For Carla – when you are stuck: Breakthrough Writing tip for the week of 9/21/2015

I guide writing workshops at our local university for a good friend who teaches in Health Sciences. Each year I find myself honored to be in the presence of the students’ honesty, their courage and their willingness to write and read from that honesty and courage. Since I ask all of us to keep confidentiality about what is written and read in our class, I won’t give details of what I heard – except to say that the young women who took the chance of reading their writing taught me more about the condition of our modern world than I could have taught them.

We took five minutes for questions. Carla asked, “What can I do when I get stuck?” She had read – writing that was more like poetry than prose. I told her that at this point in my relationship with my writing, I’ve learned that I have to wait out the dry spells; and that I believe that as we are in relationship to our lives, so we are in relationship to our writing. “But,” I said, “you are a student and don’t have the luxury of waiting for your writing until it shows up, so here are some ideas.”

Free-write for ten minutes about anything other than the topic you are supposed to be writing about. (For those of you new to Breakthrough Writing, here is how to free-write: Set a timer for ten minutes. Either look through some of the earlier Breakthrough tips to find a prompt sentence, or just begin with I don’t want to write.  Start the timer. Write the full ten minutes, absolutely anything that comes out of your pen. This works best if you write by hand.)

When you get stuck, write three more sentences. They can be sheer nonsense, just write them.

We had run out of time, but if we hadn’t, I would have suggested to her that she write a one-page letter to her writing. Use words. Pictures. Write in crayon. Write all in red if you need to.

Get away from the assignment. Go for at least a half hour walk, swim, anything active, perferably outdoors.

Carla, I hope you read this. If you do, please send us some writing for my next Breakthrough post. And thank you for what you wrote and who you are. Mary

 

Share on Your Social Media

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmail

Search My Site

Subscribe to My Blog

Copyright©2019. All Rights Reserved. The content of this writing services website is exclusively owned by Mary Sojourner (Flagstaff, Arizona). Duplication and usage of all literary writing, short stories, writing tips, writing workshops coursework, and mentoring instruction is prohibited without direct permission from the author and writing teacher.

Writing & Literary Website Designed by Reliable Web Designs.