AUTHOR’S GAB, READER TALK.
A LETTER TO YOU, THE READER, SO THAT YOU CAN FINALLY FIGURE OUT WHAT I’M THINKING.
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THIS MONTH: Starting at Step One (Prewriting)
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“I stand on this white cloud of paper, pen poised at the ready. Nothing happens. Insecurity overwhelms me and inspiration fails me. What am I doing here on this lonely cloud? Damn fear; although, I am not scared of the infinity of whiteness in front of me. I want to scream. This is not happening to me, as I stare at this cold, desolate page. I am avid for ideas and I consume the words in front of me; and yet, I am a lost puppy searching for the home of its master. Why do some people have to be so critical anyways when they scribble their imagination? It’s imagination, so what’s there to fear? No one forces me into the unknown. I don’t care; I dive.”
-me, your author, writing about my bad case of writer’s block at Interlochen Fine Arts Camp in 2005
Dear Reader(s),
There is one basic principle about doing any task everybody has to deal with: you have to start somewhere. Procrastinators are famous for dodging this minor but important tidbit; workaholics are probably famous for overusing it. But, any way you hash it, in any situation, nothing is going to get done unless you find some way to just do it, and the writing process isn’t any different. As Christopher Plummer and Julie Andrews once famously sang in “The Sound of Music”, “Nothing comes from nothing; nothing ever could.” So, someway and somehow, all writers need to just find time to sit down, generate ideas and just start writing. Perhaps I don’t stress this topic often enough (likely to my folly), but this is the basics; this is step one, folks. So, how do you get started (and avoid the ever-evil writer’s block/getting stumped)??? There are millions of resources which go into this in detail, but here are three strategies I usually find useful:
- 1) Free-writing
The idea behind free-writing is to release your inhibitions by putting pen to page or fingers to keyboard in a nonstop fashion—literally. Thus, because it can technically go on forever, it’s always a good idea to set yourself a time limit for your free-write, like five minutes, an hour, two hours, and so on. Once you have decided on your allotted time, get your pen and paper ready or open up Microsoft Word, poise yourself and watch the time. For me, I always count down the seconds on my watch until the exact minute I mean to begin, which I write, with the date, at the top of the page. This step is important, because what follows is nothing short of fury.
With the silent whip-crack of time, just start writing/typing. IMPORTANT NOTE HERE: WHATEVER YOU DO, DO NOT STOP WRITING/TYPING UNTIL YOU HAVE REACHED THE END OF YOUR ALLOTTED TIME!!!!!!! This means no potty breaks, no pauses to think and DEFINITELY no going back to edit anything. Whatever comes out is just out, spelling errors, grammar errors and freudian slips included. End of story: it’s not going to (or really is even supposed to) be/look pretty (honestly, how a friend of mine gets perfect sentences when doing their free-writes, I will never know). But, keep in mind, even when your brain screams, “OH GOD, I CAN’T POSSIBLY WRITE ONE MORE THING”, that when you’re done with this mess, when the clock strikes the appointed hour, how you will then thank yourself for it.
Finally, when the time comes, STOP. Even when you’re mid-word, mid-thought or just limping to the finish line, let yourself be done. Then, take a potty break, grab some tea (preferably Chai 😉 ) and go back and read what you wrote. I guarantee your brain will be tired and completely flushed out by this point; but, glancing back over these thoughts will act as a reminder, enabling you to extract any ideas you came up with at a later time. At this point, however, I do not recommend immediately moving on to the actual writing. Take time to process what you just wrote and then, once you have a solid idea of what you mean to say, start actually writing.
So you can see what it looks like in the end, here is an excerpt of a free-write I did in 2011:
“They remain o n the shelf, where they belong. They have served their purpose………………………………………………………………………………………………… loke a delicious cup on of chia chai does right now- I’m tired. It helps me ro gor forget that i’m tired. …………….. maybe that’s why people he hate reading: they pre perfer to live out now while it is. longing of the past does not hold true in the future. “
In this way, free-writing acts as a mental polar plunge: it’s cold and uncomfortable but gets the job done. For me, it always lets me get past any over-thinking I may be doing and helps me focus my thoughts onto the page. I may not always use the actual text of a free-write like some do, but I may use the general idea of one. And, keep in mind here, there are several ways to do a free-write. Some people like to pick a topic to write on first and others like to just write what comes to mind; whatever works best for you is acceptable here, just as long as you KEEP WRITING WITHOUT INHIBITION.
Just to get this through your head, I recommend using this exercise I had to do at Interlochen for my first free-write:
Open up Microsoft Word, following the usual steps for constructing a free-write. STAND UP and place your chair on your writing surface. Place your computer on the seat of the chair and prepare to write. When the time comes, CLOSE YOUR EYES and start typing. Follow the usual format of a free-write, but make sure you have an alarm set so you know when to stop. When you’re done, open your eyes and read what you wrote. Feel free to giggle at yourself here if you wish. 😉
- 2) Journalistic Technique: Ask the Five W’s and an H
This method hinges on the premise that ideas can be formed and refined by asking six basic questions: who, what, where, when, why and how. The concept is to write out these questions and try to answer them, either about anything in general or about a specific topic. Eventually, this forms a kind of outline of information on which you can base your writing.
