Do you wish you could write easily?
In this post, Writing Fiction: 5 Tips To Develop A Stress-Free Process, we looked at ways to make writing relaxing and fun.
That said, be prepared to accept a few minutes of stress when you sit down to write. This video, Change Your Brain: Neuroscientist Dr. Andrew Huberman, explains that stress happens whenever you try to access your creativity. It’s the price of entry; thankfully, this angst is time-limited.
If you want to write easily, realize your brain fights you at first
In my early years as a writer, I’d sit at my typewriter with tears running down my face. I wanted so badly to write, but doing it terrified me. I thought there was something wrong with me.
Refusing to run away, I forced myself to sit. It took a few minutes (from five to eleven minutes), but if I SAT, I seemed to tune in to my creativity. Suddenly, the stress vanished and I could write easily.
Your challenge during those minutes is to put up with them. That’s all. The door to your creativity will open, and you’ll forget the anxiety, until the next time.
Let’s look at some tips to help you to write more easily, beginning with my favorite “jump in!” process.
1. Don’t give yourself time to think: “jump in!”
I’ve found that I can avoid the horrid anxiety-making initial minutes if I just do it, as Nike says. This is a variation of the five-second rule popularized by author Mel Robbins, and it works—DO NOT give yourself time to think.
Easier said than done, of course. When you have “write scene 16” on your To-Do list for the day, it’s at the back of your mind. Anxiety lurks there.
The jump-in method works best if I busy myself doing something, without thinking about scene 16. Perhaps it’s writing-related: sorting out research notes, etc., although it may not be. As soon as I think about scene 16, I race to my computer and START. Speed is the key, and don’t be fussy: write whatever occurs to you, about anything.
Ignore your inner perfectionist.
2. Eliminate expectations: be strict with yourself
Often we’re unaware of our inner perfectionist. It’s a beast that can kill your writing. Try repeating “I write rubbish, and I’m proud of it” or similar, if you’re plagued by this demon.
Try journaling about perfectionism. How does it manifest for you? For a few weeks, I began each writing session with this sentence: “This will be rubbish: so what?” It helped.
Remember that the key is to get something onto paper or your computer screen. Fix it later.
Do you like doodling? Although I’m a woeful artist, my stick-figure storyboards help me to write without stress.
3. Try storyboarding: images help you to access your creativity
A storyboard is a visual representation of the elements of your project, in little sketches.
The benefit of storyboarding is that it allows you to organize your story, speed up your writing time, identify roadblocks, check the pacing in your novel, and rearrange scenes.
When writing fiction, I lay out my main and peripheral characters in a graphic for each one. I use colored pencils for hair and eye color… In addition, I create an icon for that character’s basic attribute: a character may be sunny (sun), angry (lighting bolt), inquisitive (a question mark), etc.
For nonfiction books, I sketch little scenes, whatever images come to mind so that I’m telling a story.
Try storyboarding if the concept appeals to you. And again, remember, you don’t have to be an artist; they’re doodles.
4. Read some of your previous day’s writing session aloud
I’m a big fan of reading aloud; it helps you to get back into the flow of the project. Edit minimally: correct typos if they irritate you, but don’t edit; keep creating new words; momentum is vital.
As soon as you know what you want to say next, start that day’s writing session. When you get stuck, check your storyboard.
If you hope to write easily, experiment
Always be open to experimentation whenever you get stuck. Everyone’s brain works differently.
Writing in a non-linear fashion, as Diana Gabaldon does, may work for you if you get bored easily. The key is to write whatever scene carries an emotional charge for you, even if it’s the closing scene.
Your writing shouldn’t be a struggle beyond the first few minutes; experiment until you find yourself not only having fun, but creative too. Write on. 🙂
