Monday, February 7, 2011

Writing Exercises

The title isn't referring to physical fitness, though I think that I could do more of that to improve my writing too. [A recent article in the Globe and Mail reminds me that staying active boosts the brain.]

It's about getting back to basics and well, just writing. A long time ago, I was advised to sit down and write for a few minutes every day, without taking my pen from the paper. About anything. It's been a long time since I've done that. I get caught up in novel editing, fussing with my plot, critiquing other people's writing, or working on blog posts. I forget that what my writing needs is some freedom to meander and go where it takes me. Not following a plot outline. Not fitting in to what I need for my novel. Not worrying about whether I can use it later.

Five minutes a day of writing play can easily fit into my schedule. So, I'm going to start. Today.

How about you. Do you ever just play with words or free write?

4 comments:

  1. That's the premise of Julia Cameron's morning pages, from the Artist's Way. It's a wonderful practice. I think I need to get back to it, too :)

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  2. Not really, my free writing suspiciously looks like the next paragraph in my novel.

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  3. *grin* Free writing is how I write. I've tried plotting, but it's never worked for me. Free writing lets me feel the joy of just being in the story. :D

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  4. I did writing exercises for my first time at the conference and OMG! I was awful. It was really hard for me to write about random things that I didn't have a specific purpose to. I guess I am maybe a little too focused and driven!

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