DIGGING UP BONES, A WRITER’S QUEST

Okay, so I’ve got Microsoft word ready to go and I’ve set a timer for twenty minutes, now I sit down to write non-stop until the timer goes off, maybe longer than that.  This is called Freewriting, or writing practice as Natalie Goldberg calls it in her book, Writing Down the Bones, and it’s become my salvation, the end of writer’s block, hopefully forever.

The point of Freewriting is to write non-stop for a set period, without editing, and without caring about spelling and punctuation, I will edit before posting however, and to let words flow freely to the page.  I have become addicted to Freewriting and do it at least three times a day, most days it’s closer to six times.  Depending on how I’m feeling, sometimes I’ll set an alarm for twenty minutes, other times just ten, but I am faithful to the process regardless of the time I spend doing it.

When I sit down to write, I never know where my mind is going to go, and that mystery is part of the excitement of Freewriting.  I’ll be honest with you, not everything I write in the allotted time is fit for publication but it always supplies an idea worth developing the next time.  After three or four rounds, I’ve usually developed my idea enough that I can sit down without a timer and start writing a story.  I have a few stories on the go as I write this but I continue to put them on hold to do my Freewriting. 

I have a free writing journal now, and I add the date and time of my writing practice, when I’m stuck for writing ideas, I read through the journal and start freewriting from one of the entries in it and it becomes a fun writing cycle. 

I can’t help but think that it would be a valuable tool for students as well.  Wouldn’t it be great if instead of telling kids to write about their summer holiday, the teacher would encourage the student to write freely for fifteen minutes, unconcerned about spelling, punctuation or subject, and after which, would use the student’s writing in a grammar lesson by encouraging the student to edit their own work.  Call me an idealist but I think this would be an enriching experience for students and would cultivate a love of reading and writing among a younger generation that for now lives for video games.

Thank you, Natalie Goldberg, for getting me started in this.  If you are an aspiring writer or would like to learn to spill your feelings out in a journal, I would definitely recommend, Writing Down The Bones, by Natalie Goldberg, and I would definitely recommend Freewriting/Writing Practice.

Out With The Block, In With The Flow

For as long as I can remember, I’ve always had pen and paper in hand, and a passion for writing.  From the moment I learned the art of composition, I’d say it was probably circa grade one, I fell in love with the concept of living through my imagination, and that for me is exactly what writing is.  My ability to imagine has diminished over the years but I’ve always managed to save some, and somehow it usually kicks in when I want to write.  Usually, but not always.

Like any other writer, I have periods where writing is a challenge, writer’s block if you want to call it that, and those periods are very frustrating for me because I tend to get worked up over them and my mood starts to change.  I’ve been experiencing that a lot lately, so much so that I’ve decided it was time to take a good look at it and to figure out a way to deal with it once and for all.  To do this, I needed a tool and the best tool I found, one that was gifted to me by my depression, is CBT, or Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.

CBT is about changing your thoughts and behaviors by assessing them, challenging them, and then replacing them with more empowering ones.  It is a therapy of choice for addressing mental health issues as well as some physical health issues, but I’ve learned that it has so many more applications in my life and to paraphrase the commercial, I put that s*** on everything.

What I discovered through the CBT process was that my block had a psychological basis to it, I felt that I needed to write a perfect story or blog post at first try, that I needed to be dazzling and brilliant, and that failure to do so indicated my failure as a writer, no wonder I got so messed up when I couldn’t produce.  I had to convince myself of the truth that most writers need multiple drafts before they get things right, that rewriting was not a failure but a necessity, and that the goal of a good writer is not to be brilliant and dazzling but to be entertaining. To assert these truths, I read writing books, lots and lots of writing books and biographies, and although I still struggle with writing sometimes, all I need is a quick dose of reality and the creative juices start to flow.

I would highly recommend Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to anyone who is facing any kind of crisis, whether it be physical, psychological, or even motivational.  While the internet is a valuable source of information on CBT, I would highly recommend consulting a CBT Therapist for more severe problems.  There is no shame in admitting defeat or asking for help, the true shame is in continuing to struggle on your own.

Love you all!

Luc