Last week, a friend asked me to share some suggestions on writing. And I said, "HUH?!"
What do I know about writing? To my great sadness, I've never studied writing. Or literature. Or composition. At least, I don't think I have. I've just liked to write. I've liked, loved!, words; loved putting them together, loved using them to create worlds and ideas and stories. So, in my off hours (my patients say all my hours are 'off' hours), I've sat and written. Always thought of it as a hobby. Always, almost, found it a fun diversion from life and responsibilities.
So, I told my friend, I don't know anything to share about writing. Not really. He said, "That's nonsense. You've just never intentionally thought about what you know, and what you do. Stop being lazy; do some thinking, and share what comes to your mind."
Then he made me promise. That was not nice, 'cause I do have this sick attitude that I ought to keep my promises. Therefore, I sat. I thought. My initial thoughts can't be described, unless you simply sit and listen to the sound of nothing for an hour.
But finally, my mind gave up some memories. Here's one.
If I want to write a story, I have to get excited about it. A story without excitement drips with dullness; you can actually feel the dullness in the words. If I'm feeling dull, and I start to write, I'll give myself about four minutes. And twenty seven seconds. If the dullness doesn't lift by then, I get up and walk away. When that happens, and it does happen, I make a promise to myself to come back to the story within twelve hours and try again. Or, I get up from the keyboard, grab a pad of paper and a pen, and start scribbling about my dullness, about what's happened to my enthusiasm, where did it go, and what might rekindle it.
Maybe this isn't the best way to approach writing; then again, I don' t know the best ways to do the writing thing, 'cause I've not studied the writing thing. But I do know these three things: 1. this strategy has worked for me; 2. It has not always worked, because no strategy works all the time, every time; and 3. it may not work for you. The only way to find out about the latter, is to try it.
I am always telling patients: here are some suggestions to use for making changes; if they don't work, don't try to force them. Do what works. Be willing to try strategies and suggestions that feel unfamiliar and awkward. Try new things more than once. And, if it never works, change the strategy, adjust it, adapt it to meet your needs. But, mostly, do what works.
Is that a helpful suggestion? I don't know! But maybe it'll provide a different outlook and perspective, that might just be a start for somebody. Because if there's someone out there who's dying to tell her story, and is stuck in getting it down, then whatever might help is a benefit. Why? Because the world needs stories. New stories. Old stories. Your stories.
Happy writing! Hope this has been valuable. At the least, it has for me....all these words? Yeah, they helped me keep my promise to my friend. Now if I can just learn not to make him any more crazy promises.
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