You know how letting kids be bored isn’t a bad thing?
It’s the same thing for writers. We need to learn to use boredom for good.
Just as a child who is bored, who doesn’t have their time or brain filled with things to do, finds something to do, usually something with a creative bent. A writer who is bored will find something to think about and eventually to do or at least write about. I know when I have nothing to do my mind immediately fills with a storyline.
So utilize boredom. Don’t treat it like an enemy but rather is a friend and helpmeet.
Shut off the devices. Close the doors. Don’t read a book, or chat with friends. Perhaps you need to get outside and just be alone in your own space. Let your mind have the freedom to roam unimpended or distracted. Let your body be busy if necessary but let your thoughts be free to mull around and come up with their own ideas.
Next time you are sitting at a doctor’s office mindlessly waiting don’t pull out your cell phone. Pay attention to your boredom, what is it teaching you? So many stories and ideas might be surrounding you. The elderly fellow using a cane with a pin in the lapel of his vest. The youngster hanging off his momma’s leg. The lady in the business suit tapping her fingers impatiently. What are their stories? That interesting fabric, could it be important? Who designed that purse? Could there be a world ruled by spiders? What thoughts are inspired? Any interesting worlds that might be imagined? What research could be spurred on?
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