Writers Need To Let Inner Thoughts Emerge

The poster advice for today sounds so simple, doesn't it? Go ahead, sit at your computer or on your sofa with notebook and pen, then write with all the 'awesome' you can find. 

Too often, we writers keep that 'awesome' stuff on a tight leash. Yes, we try to write with emotion and often succeed but what if we unclipped the leash and let our deepest thoughts emerge into whatever we are writing? 

If we could do that on a regular basis, we'd be writing some terrific pieces. Instead, we let our inhibitions take over and we write as well as we can without unleashing that 'awesome.' I'm not saying none of us ever write good stories and poetry and essays. Not at all. What I am saying is that, if we could let go of our learned-over-a-lifetime hidden feelings, our writing might be even better.

Ernest Hemingway was known to drink heavily. Maybe he was an excellent writer partly because, when he drank, he didn't care what he said or did. His inner-self rose to the surface and poured into his writing. I'm not advocating writing with a bottle sitting next to you. Not at all. 

Why do we keep part of who-we-are buried within? Maybe we're afraid of what others might say if we expose our true selves. We shouldn't be. Perhaps, there is the fear that if we really let the best writing we have emerge, we will have to keep to that standard and that's hard work.

Of course, we are all different people and the reasons we keep the best hidden deep inside are varied, as well. 

One way you can begin to 'unleash your inner awesome' is to do those free-write exercises that I promote and that so many writing books offer as a tool to work your way to good writing. Why? Let's define the freewrite exercise first. Choose a word or a phrase in any way you like. If nothing else, close your eyes and point to a word in a book, then use it for your exercise. Set a timer for ten minutes. Write the word, then start writing without thinking and without stopping. Let your fingers fly across the keys or holding your pen and write whatever comes to mind. It does not have to make sense. Often, it doesn't but many times the bones of a new story or essay will come forth like a butterfly from its cocoon. The best part is that sometimes thoughts from the inner recesses of your mind spew into what you have written and surprise you.

Another help would be to 'give yourself permission' to write whatever lies buried within. Sound silly? It's not. Our human mind is a wonderful but strange part of us. It's perfectly alright to tell yourself to go ahead and open the dam, let the thoughts flow into your writing.

Building your confidence a little at a time is also going to help you unleash that awesomeness.

We do want to put emotion into what we write; we hope that the reader will feel the emotion. The looser that leash on awesomeness becomes, the more we will be able to put into our writing, the better chance we will have to be published and the more satisfied we will feel. 

Regarding the free-write exercise. Marlene Cullen has a blog that offers free-write prompts on a regular basis. You might take a look at she does on her short but sweet blog. She offers prompts that are more than just single words or a simple phrase. What a great practice for all writers.