Mental Manipulation for Writers

 

I'm often asked the question "How do you find time to write?" When we lead busy lives with household and family responsibilities and maintain a social life, finding that time to write is not always easy. 

There are ways, however, that we can write without applying fingers to keyboard or pencil to paper. Writers can use what I call Mental Manipulation. One meaning of manipulation is 'to utilize or manage skillfully.' When I am doing household tasks, I am often writing in my head. So you see, I am utilizing or managing my writing time in that mode.

Take ironing, for instance. It is a mindless task that we do by rote. I can hear many of you saying 'Iron! I haven't done that for years!' Consider this merely an illustration. I do iron some things, nowhere near as many as I did years ago. Still, my mind is free when I iron, and I put that freedom to good use. I start plotting a story or considering what I will write about on this blog. The smart thing to do when the ironing is finished is to jot down notes of the thoughts I had. Admittedly, I don't always take the time to make notes, and I often wish that I had. It's an important step.

There are many other places where you can use that Mental Manipulation to help in planning what you are going to write. A few are listed below

A. waiting in a doctor's office

'B. riding a commuter train or bus

C. loading or unloading the dishwasher

D. watching a tv show that bores you

E. folding laundry

F. raking leaves

G. intermission at a concert or play

H. waiting your turn at a beauty salon or barber shop

I  sitting in the passenger seat on a driving trip

J. sunbathing

There are more, of course. The point is to take advantage of those times to do a little Mental Manipulation, so that you can 'utilize or manage skillfully' your writing time. 

Has Your Writing Improved?

Ready for another rainy day!

Here in the Plains states, we are bracing for another round of thunderstorms, some possibly severe. We're pretty waterlogged already with some areas dealing with flooding and the aftermath of tornadic activity. The umbrellas in today's photos might be of use once again.

I have read at least three articles by writers recently that speak about the embarrassment some of their earliest writings have brought them. They each wondered how they could have written the pieces that had been published by websites and blogs that were content driven. Those editors needed something to publish daily and were wont to accept less than perfect offerings. 

The writers then went on to tell of how much their writing had improved, that they were selling far more now than ever. Isn't that as it should be? Aren't we suppose to get better at whatever it is we do as we continue on our journey? I would certainly not want to tell people that my writing has become worse and worse over the years. Not the way it should work, is it?

Athletes, artists, carpenters--all of these people most likely get better at what they do as they ply their profession or trade. Why? It's as simple as the fact that we learn as we work at what we do. We pick up little things that, when applied, make a difference. We become aware of the errors made and work to correct them.

One way we learn as writers is by reading what others have written. The more we read, the better writer we should become. As we read, our subconscious gathers bits and pieces about the method of writing, then stores them away. Sometimes, while reading, we have a very conscious 'aha!' moment when we note a device the author has used that impressed us.

What if you're a beginning or newbie writer? Is what you're writing now the highest level you can achieve? I hope not. It may be alright, even good at times, but we always need to strive to continue to improve as writers. 

As a beginning writer, I know that, while my content may have been quite alright, my mechanics were not always the best. I used cliches. I relied too much on passive verbs. I felt like adverbs had to be added to dialogue tags. I repeated words too often. These 'mechanical errors' were minor, but as I learned to correct them, my overall rating as a writer increased. 

Hopefully, you write with more depth as you continue your writing career. That, too, makes you a better writer. Beginning writers might only skim the surface of a topic or of a character. The longer you write, the better you become at reaching farther.

Don't judge yourself as a writer on your earliest efforts. Instead, look at what you've achieved, how you've improved. Have you reached the pinnacle of your writing journey? I would hope not, but that you continue to write better and better. As for those early attempts in your writing life, don't be a bit embarrassed. Instead, be pleased that you have made a significant improvement over the years. 

The Ways We Write

One of the most repeated pieces of advice to writers is to write every day.  A worthy goal but not always possible. Life tends to get in our way and we have to answer the call to which situation takes priority any given day.

However, writers write even when not at their keyboards tap-tapping away. Let me list just a few of the places writers are thinking about writing:

• in the shower
• checkout line at the grocery store
• in bed
• filling the dishwasher
• riding the commuter train to work
• filling the gas tank
• changing the baby's diaper
• in church during the sermon ( oh yes, it's done quite often)
• walking for exercise

We have story ideas swirling in our heads long before we sit down to write that first draft. Lines of a poem come to us at strange, and often inopportune, moments. A solution to a problem in the plot of a fiction story pops into our heads when we least expect it. 

We're writing when we do research for a story or interview someone that we will write about later. We're writing when we jot down notes to be used later. 

Even if you don't write something at the keyboard, or with pen and paper, every day, don't fret. I would bet that you're still writing in one of the ways pointed out above. Just don't stay away from the keyboard too many days in a row. Writing every day can become a habit but the reverse is also true.