How Time Travel Helps You Write More

Hope’s Hacks
(some ways to break up that writer’s block)

This month’s cure: Time Travel  

What the cure is: Going to historical villages, attending medieval faires, and other historical events   

Why the cure will help: For some reason, going to a historical-themed village/play/event can kindle a creative spark. Maybe seeing actors trying their best imitations of Renaissance slang or watching a good Old-Fashioned joust can not only give you a fun activity for the day, but it can help give you the push needed for your manuscript.

Historical Villages: We have one by our house set in the mid-1700s, but these villages can range in time periods. Actors will guide you through what it’s like to live during that era and help you become a part of it.

Medieval/Renaissance Faires: Want to meet the Queen of England, witness an excellent joust, and hear actors perform commedia dell’arte? Odds are your country, or state, might have an event set in the good ol’ time frame right after that nasty plague swept Europe. Go for a great time, excellent food, and fantastic items from gift shop vendors and glassblowers.

Historical Plays: From murder mystery theater to musicals from other eras (Oklahoma! for instance), immerse yourself in another time for just two hours of your time. Local theaters often perform toward the end of summer, so you still have a chance to catch one of these performances.

Hope Bolinger is a literary agent at C.Y.L.E. and a recent graduate of Taylor University’s professional writing program. More than 400 of her works have been featured in various publications ranging from Writer’s Digest to Keys for Kids. She has worked for various publishing companies, magazines, newspapers, and literary agencies and has edited the work of authors such as Jerry B. Jenkins and Michelle Medlock Adams. Her column “Hope’s Hacks,” tips and tricks to avoid writer’s block, reaches 6,000+ readers weekly and is featured monthly on Cyle Young’s blog, which receives 63,000+ monthly hits. She is excited that her modern-day Daniel “Blaze” released in June with IlluminateYA (an imprint of Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas) and they contracted the sequel “Den” (July 2020). She enjoys all things theater, cats, and fire. You can find more about her at www.hopebolinger.com