Why You Should Think of Yourself as an Orange

Stuck with your writing? Hitting a roadblock? Feeling you just can't go any further? Here is a game to help. It will sound a little crazy but, trust me, it works.

I'd like you to think of yourself as an orange — yes, orange, as in citrus fruit. Then try both of the following strategies:

1. Squeeze more juice out of the orange. Remember that we human beings are often prone to giving up too quickly. We get an idea (or words written on paper) and then we can't think of anything else. Our brains shut down as if they were saying "Whoa, Nelly, that's enough!" But often, deeper down, there are more (and better) ideas. In other words, there's more juice in that orange — you just have to squeeze a little harder. To do so, take the topic or central idea you're writing about and, on a fresh piece of paper, start writing down every thought that pops into your head. As you do this, be fastidious about observing the rules of brainstorming:
   
   
   1. Aim for quantity not quality — you might even want to give yourself a quota for ideas to generate. Volume counts!
      
      
   2. Tell yourself that nothing is too crazy or too far out — in fact, the crazier the ideas the better!
      
      
   3. Don't judge or criticize — just record. The critical brain is different from the creative brain and you want your creative brain to be in charge.
      
      
   4. Write everything down — you don't want to lose the good ideas you worked so hard to generate.
      
      
2. Get more oranges. If you've squeezed the life out of your orange and still don't have enough juice (ideas), you'll need to think about collecting some new oranges (information). In writing terms this often means doing more research. Writers sometimes worry so much about the perils of procrastination (such a loathsome word!) that they start to write before they are really ready. This is the path to misery. Remember, it's essential to have enough to write about before you sit at the computer — otherwise you can't possibly know what you want to say.
   
   Furthermore, recognize that there are different kinds of oranges — not just the navel but also the Valencia, the Hamlin and the Tangelo. So, instead of doing the same-old same-old when you're blocked, you may also need to do something different — read for a bit, work on another project, go for a walk, listen to some music, talk to some colleagues. What looks suspiciously like procrastination may, in fact, be the solid (orange-collecting) work you need to do to be able to write.

Never forget that writing, while it can be fun, is as much a process of depletion as of creation. Expect this and don't criticize yourself. Instead, ask: Have I squeezed the orange hard enough? And, do I have enough oranges? You may be surprised by the answer.