Before I started blogging, I used to sit in front my computer- or worse, in front of my TV, and think of my perfect beginning for my perfect story/article/book. I would turn the words in my mind, play with the sentence structure, build a paragraph only to take it apart. I swung between loving it, hating it, getting angry with it. Each and every word was important; every punctuation critical. It took months- hell- years, before I would get to the point at which I felt I had a beginning good enough to put on paper. But by that point, the rest of the writing had lost its relevance and my passion for the topic and for expressing it withered to a mere dry thought- of what, I no longer remembered.
Then, I started blogging and seemed to have a lot to write about. I was excited about writing again and freed by format and anonymity. Beginnings seemed to flow naturally- at least at first. Many times I started with one thing and ended up with another. And to my surprise- it was okay. More than okay- it was actually better, tighter, more true to what was going on in my mind.
Then I started to lose steam on blogging and soon enough, beginnings started to get difficult again. And when I found myself on the sofa again, watching some TV show with no sound, music in the background, laptop on my stretched legs, my mind at full-power focus on beginnings, I knew something had to change.
I started to observe my patterns and my writing process. Within days I had a new understanding of my writing process. I realized I actually knew exactly how to get started on the writing- I just didn’t accept it as the right thing, so I beat myself up for it. THAT is what made things most complicated- the rest was just minor tweaks to my internal thoughts about writing. Once I tweaked those few things to make it a more productive process, I was ready to head back into writing.
In case you too get stuck when you get ready to start your piece, here are a few tips that might help:
1) Know thyself: what's YOUR process? Just like no two people are exactly alike, no two writing processes are exactly alike. What is your process about? Do you wait for the inspiration to strike before you sit down to write? Do you have a set time in the day during which you write? Do you blow through the introduction and get to the meat or are you more about the ending?
Knowing your personal process is important because this knowledge can help you to identify what works for you and what doesn't. For me, inspiration comes in the most inconvenient times- such as when I'm working on a client presentation, most often in the office or just before bed time.
I also realized I get inspired after something has taken place- not during. I think it's because I need to process events in my mind and find the core of the experience- 'what just happened there?' I need to ask myself.
So I gave myself permission to be my own test subject. As a test subject, I can do no wrong- my only role is to act as I would normally while the other me, the observer, noticed my behaviors and thoughts. That’s when I realized I was waiting on the perfect beginning to form in my head before writing. I calculated that on average, I spent 30-90 minutes a day contemplating the perfect start in my mind- occupying brain cells and manufacturing wasteful electric activity.
Equipped with a new understanding, I was ready to make some changes.
2) Try to flow with your existing process. When I had an exciting idea in mind for a post, I didn’t care about the intro or the ending- there was an idea or a story to capture before the newness, excitement, and humor in it faded; before I clouded it with extra information. And so I would breeze through the intro, put down the main content, get to the end, and then go back to the intro and either delete it all together or revise it significantly. When I let myself do this, things worked out just fine. Accepting my meta process (the process of the process) freed me to focus on those tweaks I could apply to make it even more productive.
3) Think of intros as a brain dump. At least initially. Ever used a bottled lotion? The one that comes with a pump? You use it in the evening, and in the morning there's that sticky glob blocking the tip of the pump. That glob is your first intro and you must first clear the glob before fresh lotion can come out.
Here's another way to think about it: Imagine you are invited to write a great post or an article. The only condition- you must first write 1-2 pages of complete junk. It can be a stream of consciousness, a venting session, a recount of your breakfast. Whatever. Without these 1-2 pages, you're told, your piece won't even be read. Try it. You’ll be surprised just how much clearer and more insightful your actual piece is after you’ve cleared the debris from your thought process pipes.
4) Change scenery. I often find that if I only get out of the house, I do just fine. I go for a walk around my neighborhood or I check out different coffee shops where I get to enjoy new flavors of tea and spy on people. You'd be surprised how people-watching can jog your creativity and motivate your writing.
One time I managed to get myself out of the house in the very last second before it became sofa time. I went to a neighborhood Cafe and sat down- I didn't even turn on my laptop. I was going to just sit there and read a magazine. I scanned the room, and almost at full circle, my eyes stopped on the couple seated right next to me. The guy was very loud; the young woman very flirtatious. He had a nervous tick and she bit her lips as she spoke. Both had a thick Russian accent which made every sentence sound like a conspiracy in the making. Within 3-4 minutes I was booting up my computer, impatient for a new document to open and started to type in my own version of these characters and their story.
5) Workout your brain. I literally mean- workout. There’s a significant body of research that shows we tend to defer to one hemisphere of our brain when we write. But as you know, most healthy people experience life with both hemispheres. When you engage primarily one hemisphere, you cheat yourself out of a fuller experience which you could bring onto paper. So spend a few minutes every time you get ready to write and exercise your brain- all of it. For ideas on how to work out your brain try Brain gym.org*, Brain Gym: simple activities for whole brain learnings, Making the brain-body connection: a playful guide to releasing mental, physical, and emotional blocks to success, and any of the many creative writing prompts and exercise books.
6) Read. Reading other people's blogs can free your mind from the constant churn. It momentarily releases the sense of responsibility, urgency, inadequacy you might be feeling about your own writing- and many times, it's highly amusing and even helpful. I frequently visit my readers' blogs and check who they're visiting- I always find surprised new and delightful blogs out there.
7) Dance. Yup. That's right- if all else fails- dance. It's good for your body, good for your soul, it activates both brain hemispheres, increases circulation, tones your muscles, and can be a great prelude to a belly laugh- especially if you do it in front of a full length mirror wearing nothing but a cowboy hat and pink socks.
Yours truly,
Datingirl
*Unfortunately, Braingym doesn't publish free "how to." You'll need to purchase their books or instructional materials- or attend a class.
Here's the best thing I ever learned about writing:
Training guru Robert Mager (a writing Jedi) says, "First you get it down, then you get it right."
A second tip about writing: Pretend you're getting paid for it and the deadline is a couple of days away.
Posted by: Eugene | June 08, 2006 at 11:14 AM