“Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose.” – from the Kristofferson/Foster song, Bobby McGee
When what you have to lose is writer’s block, inhibition, or fear, believe me – you can do without it! Kick that feeling of hesitancy out the door and write anything you feel like writing! Who is looking over your shoulder anyhow? Don’t you know that everything you write is subject to revision later on? Why hold back on the first draft? This is our opportunity to let it all hang out!
Use colorful language. Swear in writing if you want to. Use wild, outrageous adjectives like splendiferous, or hugeamungus, or abstractious. Why not make things up? Why not brighten the world with new words? We wouldn’t even know the word supercalifragilisticexpialadocious if some creative writer didn’t have the guts to make it up and write it down.
You know who your biggest censor is? It’s your own internal editor. That’s the first line of defense against increased creative expression. Your inner editor will get to you every time before any professional editors ever have a chance to go over your work.
If you want to grow as a writer, one of the first things you need to do is to kick the internal editor to the back of your brain. Tell that critic to hush… until it is time for a revision. Your first draft does not need any criticism. It only needs your full range of free expression. It needs word freedom, and thought abundancy.
Allow yourself to write down whatever comes to mind. If you find yourself hesitating, move past it. Refuse to back up and change things, and if you write longhand, don’t cross things out. That should wait for the revision.
First drafts are for literary play.
If you’ve forgotten how to play, take an hour to visit a children’s playground and sit on the swing for a while. Meditate on that. And remember that you’re allowed to have fun, to leave your cares and worries behind, and to play as long and hard as any child on the block.
You are a free being! You are free! Let your words reflect the freedom of your heart.
Great encouragement for writers! Right, it’s important that you have to express what you want to say, and the things that you need to express to your readers. Hear the voice within yourself and express it through writing!
Carrie, I don’t know what stage your writing career is at, but for many of us, getting ANYTHING on the page is a challenge. The less we’re critical of our crazy word patterns, the more likely we are to develop our unique writing voices which should flow naturally and freely.
PS – I just looked at your writing blog and want to congratulate you on your submissions!
Like the others, this was what I needed to “hear.” This is probably my biggest writer’s block. I am my own worse critic and it has cause me to stumble on more occasions that I care to admit. I feel better now in that it is alright to write whatever comes to mind without any thoughts to grammar and pattern.
Thanks for comments, Mer and Jon. It is essential to get the first draft done before the editor kicks in. There’s plenty of time later for changes.
Very valid points. I know plenty of writers who spend so long editing and fiddling around with the first draft of articles and stories, that by the time they’ve got 1000 words or so completed they’ve forgotten what their original idea was.
This was what I needed today, Linda—–I’ve read it twice—especially love: thought abundancy….. what a splendierous feel that has………juicy and ripe with possibility! (((((Thank you)))))
~Mer