Eluvian: Playing Dress Up

I recently discovered the costume closet in the artist retreat house I currently reside in. And since I relish having fun, I have turned the costume closet into my personal wardrobe.

How does dressing up relate to your writing, you might ask. Well, I sometimes find myself lacking focus, be it distractions or sheer laziness or whatever else, and I have discovered some writing-related perks of dressing up:

1. Dress the part, play the part- Role play, step into your character’s shoes. How does your character dress? How do your character move, feel? How do the clothes make the character? How does the character make the clothes? If you are more on the practical side of things, think of dress up as a characterization exercise.

2. Dress creative, think creative- Pretty self-explanatory.

3. Disconnect from reality, reconnect with your writing- When you step into clothes that aren’t yours you become a character. You act different. You feel different. By dressing away from your reality, you purge your mind of life distractions, providing room for you to catch up with your long lost writing self.

4. Um, it's fun- It was socially acceptable when you were a child, so why not now? Get happy and you'll want to keep the momentum going!

Keep a good sense of humor. Yes, this is embarrassing. Trust me, I know: in the past few days I have rocked a jumpsuit, donned a "Purity Dress," and have frolicked around in a pink furry bear costume with blue polka dots.