Writing stories, whether it’s a daily reflection, a short story, or merely my observation of the world around me I always see to it that the “drama feels” is always there. The gush of the wind, the teardrop that fell, the scent from a coat that reminded me of a beautiful memory. Describing what things look like, how people look like and react is amazing when put into words by any writer because it takes the reader’s imagination elsewhere. It takes them to a place they’ve never been before, which is your memory. You are letting them meet your characters face to face. Creative writing builds a connection with the writer and a reader only with their thoughts. That’s how powerful and beautiful it is. As a writer, I’m not always as creative as I expect myself to be. There are times when I feel like my writing is dry. There are times when it just doesn’t have that spark, that right kick in the ending. Good thing I made another cool discovery with my stationery pals. If you’ve read my previous blog post on How I use stationery stickers to build my daily writing habit then it is somehow connected with this one. Let’s find out then what’s my new discovery with stationery stickers and how is it connected to creative writing.
So, once again I bought these cute dessert stationery stickers from Shopee for my bullet journal a few months ago. I love sweets and when there was no pandemic, I love going to coffee shops and buying different sweets especially those that I haven’t tasted before. When these yummy-looking stickers arrived, I instantly opened its cute small box and checked the designs of each one. Again, just like in my previous blog post, I didn’t know when will I use these stickers because I can’t think of a theme on my bullet journal on when to best use them. Staring at these stickers one day along with my other stickers gave me an idea to make my own menu! When I was young, I always wanted to have my own coffee shop because I love the ambiance that it brings where it will always be the perfect place for writers where my imagination can soar. I even came up with a name and shared it with my family, I thought Moonlight Café would be the best. I heard this sort of jazz song in the past referring to a moonlight and I think it’s relaxing and romantic to the ears so why not make it the name of my coffee shop and let this be the music played inside. So, I opened my bullet journal to a clean page and began using my colored gel pens, and wrote: Welcome to Nini’s Moonlight Café. Good thing bullet journals have these dots on the pages so it makes my handwriting look beautiful. 😉
After writing my coffee shop sign I began putting on the dessert stickers one by one beside each other leaving a small space in between just like what I see on coffee shops. I stared at each cute and yummy-looking sticker for a few seconds then unconsciously I started writing down their names. I looked at the colors, tiny details, shapes, and other interesting content and came up with my invention of desserts and pastry names! Here’s an example: Strawberry Rose Petal Bubble Gum Cake. After writing it down, I thought to myself, Would I even eat it? It sounds a bit gross but I kept writing and found myself creating weird and fun names of cakes and pastries that I guess no one has ever heard of before.
I noticed that as I went along enjoying the stickers and writing their names it’s like it’s giving back that energy and creative juices in my head that I needed in writing. I was like in a eureka moment when I feel like my brain is wired in different directions trying to create a unique name for each of my coffee shop cakes or pastry. I was having fun and then the thought came to me that doing this kind of activity helps a writer to be creative and stay creative. Especially those who are into creative writing. When you feel like it’s so hard to describe what your character looks like this creative and cute exercise could help you. Creating names for these cakes boosted my creativity level and stretched my brain to think uniquely and out of the box. I think this will also help eliminate writer’s block.
Who knows, maybe when my coffee shop becomes a reality these might be the names that you’ll see listed on the menu. For now, I’ll enjoy what’s on my bullet journal and I’ll continue doing this cute discovery of mine especially whenever I don’t feel creative in my writing. Meanwhile, let me take a bite on my Big Brave Chocolate Banana Bun. Mmm.. mmm…
Your writing doesn’t have to be dull or boring. Stationery stickers can help you find the right words to say. All you need is a cute sticker and you’re good to go.
P.S. This technique that I discovered doesn’t just work on dessert stationery stickers but you can also get creative on different sticker designs. Feel free to explore and tell me in the comments what sticker you’re working on!