How, and when, I write
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An email from a friend of mine - who’s also a budding writer - prompted a quick look at how, and when, I write. Here’s how it breaks down.
My writing takes place in two distinct phases. In the first of these, ideas - for any form of writing - are noted. It’s a simple list and there’s no filtration at this point. An idea appears and is written down. This process is repeated until the input begins to slow.
The second phase is the day-to-day carnification of these ideas.
Benefits of this process
The most notable outcome of this process is that I manage to avoid writer’s block. If anything, there are more ideas written down than I am able to ‘flesh out’ in any one session.
Looking at this another way, there are always plenty of ideas ready to be worked into a full piece. I never run out.
The ‘idea listing’ phase
As with anyone, there are times when I feel more awake - more creative - than others. Whenever I feel like this, I grab the nearest pen+paper and jot down my ideas. No details yet - just a single line for each idea.
This sheet of paper (or a file on my laptop, if I’m inspired at the right time) ends up in a set place; ready for a future writing session. This may be in hours, days or weeks - it really doesn’t matter.
I mentioned above that I stop doing this whenever the flow of inspiration begins to slow. There are generally at least 20-30 ideas before this time; enough to last a couple of weeks.
The ‘day-to-day writing’ phase
This is the fun part, and it feels as if someone has already done the preliminary work for me.
Following the usual morning routine (exercise, shower etc) I grab a coffee and sit down to work. In front of me is the list of ideas; which usually contains far more than I could hope to flesh out in a single session. I select one that still feels like a good idea.
This selection process is perhaps easier than it sounds. It’s always easier to choose from a handful of options than a seemingly limitless range of ideas. This choice only takes a matter of 10-20 seconds.
Once the choice is made, the heading is rewritten in exceedingly obvious language. This will be changed once the article is finished, but it’s easier to work with ‘10 ways to achieve…’ than something vague like ‘always be your best’.
This new heading usually leads to a few minor headings. These are written down, and in turn lead to a few bulleted lists. These are filled out as appropriate for the format (article, play, novel) in question.
How long does a session last?
I write 7 days per week, but only in 2-hour sessions. Between these I relax in a number of ways (anything from lifting weights to wandering around a museum or gallery). Each session may begin by continuing the work from the previous session, or by dipping back into the ‘ideas list’. I am usually working on several pieces at once.
Overall, this process works well for me. Still, I’m always looking to improve things - what’s your own writing behaviour like?
© 2006 - 2007 Scott Andrew Bird.
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See also:
- Hypnotic copywriting
- The year of content creation
- What are you doing when...
- What happens to your writing after you're dead?
- From text editors to word processors
