Writing is hard. Be easier on yourself.
I’ve been there; sitting down with a blank document or journal page, timer ready to go. As a mom, I rarely have moments to myself, so it’s really important that I dedicate my full attention to my writing time. Yet nothing is happening. It’s like all of a sudden my mind has gone blank, even through ideas and dialogue and poignant phrases have seemingly bombarded me all day long. How is that even possible?!
I’m sure you have been there; otherwise, why would you be seeking out tips for writing? I’d like to share with you my tips and techniques that I use before, during, and after every precious writing session I have.
Meditate
I have recently discovered the holistic benefits of meditation, and its effects have certainly reached my writing sessions. Before I sit down at my computer, or even with my journal early in the morning, I spend at least 10 minutes of meditation. I highly recommend using guided meditation when you are first starting out. It will become easier over time, and then you can slip into the mindful state where you can easily dismiss overcrowded thoughts and welcome the creative ones.
Brain Dump or Journal
After meditating, I like to start every writing session with a brain dump. It can be stream of consciousness, a rant about what I’m worried about that day, or a grocery list. The point of this exercise is just to release those pent up thoughts that are perhaps lingering after meditating, and give them the space that they are seeking so that you can move on. I try not to read back over what I first started writing (but sometimes it happens) so that I can keep up the momentum.
Music or Ambience
In such a small space, it can be hard to carve out a quiet space. I use headphones and ambience music (depending on what I’m writing) to help shut out the noises of a family life. I also highly recommend curating your own playlist, especially if you’re writing a fiction novel, that helps set the mood of the novel or the scene that you are trying to write.
Timer
So important. It’s easy to get sidetracked by other tasks, so by setting a timer, I’m limiting my precious writing time to really focus on the task at hand (and I truly love writing, so I want to squeeze as much fun out of it as I possibly can). You can set it for any time that you have allowed yourself, but I suggest starting at 15-30 minutes to allow yourself enough time to dump out your thoughts and get started on the heavier writing.
Show the window
Still stuck? One of the greatest tips I’ve read comes from Anne Lamott in her book Bird by Bird; she suggests sitting down and just showing a one -inch square of what you’re trying to show. Is the scene a confrontation between two characters? Don’t try to get bogged down by the details of what they’re wearing, what the room looks like, the years of history behind them. Just give a summary about what the fight is about– start there, building out lines of dialogue, expressions, etc. Trust me, this is enough to get the momentum going, and I often find myself jumping at the sound of the timer because I was so lost in writing.
Walk Away
This is, honestly, the hardest technique to get right. When that timer goes off, finish your thought — and only that one thought — save the document, close the tab, shut the laptop if you have to, and walk away. Leave that writing session where you left it, don’t go back and read anything, until your next writing session. Setting these boundaries have really helped me deal with those pesky ‘Imposter Syndrome’ thoughts that ran rampant after reading back what I wrote and gradually getting more and more depressed — maybe I wasn’t really a writer. But that’s simply not true. A writer isn’t someone who’s published or has a bestselling novel; a writer is someone who sits down and does the impossible task of converting our 3D, sensory filled reality into a black and white combination of 26 letters (or however many letters are in the language being written) and sprinkling punctuation throughout. Doesn’t that seem crazy hard and borderline impossible? But you do, have done it, and will continue to do so, so give yourself that mercy and know that of course writing isn’t an easy task, but it can be done.