In her first year of dedicated writing, Candice wrote whatever came to mind, thinking that was good enough. Her friends said they loved her work, but Candice wasn’t satisfied. She spent hours editing her work and discovered the magic of second thoughts. Her writing skills had improved. What more could she do?
Candice wanted her writing to be extraordinary. She needed a weekly exercise that would encourage thinking beyond her ordinary style. In Microsoft Outlook, she created a Wednesday pop-up reminder to write a simple sentence, then take the next fifteen minutes to expand her mental images into more exciting, different pictures.
First, she wrote: Johnny did a flip. What kind of flip was it? One idea led to another, with a series of pictures that reached beyond her mundane style. By refusing to stop until the timer sounded, she discovered extra possibilities that helped her ordinary writing become extraordinary.
Here’s what Candice wrote in her practice session:
- Feeling like a pancake too hot on the griddle, Johnny did a flip.
- Feeling like a pancake too hot on the griddle, Johnny did a flip off the diving board and landed flat on his belly.
- Stern as a mafia hit man, Johnny did a flip from his usually kind manner and twisted the bully into something like a pretzel shape.
- After scoring the touchdown, Johnny did a flip followed by a cartwheel.
- Holding his vaulting pole high, Johnny ran with lightning speed, then planted the pole and did a flip over the bar.
- Gambling wasn’t his thing, but Johnny flipped the coin, confident he wouldn’t lose.
- Gambling wasn’t his thing, but Johnny flipped the coin, confident he would be lucky this time.
- Gambling had already cost his life’s savings, but Johnny flipped the coin anyway, confident he would be lucky this time.
- When Susie walked by, Johnny did a flip of his cap to ask if he could take her somewhere.
