s-t-r-e-t-c-h

So, there you are.  Still digesting, huh?  Gorged yourself on the Thanksgiving dinner?  Worked too hard in the kitchen?  Feel like all you want to do is sit and veg out?  Maybe even feeling a little down with the prospect of the holidays looming over you?

Well, here’s the perfect solution.
S-T-R-E-T-C-H.
No, I’m not referring to working the abs and arse (although there is that too, lol).
I’m talking about stretching those writing muscles, considering flexing them in ways you haven’t been doing.
Writing in povs, genres, styles, or lengths you’d never considered before.

I’m currently in the middle of trying to finish two projects.  I certainly didn’t need to deviate from that path—being a slow writer, I need to make use of every moment.
But last week I saw a contest that caught my eye.  250 words of short fiction, loosely based on a lovely photograph.
And durnit, I just had the urge to see if I could do it.
Wrote the story, then gritted my teeth to delete an extra scene, adjectives, adverbs, descriptive passages, etc., until it was nearly bare-boned 250 words.  Like pulling out my own fingernails, let me tell ya.  I loved some of those words.

But it was a challenge.  I love a challenge.  And it was worth it.

I think that stepping outside of our own self-made little boxes occasionally not only stirs the creative juices, but helps give us more confidence in our abilities.
How about you?  Have you flexed your writing muscles lately?  Hmmm???  uette-of-a-woman-exercising-photographic-print-c12456593.jpg