Getting Engaged

As a writer, you can feel isolated. You want someone to talk to, or some way to get out of the house, or something to happen that doesn't involve you peering at a blank, glowing screen.

Here are some things I've done lately to counter that:

1. An improv class. I signed up for an intermediate level improv class. Two years ago, I took a beginning improv class at Second City. It was an intensive class, which meant you were there all day for three days. I really enjoyed it. The last scene I was in I ended up lying on the floor behind another guy in a chair, and we were pretending to pilot our spaceship to the Moon. (Or something like that; my memory is hazy.) I enjoyed it a lot. It's a good way to get out of your head.

2. A writing group. I keep wracking my brain, but I'm pretty sure that the last time I was in a writing group was in graduate school. That was a long time ago. Generally, I'm not a fan of writing groups, but there is something to be said for accountability. My first writing group starts next week. I think it will be good to be talking about writing, in addition to just doing writing.

3. An exploratory trip. Serendipity. Randomness. Adventures. These are things that inspire good ideas. So do: taking a shower, driving down the road, hanging your head upside down. These are true things. Last weekend, I went to a giant flea market and ate a giant glazed doughnut covered in maple syrup and bacon bits. I talked to a descendent of a Confederate soldier. I parked in a grassy field. These things stimulate your brain to fire in new ways, stimulate creativity, get your eyes, and your legs, and your heart working in new directions.

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