My Invention

By Annette Rey

Here’s another writer’s block blocker exercise. Are you for it?

I am always looking for a challenge. I sit and scan the room for ideas, this time for increasing pressure to exercise my brain to be a better writer.

A newspaper from across the room called to me. Then the light bulb flashed.

Look at a headline. Take the first letter of each word and write a sentence with words that begin with those letters, in sequence. Where it is impossible to link words, add a vowel of your choice. If the headline is too short, use the first sentence of the article.

Such as: Police Look for Suspect Who Burglarized Brookshire Home.

P-L-F-S-W-B-B-H

Pork Loin freaked Shakey with bubble-bone hooks.

Pork Loin freaked Shakey with a burnt baby’s hand.

Pork Loin freaked Shakey with a bobble baby’s head.

Phyllis liked food sautéed with blackened bacon hunks.

Patty looked fine singing while Betty Bates hummed.

These sentences give me ideas for stories and flash fictions.

The process of developing these sentences is a joy and causes me to play with words and visualize my brain paths looking for words I know reside there. This is fun and when I achieve a successful sentence, the reward is a sense of accomplishment.

Whenever you practice writing and approaching your craft from a different aspect, you are increasing your mental flexibility. As you grow your brain’s agility, it will reward you with quicker recall and writing will flow more easily. Your brain is like any other part of your body. If you neglect it, it will weaken.

Work toward strength.