Freewrite

the importance of being lazy

Alright. *Intellectual side off* Here we go:

so this weekend i had a little bit of a breakthrough regarding writing habits, because we should all know by now that my habits are terrible, but more so i'm terrible at changing them, i just tend to assume that i can only write successfully the way i've been writing because hey, i seem to be producing pretty good stuff so it must be working, right? wrong. or, maybe some of its wrong. but the point is i psyche myself out more than i should when i don't really need to. anyway, i discovered this book by janet burroway called writing fiction (oh hey look an excerpt just for you!) which remind me that i really ought to read more metawriting / writing about writing / writers geek heaven resources when i have the time, but this book had a chapter -- the beginning chapter actualy -- that talks about what has always been the hardest part for me in writing which is simply how in gosh darn's name do i start the damn thing?? by now you should kno that i'm someone who is perfectionist i hate putting anything on paper that isn't bperfect not just in terms of proofreading (ah now you know why i didn't spellcheck here) but int its content effect language WORDING holy crap that beginning has GOT to be the hook that draws people in and every line after that must work smoother than butter on warm toast (shit where did that anology come from? corn central) plus i am a student working with deadlines sooo not a moment can be wasted, so i think. full day of complete concentration must be applied to the production of this story and yes of course as a writer writing should be THAT dedicated, that meticulous, but i stress myself out to the point where i stare at the computer screen that intimidating white page glaring at me and can't put down anything for the sheer fear of it. FREEWRITEmy teachers say IT'S LIKE A MUSICIAN WAMRING UP WITH SCALES hey don't pul the musician one on me i AM a musician so i know this but musicianship and writing are two very diffrent things, in music THE PIECE IS THERE, it's RIGHT THERE in front of you, now you just have to interpret, whereas the book is not written nothing exists until you put down each and every word. ugh sorry i'm getting carried away. anyways those are usually my stubborn responses, but reading janet burroway is the first time i've heard the freewrite advice and actually decided to apply it. because freewrite emma might very werll seem like a waste of time to you but trust me, in the long run, it'll relieve that awful headache of staring at a blank screen, the dread of STARTING. so let your start be ugly YES FREAKING UGLY nobody ever has to see it but you, it can mean nothing, or it can be a dialogue with yourself about your work, for example two boys on road-trip (to where??? maybe fishing -- maybe their grandfather(?) or uncle always took them fishing?) I don’t know too much about fishing so what’s something I can do instead . . . camping? . . . you see? you just avoided an obstacle before you got to it, and you did it in an ugly fashion, and it saved you time and stress in the longrun. or even if its not about your story and you're only complaining about intimadating teachers or how much this writing process is absolutely awful the point is to write SOMETHING, just DO IT, even if its only function is to be lazy about a blog post during finals. :)

Grace and peace to you.