by Shannon Anderson
As writers we are inspired by conversations we overhear, the play of light on a lake that reminds us of our childhood, the people in our lives. Anything can inspire us to write, but what do we do once inspiration strikes? Red Smith, American sports columnist and Pulitzer Prize winner, thought writing was hard work. He said, “Writing is easy, you just sit down at a typewriter, open up a vein, and bleed it out drop by drop.” I know exactly what he means. The initial phase of composing, of meeting my muse on paper is—if I handle it well—a touchy, right-brained activity rife with moments of inspiration, thoughts flitting hither and yon as my brain tries to capture them and make sense of them on the page. Even when the writing comes easily, however, writing what we really mean is hard work. Laying the foundation for the work of writing is important, and the following five steps are what I use to capture my muse. I hope they help you. Let me know if they do.
As writers we are inspired by conversations we overhear, the play of light on a lake that reminds us of our childhood, the people in our lives. Anything can inspire us to write, but what do we do once inspiration strikes? Red Smith, American sports columnist and Pulitzer Prize winner, thought writing was hard work. He said, “Writing is easy, you just sit down at a typewriter, open up a vein, and bleed it out drop by drop.” I know exactly what he means. The initial phase of composing, of meeting my muse on paper is—if I handle it well—a touchy, right-brained activity rife with moments of inspiration, thoughts flitting hither and yon as my brain tries to capture them and make sense of them on the page. Even when the writing comes easily, however, writing what we really mean is hard work. Laying the foundation for the work of writing is important, and the following five steps are what I use to capture my muse. I hope they help you. Let me know if they do.
- Put your rear end in the chair and write! Seems obvious doesn’t it, but how often have we put off until the last minute a project we must do? Make the commitment to write. You’ll never know how good you can be unless you do. Often we have wonderful ideas that would make great stories if we ever started them or finished them (finishing is my own personal demon). Whatever your own writing obstacle is, commit yourself to overcoming it. Schedule writing time into your day, and write, write, write!
- Set up a particular place and time to write. It doesn’t have to be fancy, but it does have to be yours, a place into which no one else can intrude. Mine is a desk on the landing at my house with my computer and an artsy red lamp with bright flowers painted on the base. A window provides daylight which keeps the spot cheery, but I can’t see out of it. Not having a view allows me to see only what is in my head, not distractions out my window. I find if I go there at roughly the same time each day, my muse is sometimes there waiting for me. Oh happy times!
- Turn off your inner editor—at least for the first draft. Especially you grammar geeks like me. It’s okay to misspell words, leave out commas, write sloppy, convoluted sentences in your first draft. Correctness is not important now. Letting yourself write freely is important. This is the time to find the spark that will ignite your project and burn brightest as you fan the flame with revision. If you are too hard on yourself, editing every word you put down, you’ll extinguish that spark rather than gently blowing it into a fire that will burn brightly in a polished draft later on.
- Set goals to accomplish for your writing. Even if your first goal is to write for five minutes nonstop, setting that goal and accomplishing it will increase your confidence for your next writing session. Pretty soon you’ll have a regular schedule for your writing. I follow a pretty hard and fast rule for my writing time. I write 500 words each day on an average day. I don’t always reach that goal; sometimes I go beyond it writing closer to 1000 words at a sitting. The number of words depends on how well the writing is coming. Other times life gets in the way, and I don’t write even one word, but I don’t beat myself up about it. I get back on track because the longer I stay away from writing, the harder it is to pick it back up with the same intensity.
- Revise at will after you complete your first draft. If I’m working on a long project or if I’ve been away from my writing for a time, I will often begin my writing time with rereading what I’ve written to reacquaint myself with what I’ve already said. Rereading often leads to rewriting what I’ve written before. I try to follow where my thoughts lead in the first draft, but often my thoughts were not clearly composed. How could they be? They were part of an immense moment of bonding with my muse, a right brained activity usually not guided by logic or clarity. At that point I clarify by adding text to make my meaning clearer, deleting nonsense, taking notes about what I need to add. Sometimes, however, I change the draft entirely adding paragraphs of text and sometimes deleting others. It’s so important that we allow ourselves the option of revision. Don’t be afraid of revision, of seeing your words in a new light, of taking the time to rethink what you wrote and make it better. Revision is liberating. It allows writers to see anew our skills as writers, to set our thoughts free in the most nimble and spare language possible. We know when we get it right. The spark we recognized early on that kept us writing, grows into the flame that glows so brightly it lights the way to our next inspiration.
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