I have been away from this blog for a while.  Unintentionally, but last semester’s grad class took up a great deal of time and this semester’s class promises to do the same.  But I will finish in May.  Life is good.

This semester I am writing my thesis and as I prepared to write this work last semester, I noticed some things about my personal writing process.

I can’t afford writer’s block.  I don’t have the time to not produce because I have deadlines to meet.  But there are those days when the writing is slow going, if not non-existent and I need ways to work through these non-productive days.  Here are some things I’ve learned and/or tried that keep me writing.

1.  Keeping a regular journal/daybook helps to at least get the creative juices flowing.  I do 20-minute Quick Writes.  Sometimes I give myself a topic, other times I just free write.  The 20-minute pieces often spark writing for another time.

2.  I learned from Chinese Watercolor that you need to have two or more pieces going at the same time.  In the case of the watercolor, most mistakes are irreversable:  a blob of black ink in the middle of a landscape cannot be disguised.  So, multiple copies of the same piece make the mistake less painful.  For writing, I do not necessary work on multiple copies of the same piece, but I do have another piece going.  It may be in the same genre or in a different one.  The important thing is to have another piece to focus on.  In the process of focusing, the brain is allowed to rest and contemplate on the other piece and when I go back to the first piece, I always have something new to add.

3.  I have an on-going art project while I am writing.  The art project could be knitting or crocheting or currently I am working on some mixed media original creations.  The important thing is to have an art project that is going to produce observable results from even 10 or 15 minutes of working.  The creative juices flow and I get instant gratification, something that the writing doesn’t always give.  The combination of the writing and the art keeps my creative side engaged.

4.  Reading.  Reading is a necessary component of writing.  Some people view it as a distraction or goofing off.  I find that when I’m reading, I’m also paying attention to the writing style and choices of the author as well as the content.  Reading may sparking some writing, such as a response or an original piece on a related topic.  For example, I am reading Thoreau’s Walden.  I immediately notice that the things that drew me to Thoreau in my teens and twenties do not captivate me in my fifties.  So, I am writing reaction pieces for a work that I am calling, On Re-reading Walden.  Whether this turns inot a publishable piece or not, it does capture for myself my thoughts and ideas that may show up in other tangentially related work at another time.

5.  Writing on my writing process.  Sometimes writing about how I write lets me see areas that I could improve or areas that used to work for me but no longer do.  It also reminds me that my writing process is an evolutionary one, so there are no rules.

6.  Editing and revising while I write.  Editing and revising take different skills.  Editing a piece in progress often leads to breakthroughs.  Revisions may do the same.  I keep copies of everything, as well as a document called Cut Material from _______.   If I cut it, I can always put it back (I record the date and the page from which the material was cut.)  So far, I have not put any cut material back but I have considered it.

That’s all for now.  I’m sure if I thought about it, I could come up with a list of 10.  That type of list would be publishable.  Something to think about when I need to start a new piece!