Summer: The Perfect Time to Write
Here in Minnesota, our winters are long. We spend at least four months of the year in the bitter cold, ice, and snow. It can be hard to find the energy or inspiration to be creative. Luckily, the Loft isn’t hosting winter youth . . . we’re hosting summer youth. It turns out that the summer is filled with energy and ideas that can help your writing blossom!
One of the best things about summer is that basically every natural thing is awakened and buzzing with life. The grass, trees, birds, butterflies, water . . . all are colorful, moving, and growing. This abundance of life can help remind us to pay attention. Try standing in a spot outside, whether it’s in your backyard, by a lake, or on the sidewalk. What can you notice? Is there a family of ants marching along? Are the leaves dancing? Is there a bird perched nearby who is letting out a joyful song? See if you can find three things that you might not notice if you were just walking by.
Good news—all the little things you notice can be things you write about! Writing asks us to pay attention to the world around us. You can strengthen your descriptive skills with adjectives like delicate, sharp, fresh, damp, lively, gentle, or bold. You can also turn the lively things around you into a fantastical world. If you’ve seen Encanto, you’ll remember how the house can move and respond to the characters talking. What if the grass or trees did the same? What if the ants were in secret communication with the cicadas about a ball that was happening in the treetops?
Not everything in the summer is fun and sunny. Sometimes, the days get unbearably hot or a loud thunderstorm sweeps overhead. Paying attention to these setting changes can also help you in your writing. How does a thunderstorm affect your mood? Could it affect your character’s mood in the same way? Make sure you let all your senses tell you things. From sounds to tastes to colors to textures, there is so much to notice about summer.
At Summer Youth at Mac, you’ll be surrounded by sweeping grass, flowers, tall trees, and scurrying squirrels. It will be the perfect opportunity to draw inspiration from the natural world. Let your imagination blossom like the flowers, flow like the creek, and dance in the wind like the leaves. We hope you join us for an exploration of everything writing in the summer has to offer at summer youth. Happy writing!