Help!  I’ve lost my imagination. I know I had it not that long ago.  Then all of this adult-life stuff kept happening and adult-life does not play nice with writing for children or creativity.

Just warning you, there will be no acting like adults here.  These times are too desperate.  It’s a matter of life and death.  I love my characters too much to let them die from a deprived imagination.  It may call for some rather awkward moments, but for the sake of the story, I must do what must be done.

Eight Ways to Push Down the Adult in You

1.  Ever notice how children dress themselves when they are first given permission to pick out their clothes?  They pick out the stuff they love best and makes them feel happy.  Go to your closet and pick out something that makes you feel twirly or like you could take down Megatron on your own, or whatever mood you are trying to establish in your story.

2.  Get out an art medium and paper.  crayons, oil pastels, finger paints, etc.  No oil paints.  Those are far too adultish.  Have at it, but don’t think.  Play.  See what pops into your head all on its own.

3.  Laugh.  What makes you laugh?  What makes kids laugh?  Surround yourself with it.  My kids need to laugh every night before they can go to sleep.  Bodily noises will always be funny.  But what really gets them going is pretending, especially if it involves taking down their dad.

4.  Pretend.  (You knew that was coming, didn’t you?)  Be your character for an hour, an afternoon, at dinnertime.

5.  Play with kids.  If you’ve got your own it’s beneficial in so many ways.  If you’ve got nieces and nephews offer to babysit.  Just play.  Let the kids lead.  NO MULTI-TASKING!  That’s an adult habit, not allowed here.

6.  Dance.  I don’t mean the kind of moves you tried at the club when you turned 21.  Have you ever watched kids dance?  They just get into it.

7.  Build a fort.  Bring your computer in there.  It’s too tempting not to try, isn’t it?

8.  Sit for five minutes before writing.  Imagine the mental movie of your story.  Listen to your story soundtrack.  Or listen to your story.  (You have to record it first.  Maybe after you write a piece, when you go back to read it, pull out the dictaphone and record it.  So when you are ready to start writing again, listen to the last bit you wrote.)  Imagine the story.  Fall into it.  Where does your mind take you?

Okay.  Did you shake off all that thick adultish scabby stuff that blocks creativity?  Good.  Have fun playing with words.