Hey all!
So every day I show up to work, get all my "work-work" done and then procede to work on my "real work"--writing. The last few days I've really felt the creative juices flowing so I've just been able to dive right into storytelling. Sadly, the juices are now slowing down and I'm wondering if I should be doing some kind of preliminary writing before I actually jump into my story to get the flow going again.
How many of ya'll do writing exercises before you work on your material? Do you think it helps "loosen up" your thinking muscle? Do you feel like you're able to work better/more efficiently after doing writing exercises? If writing exercises aren't your thing, what other practices do you do before writing that you feel really impact how you write?
Your advice is much appreciated!!!
Thanks in advance!
Christine
I usually don't at all, but I know people who will do an exercise out of a book for fifteen minutes or so before they start. Sometimes, those exercises end up being expanded in to longer works later. I usually stop writing halfway through a sentence, so when I sit down to write again, I know how the sentence ends. That lets me get a sort of running start, even if it is only a few words, at least I know where it is going next.
I think a lot about how I construct the scene, before I write it. And then I often use what I've learned in writing poetry to enhance my scenes, just without the line breaks. I have a hard time with description, so I often look back in how I construct moment poetry to figure out how to use description well, without trying to overload the description.
I often will construct a list of action reaction units, before I do this. But the goal is to have a minimal outline for a scene, so I don't lose the discovery element. Thats assuming I'm not trying to plot out a whole book, which is what I'm doing at the moment.
I warm up for writing sometimes, but the funny thing is I don't do it by writing. There's an article here on LR somewhere that's about how to make your writing time special, and while I don't really do rituals there are things I find useful to do before I sit down to try any writing, either to get me in the mood or to clear everything from my head. I won't make my own list, because it wouldn't help YOU much... sometimes preparing for the writing by using an unrelated activity just works. You can think about what you're going to write during your prep, and as long as you make yourself do it once the preps over, you might find you enjoy the writing a whole lot more.
I warm up by doing something physical that allows me to let my mind wander. I walk the dog, hit the bag, wrestle with the kids, etc. If my mind is cluttered with 'real-world' stuff, it takes me longer to get into story mode. But writing exercises, no: I write so frigging slow that any words I get out have to go to the WIP.
Oh, wait, no, none of that is true... I just get drunk. Hemingford had it right, man!
/misses high fives, stumbles, falls asleep on floor
I put the kettle on and have a brew up, stick some decent vinyl on. Job done.
Does rum count?
I warm up by re-reading parts of my WIP, to get the voice back. But I don't write anything else before, or I'd be out of time before I got anything done.
@ big_old_dave: Exactly!
@SREAD: Of course it does, rum always counts especially with coke!
Oh how I wish there was a like or love button on this site!!! So many comments and posts here are amazingly funny to me!
For me, what works best is putting my 19 month old in for a nap, turning on some scene appropriate tunes and then sit in my fortress of solitude for 3 hours while he naps... I usually start out with a broad overview of the scene I am writing and then go back into it and add detail, and tweak and delete stuff and then undelete it and add more detail... I also surf for visually stimulating scene inspiration! {Not Porn, but hey what ever works for you!} I don't have a large chunk of time to write... three hours can go by fast, especially when you get lost on Tumblr or Pintrest tangent for an hour!!! lol
If I have something in progress, I usually warm up by reading what I did the last time I worked on it or even reading it from the beginning. Other than that, coffee or tea helps get me content to sit still and is usually essential for getting me going on something new.
Other things I do to settle in are checking up on submissions, checking in here or with my Facebook writer friends, or otherwise easing into the mood of sitting in front of the computer. Sometimes even messing around on the Internet helps me.
Or I'll read to get into the mindset.
I think i warm up by reading my older stuff and saying, oh, I need to change that. Then I start fresh work.
Everyone who mentioned alcohol in their response: I like the way you think. ;)
Unfortunately, I do most of my writing at work. I suppose I could sneak in a round or two during my lunch break and still remain coherent enough to pass for sober. hehehe...
Actually, I've been using the same method as most of you: reread my material from previous writing sessions and pick up from there. I know everyone's methods are different and that what works for you might not work for me (and vice versa) but it's stimulating to hear what other people do. And it's also encouraging because I know you all know where I'm coming from and I can relate to where ya'll are coming from as well because we all have an appreciation for the written word. So thanks for sharing!
