Some writers work best when they write and draw.

Sometimes you might find the need to write and draw in tandem. Working on one of the two can often elicit ideas for how to engage in the other. Also, some people are more visually inclined than others. They remember what they see much more than what they hear or read, and these visuals provoke memories that in turn bring about stories and other wonderful pieces of writing that have to be jotted down before they are forgotten.

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Not only are visuals helpful, but shapes can be the steppingstones to greater writing as well. Writers might think of circular logic or circular plotlines. When hearing these terms, you are likely to think of the shape of a circle. You see the logic and/or plotline going around and around that circle, but there never seems to be an endpoint that is reached. Sometimes when writers draw and write, this can be a problem that is easily dismissed.

For example, if you feel that your writer's block is stemming from a circular plotline in which the protagonist can never overcome his conflict, the antagonist can never get the best of the protagonist, or some other issue, draw a circle on a sheet of paper and see it in front of you. Inside of the circle, write what you feel is going wrong for you as you try to get past the circular issues present in your writing. You may even think of examples of puns, such as the fact that you are writing in a "roundabout way" to what is really conducive for your writing style. A roundabout may make you think of a traffic circle, which may make you consider having the main character's car, or a traffic light issue, or some other idea, become the next focus of your story. You will begin to see how ideas can stem from other ideas, if only you have the right means to find them.

Many people might also think of their writing as a square shape. Some might think of it in this way because they feel it is too prim and proper and nothing exciting is happening, hence the slang definition of 'square.' Others might think of a square as its shape suggests -- having four corners. These four corners can represent four essential plot points or main ideas of the story being written. One corner may be how the story starts, one may be how the story ends, and the other two can balance out the middle. If you're having trouble thinking of plot points for your square story, draw the shape of a square and write inside of it, just as was mentioned to do for the circle above.

Think about word meaning from context, and relate that context to the context of your story. Let's take a well-known story as an example -- The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. If Salinger had drawn a square and tried to think of how squares might relate to his story, he might have come up with the fact that everyone Holden thinks of as phonies are basically like squares. They are not exciting and there is no true appeal to them. You always know the shape of a square will never change, just as the phonies will never change the shape of their personalities.

You can also write down ideas that do not necessarily have to do with your story, and these ideas may be the beginnings of ways to further the plotline and imagination that your story possesses (for example, you might jot down "square dance" or "four square").

Shape therapy can be quite helpful. Sometimes you may even find that you are practicing with this write and draw activity, but you are not drawing and writing shapes that have a solid structure to begin with. You might start out drawing a line. A line is the beginning of a shape. From that one line, you can create a circle, a square, a pentagon, an octagon, a rectangle, or any other shape that comes to mind. Also, remember that a line does not have to be straight. If it did, then we wouldn't have the term 'straight line,' because a line would always be straight and no one would ever have to be reminded that it is straight. A line can be wiggly or curved; it can go straight up, straight down, or have dips that remind you of the stock market.

Creative writing activities that allow you to write and draw are perfect for stimulating your writing mind. When you write and draw, you practice a form of creative writing therapy that makes your mind work in such a way that you find a special bond with your words and your shapes. You do not have to be a visual artist to be able to practice techniques such as these. Just remember that you are an artist any which way you cut it. You have a gift. The gift of writing is an art like any other. You might not have the ability to draw beautiful pictures that catch the eye of passersby. You do, however, have the ability to write beautiful words that can be read over and over again to garner significance and symbolic appeal.

If you have been blessed with the gift of both written and visual, how wonderful for you. However, even if you haven't, don't fret. Just draw in a way that is easy for you to understand and visualize, and you will come up with great ideas for writing based off of your own drawings. That is why everyone is unique. Everyone will see their ideas differently than others might see them.

Take the clouds, for example. Those are shapes at their finest. Nothing shapes them into the shapes they are except for the skies above. Write and draw the clouds. Write what they look like inside of the drawings you make of their shapes. If you'd rather not draw, take pictures and then write inside of them, or next to them, or in some other way that works for you. Everyone sees the clouds, and for that matter the world, in different ways. Let your own way of seeing it make for more powerful writing on your part!

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