Writer Uninterrupted

Sometimes we hit a point wherein the words we type taste stale – just the same ole, same ole. One way to call forth the muse is by taking our writing to different surroundings, as mentioned on Feb. 8th. Another method involves putting pen to paper for 10 or 15 uninterrupted minutes.

That’s called stream-of-consciousness writing (SOC), the purpose of which is to keep writing, nonstop, until your inner editor shuts up, at which point fresh material begins bubbling up.

Writing nonstop (and I mean moving your pen constantly) for 10 minutes feels awkward at best. You start with a “seed” phrase or sentence and just keep writing. Before long, you’ll feel you’ve said all you can. But you’ve got to keep that pen moving!

When that happens, you may have to resort to something like “This is the dumbest thing I’ve ever made myself do. Why ...” and so forth. That’s OK. Your pen is still moving. But your literary angel will quickly become disgusted with the mindless blather and leave, which is the point.

Soon thereafter, you will return to writing on a topic – maybe the one you began with, maybe not, laying down new, uncensored thoughts. Untidy sentences and phrases replace the neatly structured prose at the start of the exercise. The words may flow until the timer goes off and beyond or not. Either way, keep laying down ink until your time is up.

You may get restless and think the stupid timer will never go off! But practice helps. Try a SOC writing period once a day for a week, and chances are you’ll look forward to that moment when the Wicked Editor Within wanders off and lets you get on with creating.

~ Linda