So maybe I'm just hitting a bump on the road? I think I might need to hit up the Craft Essays section a bit more...or maybe sign up for a class? Hmmm...
Practice your kung fu in the break room.
These types of physical exercises evenly distribute oxygen.
Mine involves eliminating distractions, which itself snowballs into its own activity. "Okay, just one more pass through my top six browser bookmarks. Well, I should probably reply to that post about writing warmups. Let me see if anyone followed up about my other thing. Oh, that's hilarious, I definitely gotta share that video. Before launching the stream of that film-score station I write best to, I should kick out a couple other jams first. Just to set the mood. Is that a diminished chord he's playing? Indeed it is. Man, I need to change these strings. Dude, do that later; it's write-time, G. Okay, okay, I'll fire up that document right after this smoke. You know what, I bet someone replied to that writing warmups post." Repeat ad infinitum. Charlie Kaufman really nailed this in Adaptation.
Oh, and amphetamines.
Just because that broke our hearts, Gordon is now the thread killer. Problem solved.
Jokes aside, what's that film-score station you stream, Gordon? A couple movies I've seen recently I've meant to go pick up the soundtracks, can't remember which ones though. BLUE VALENTINE maybe? I think that's Matt Sweeney. Anyhoot.
Practicing your karate before you sit down to write is actually a solid idea. Increases bloodflow and that there synapse response in the temporal lobes, apparently I read that somewhere. I figure that watching basketball on tv is enough to osmotically absorb a small bit of cardio, so that works for me.
In all decency the responsible writer would probably get stoned before a session, not drunk. Or it's slightly less stereotypical, anyway.
Cinemix is the film-score channel. I listen through iTunes Radio, under the Classical category.
Karate? Karate's great if you enjoy wearing pyjamas and screaming at other people. I hear you also get neat colored belts to hold your pants up!
In my case, something that will allow me to enter the atmosphere of currently written stuff : music/movie/comic-book reflecting the climate of my project. I avoid reading books before writing, for fear of unconscious copying.
Gordon, you hit the nail on the head! That's exactly what I did this morning; what I'm doing right now! Ugh! Easily distracted over here. As much as I do miss martial arts, I might have to settle for running a couple of laps around our warehouse before I sit down to write.
So now I must ask this silly question: do ya'll think drinking before writing actually does anything for your creativity? I know I read somewhere that if you drink a certain amount of alcohol before you engage in a creative activity, followed by a certain amount of caffeine (it's supposed to help you stay focused) that you can boost your level of creative productivity. Any truth to this?
I think it's bullshit. Sometimes you just have to pull your skirt up and say, "LET'S DO THIS SHIT!"
@Jeffrey: If that is the definition of Karate my son and I "warm up" every morning getting ready for school?!
@Devon: Thanks for that visual?!
I wore a white belt for a while until I graduated to pink during the Great Metrosexual Fad of 2004. I should have held onto the flared jeans, would have totally been ahead of the 70s Rocker retro trend.
I don't think (based on the tonnes of empirical data I've been gathering lo these many years) that drinking inspires creativity. Practicing at being creative, however, guarantees results.
Also, drugs. Drugs really do make you creative. It's a fact!
I used to play in bands. One time this guy put his arm around my shoulder and told me that if we wanted to make it that one of us had to, "get real bad into heroin."
Should've taken his advice. You live and you learn.
Devon, drugs are bad, mmkay?
I like to dance like this as my warm up. Really.
Dwayne, don't pretend you can dance that well.
I work alone for 12 hours several nights a week. I don't have much to do besides practice dance routines.
I follow the French-salon thinkers methods.
I also drink espresso or a caffeine-coma equivalent.
I think over the sentences with which I plan on starting the session.
I read biographies of my great authors, especially their reasons and inspirations for their novels.
And I watch movie trailers.
The best part was when Ducky said drugs are bad.
Oh yeah, I have to get set up to write. Make coffee, light a candle, sometimes find just the right song to listen to over and over again. It helps to have polished nails and rings on. I also like to have other stuff set up so I can switch back and forth between writing and cleaning or working out. I guess my ritual has developed this way for reasons that somehow help me write but I'm not sure what the reasons are.
