Writing Seeds: What are they and why you shouldn’t ignore them

Even when you don't have time to write everyday, stockpiling your seeds is a good way to ensure your creative brain stays inspired.

When writers say, “I’m blocked. I feel totally uninspired. I can’t write anything.” I often ask, “But have you really been listening?” or “Have you been judging ideas and tossing them aside before you’ve even given them a chance?”

Our creative brains are like a muscle—the more we use them, the easier they are to access and the more ideas come. The greater amount of space you give to that side of yourself, the more it awakens. So it only makes sense that when we neglect it, inspiration becomes harder to find and blocks tend to form.

One of the most important things to nurture as a writer (even when we’re busy with other things) is seeds. Seeds are ideas, tiny sparks that hit you out of nowhere. They often come to us when we least expect them (going for a walk, taking a shower, in the middle of the night, driving, watching a movie, cooking dinner). If you’re a creative, you know what I’m talking about—when a seed hits you it feels different, you know there is something there.

A seed may be one sentence, a detail, a scene, a particular moment, a memory, or a line of dialog. It may be an entirely new idea or an element that can be used in something you’re already working on.

The problem with seeds is they are easy to ignore—to say: “I don’t need to write that down, I’ll remember it later.” But seeds are fleeting, they come and go. And spoiler alert—I’m here to tell you, you probably won’t remember it later and you need to because many times, seeds are what stories are built on.

Some of the seeds you collect will grow and some won’t. Your job is simply to collect them and see if they take root when the time is right. Resist the urge to assign value to them or judge them. Instead of analyzing what the piece around them might be, try thinking of them simply as points of discovery. Each one may have endless directions to go in or it may work in something you already have in place. A seed can sit for months and then suddenly, like magic, its time has come.

Just remember: You don’t have to know where you will use a seed when it hits you, all you need to do is take a minute to “collect” it. Keep a “seed notebook,” write it down on an envelope, send yourself an email or a text, whatever works for you!

Want to learn more? Visit darceygohring.com to see all my upcoming workshops and classes.