time working and promoting and tweeting and whatever else, you will go crazy. Plus, the threat of ‘writer’s block’ looms on every corner.

Now when you go fishing, you have to worry about casting, what lure or bait you will use, oh and don’t forget to pick the perfect spot. So you’re out there casting, you get a bite, you reel in the fish, OH MY GERD ITS HUGE, and you get it in the ice chest, or let it go, whatever, and all of a sudden…

You get the idea for a killer story.
About mutant fishermen.
I’m reminded of an episode of The Big Bang Theory where Sheldon can’t figure out a theory and takes up a job at The Cheesecake Factory. He comes to an epiphany when he drops a a tray of plates and sees the problem in a whole new light.

What if you need to see your story in a new light? Go Fishing. What if your story needs a killer ending? Go fishing. What if you are going to explode if you have to write one more stinking word?!?!!?!

Go fishing.

And like I said before, it doesn’t have to be fishing. Go laser tagging, out to a fancy restaurant, to a baseball game, for a walk. There are lots of things to do.

Maybe your trip down the street, or down the river, will turn into something you wouldn’t have achieved in a month’s worth of work.