For general, prewriting purposes, however, I find that attempting to answer these questions usually only works when you have a specific topic. It’s really useful for picking an idea apart and analyzing all the different aspects of it. Once you have an aspect you like, you can form a premises around that and start writing.
This is called the “journalistic” method because journalists collect data and translate it into stories using this technique. Reporters are specifically trained to formulate their interviews around these questions to get information, data and ideas out of people they are interested in getting it out of, because the answers to these questions are usually not straightforward. The idea is to get people to talk, to think and to generate good sound-bites of information.
(Lifeguards, like me, are similarly trained to ask these types of questions and avoid “yes” or “no” queries when doing a back-boarding, to prevent further injury from spinal victims nodding or shaking their head during a rescue.)
For example, you cannot answer “yes” or “no” to “How do you fix that car?” If the question was “Can you fix that car?”, you might be able to answer “yes” or “no”; but, answering in such a manner might make the asker frustrated at the latter question, because that is not what they’re asking of you. You instead might answer, “You can fix that car by changing the flat tire,” providing the asker with the information they require.
So, basically, when you’re done, it will look something like this:
Topic: Prewriting (Step One in The Writing Process)
- Who: the writer; the person who wants to write something
- Where: wherever you chose; usually a home office or coffee-shop works for me
- What: the art of coming up with good ideas for writing; a way to get started on one’s writing
- When: at whatever point in time you choose~ Usually, it’s good to pre-write when you need to start writing something.
- Why: because you need to start writing, dang it.
- How: by free-writing, by using 20 questions, by asking your grandma, ect.
I would recommend sticking to just one of these six questions for the main topic/idea for any story, but you will still need to fill in the minor details (included in the other five questions) for any piece you write. This creates the sense of a “whole” story, unless you are purposefully leaving out information for effect (and trust me, readers will notice). Focusing on many of these ideas at once, however, just creates a sense of confusion, rather than a refreshing clarity your readers will appreciate.
For this reason, it’s also a useful editing tool, a good double-check to see if your piece is truly finished, which is why I like it. No story is complete unless it goes full-circle, and there’s no way to know if it has indeed gone full-circle if you don’t know where you started. This method will always provide you with a beginning, and an end.
- 3) Observation and Research
“You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go at it with a club.”
-Jack London, American author, journalist and social activist; famous for writing “Call of the Wild”
If beginning writers believe inspiration can just pop up anywhere, experienced writers know to seek it out. The pre-writing strategy of observation and research follows this basic principle. It’s the idea that if you simply look long and hard enough, if you really seek out ideas, you will eventually find what you are looking for.
To observe for inspiration is to simply keep one’s eye out and collect information. This might entail keeping a journal or record of events and ideas, collecting newspaper clippings of interesting tidbits or just generally doing environmental scanning. Whatever you find interesting, that is what you write about. When an idea hits you, you just jot it down and come back to it later (or just write it up on the spot). This is usually the preferred method of novice writers, but can be particularly useful for just collecting data in general.
To research for ideas is to carefully collect information on a specific topic. The only difference here is that one specifically seeks out information in order to formulate a complete idea. Observation is more laid back and, thus, can be more bias. Research tends to be the objective collecting of data, unless one truly wishes to put a slant on it. This tends to be the preferred method of experienced writers.
Personally, however, while I’m more of a researcher now than an observer, I still secretly believe in my childhood notion that at. any. moment. inspiration. can. and. will. show. up. I literally don’t go anywhere without a pen (for this reason)—ever. My weapon of choice is a UniBall 7.0 mm Signo, the clicking type (because pen caps are just awfully, annoyingly cumbersome). If I run out of pens, I go get more and carefully restock the places I know I frequent most.
It’s like I told my journalism professor the other day, when he absent-mindedly asked if I had a pen:
“(Professor),” I chided, grinning, “I’m a journalist. I ALWAYS have a pen.”
Either way, the finished product will be a collection of details which, by all theory, should enable you to write something. So, if you have an article, an experience and a book on soccer, you should be able to write something on soccer. Just scan your collection of facts and opinions and put something down on paper.
(Honestly, this is why I believe the best writers are also readers, because the best writing seems to come from the most informed and experienced people. The lack thereof simply seems to cause writer’s block or just sloppy work.)
In this way, this method should provide you with a wealth of information from which to draw ideas, which is why I prefer it. This can be a way to hone your ideas; but, it’s mostly good for providing you with a decent basis from which to start writing. Use your critical-thinking cap from those ideas, and you will be all set to write something.
Because these are my techniques and not yours, I strongly encourage you to find techniques that work for you. My suggestions are only suggestions; the writing process is something that lives and breathes inside your brain, so only you have the power and the ability to harness it. As many writers will attest, everyone’s writing process is different, as are the results of that process. My writing, for example, tends to place emphasis on structure, while someone else’s writing may churn out fabulous free verse.
Once you have your own tactics to begin writing, remember to use them (particularly if you do get stumped!). Schedule in a time to start writing and just go at it. What happens from there is entirely up to you.
Think about that~
Sincerely, Your Author,
Jessica A. McLean
Other resources:
The Rose 