Off to a Terrible Start. Now What?

Well, that certainly didn’t take long.  Just three days into my month of writing every day and already I’m operating at only 66%.  In a classic example of false starts, I had a great first day of writing: I really enjoyed the process and the progress of sitting down to write, I left feeling energized and excited for the month to come.  Then, the next day, I just forgot.  I wasn’t particularly busy, sick or tired; I just didn’t write.  So it is that I reach another obstacle on the road to consistent writing:  false starts.

I think, “I’m not doing it well, so I may as well not do it at all.”

Then, I think, “No one is reading the blog anyway.  Who’s to know?  I could delete it and none would be the wiser.”

Then, I think, “There are better ways I could be spending my time.  How narcissistic is it to commit to writing every day for the sake of my own writing?”

So, now what?  I do, of course, have full freedom to stop.  I cannot convince myself that this blog will ever turn into a Julie and Julia story or that the posts will someday be compiled into an award-winning book on writing (penned by the then world-famous author I hope to be).  The reality remains that this blog is primarily for my own purposes, my own benefit, and is driven solely by my own grit.

Therefore, in order to overcome my false start (known heretofore as the first hiccup in my wildly successful venture) I returned to an age-old habit when forcing myself to write:  I read what I’ve written.  This is another method of combating Writer’s Block that I should have mentioned in my previous post:  If you’re stuck, go back and read what you’ve written before.  Reading other people’s words can be helpful, but I have found that approach to be risky.  If I begin to read a work by an author with a very different written voice than my own, that other author’s voice can drown out my own feeble whisper that I am attempting to nurture.  Reading my own work, even the cruddy stuff, reminds me why I write, that I do sometimes have good, original thoughts and perhaps even returns me to that point at which I last left off, inviting me to move forward.

Today’s project:  To reread a bit of my own work (namely, the first couple chapters of my novel) without editing and adding at least a “one inch by one inch” paragraph at the end.

In the Beginning…

Here we are.  Day 1 of 31.

It seems appropriate on my first day of a new month dedicated to the development of my passion for writing that I talk about why I do not write.  My sister, a painter, says that one of her absolute favorite things in this world is a blank canvas.  So open, so virgin, so full of promise.  I, on the other hand, am absolutely paralyzed by a blank page.  Give me a bit of weak prose to work with and I will hit the ground running, but a blank page?  A sense of inertia settles in my gut and my fingers agitate the keyboard while I stare off into the distance.  Eventually, I feel guilty about doing nothing at all and I walk away.

Still, I do have a few tricks I can share that sometimes rescue me from vacant spaces:

1.  Stream of Consciousness:  This is a well-known exercise that we all loved to hate in middle school.  Truth be told, stream of consciousness will not often (or ever) produce great works of literature, but it can and will bridge the gap between Not Writing and Writing.  Simple as it sounds, one of the greatest barriers I must overcome when I sit down to write is my deep loathing of bad writing.  I know what good literature sounds like and ninety percent of what I put out ain’t it.  So what?  Start typing.  (I should stress that according to Anne Lamott and Annie Dillard and – I am sure – many other authors, this approach is NOT a lowering of standards, but a submission to the natural process of writing.  You can edit later.  For now, just write.)

2.  Take a Walk:  A newly discovered trick of mine when I find that I CANNOT write is to not write at all.  A brisk walk, particularly in an area where I can run into other people, has proven a great tool  for ripening and innervating my creative thinking.  Other good writing stimulants are listening to classical music (or soundtracks), dancing, or people-watching at music venues.  Things that do NOT encourage me to write are watching television, reading, or taking a long, hot bath.  Obviously, everyone will be different in this respect, so it’s important to experiment and note those activities which press you to write.  The point is, once you’ve done something else for a few minutes, RETURN TO WRITING to test the results.  Still got nothing?  Try something else, then return.

3.  Intentional Routines: As a new goal this year, I plan to set time limits during which I MUST write.  If I cannot produce anything, then I will try one of my “Writing Stimulants” mentioned above and then return.  Some authors recommend writing at the same time every day, some say only that you should have a place where you always go to write.  This is another area where you have the freedom to experiment and find what you need.  The goal of these writing periods will not be to produce a certain quantity or even to produce great quality, but simply to produce.

I will continue to share suggestions for consistent production as I discover them this month.  I strongly recommend reading those works by your favorite authors where they talk about the process of writing.  Many, many authors publish on this topic and each has a slightly different take on how to approach it.

Thanks for reading and please share your ideas on overcoming Writer’s Paralysis!

Till Next Time,

TrialnErr0r