Your Creative Process

[vrosej10]

Okay guys, how do you write? Do you have habits or is it a random thing?

Being in a writing program, I am required to write about 45-1hr everyday and this is designed to keep the muscles flexing. I always practice on my couch in front of the TV. I have a small spiral bound notebook, one of many over the last few years and I have to have a smooth black biro.

 

[PoetGuy]

Okay guys, how do you write? Do you have habits or is it a random thing?

Being in a writing program, I am required to write about 45-1hr everyday and this is designed to keep the muscles flexing. I always practice on my couch in front of the TV. I have a small spiral bound notebook, one of many over the last few years and I have to have a smooth black biro.

Poet Guy writes most days, though he occasionally hits a fallow period where he has trouble coming with with any ideas. Oftentimes in these situations he writes form, simply to write something, with the idea that he can at least concentrate on the formal aspect instead of the topic--kind of like hitting six irons on the practice range just to keep the swing in place. Sometimes he writes flash fiction or some other kind of prose. Quite frequently, he just writes something silly.

He has taken writing courses in the past that wanted him to keep a journal or do exercises like a half-hour free write each day. Poet Guy does not find these helpful, particularly free writes, which he detests. He would rather browse Wikipedia for some interesting topic (say, zugszwang) and write something silly about it.

But Poet Guy writes primarily for personal enjoyment, so his methods are not recommended for those who are more serious about writing.

 

[bogusagain]

Okay guys, how do you write? Do you have habits or is it a random thing?

You ask Are you someone who has a strong drive when writing; it comes over that way... in a comment on my poem 'the return'. I'm usually composing in my head all the time, sometimes I compose too much without writing it down and forget a lot, I feel I've lost some potentially very good poems that way. However, by the time I sit down and write, I usually write a poem in a few minutes because if I write slowly in a considered way, the poem seems to slip from my memory and I'm left floundering to fill in the blanks.

Thanks for the comment on my poem.

 

[UnderYourSpell]

I have got very lax of late, when I was doing survivor I wrote every day but it burnt me out and by the end I was struggling, so ideally I need something inbetween. I have paper and pen beside me now and if I am waiting for my computer to do something I scribble down bibs and bobs that I must go through sometime. I need peace and quiet and no way could I write infront of the tv

 

[vrosej10]

You ask Are you someone who has a strong drive when writing; it comes over that way... in a comment on my poem 'the return'. I'm usually composing in my head all the time, sometimes I compose too much without writing it down and forget a lot, I feel I've lost some potentially very good poems that way. However, by the time I sit down and write, I usually write a poem in a few minutes because if I write slowly in a considered way, the poem seems to slip from my memory and I'm left floundering to fill in the blanks.

Thanks for the comment on my poem.

I thought so. I am like that, always writing in my head and when I finally sit down with pen and paper it comes flooding. Your poems have an intensity to them and for want of a better word, a push to them. I like your passion.

 

[EroticOrogeny]

Poet Guy writes most days, though he occasionally hits a fallow period where he has trouble coming with with any ideas. Oftentimes in these situations he writes form, simply to write something, with the idea that he can at least concentrate on the formal aspect instead of the topic--kind of like hitting six irons on the practice range just to keep the swing in place. Sometimes he writes flash fiction or some other kind of prose. Quite frequently, he just writes something silly.

He has taken writing courses in the past that wanted him to keep a journal or do exercises like a half-hour free write each day. Poet Guy does not find these helpful, particularly free writes, which he detests. He would rather browse Wikipedia for some interesting topic (say, zugszwang) and write something silly about it.

But Poet Guy writes primarily for personal enjoyment, so his methods are not recommended for those who are more serious about writing.

Link got me briefly thinking about chess, but remains mostly in my past.

 

[bronzeage]

Right now, most of my writing energy is going into my book. I aim for 6000 words a week. I have too much time when I am tied to a desk and nothing to do. It's either write, or play solitaire, or post on Lit. Writing is a better use of time.

Poetry is more dependent upon inspiration.

 

[vrosej10]

Right now, most of my writing energy is going into my book. I aim for 6000 words a week. I have too much time when I am tied to a desk and nothing to do. It's either write, or play solitaire, or post on Lit. Writing is a better use of time.

Poetry is more dependent upon inspiration.

i know how you feel. Doing the essay thing you sometimes sit there blank especially when the research is not working well.

I try to cultivate ways to court my muse. Regular habits seem to work.

 

[bronzeage]

i know how you feel. Doing the essay thing you sometimes sit there blank especially when the research is not working well.

I try to cultivate ways to court my muse. Regular habits seem to work.

I have learned to spend idle time thinking about writing. I may not be able to actually write, but I can make notes or condensed scenes on whatever paper is handy. A few years ago, I was helping with an estate sale. My job was to sit in the garage and make sure no one walked off without paying. I took a clip board and a pen. I was out there for about 4 hours and managed to fill 4 pages with notes, short scenes and conversation. If I had been at my computer, it wouldn't have been nearly that much.

 

[vrosej10]

I have learned to spend idle time thinking about writing. I may not be able to actually write, but I can make notes or condensed scenes on whatever paper is handy. A few years ago, I was helping with an estate sale. My job was to sit in the garage and make sure no one walked off without paying. I took a clip board and a pen. I was out there for about 4 hours and managed to fill 4 pages with notes, short scenes and conversation. If I had been at my computer, it wouldn't have been nearly that much.

Walking help me a lot with the essays. If I am bogged, if I have the opportunity, I hit the streets and walk till the next pathway in the essay becomes apparent. Buggeri s I can't alway do it when I need to.

 

[UnderYourSpell]

I have learned to spend idle time thinking about writing. I may not be able to actually write, but I can make notes or condensed scenes on whatever paper is handy. A few years ago, I was helping with an estate sale. My job was to sit in the garage and make sure no one walked off without paying. I took a clip board and a pen. I was out there for about 4 hours and managed to fill 4 pages with notes, short scenes and conversation. If I had been at my computer, it wouldn't have been nearly that much.

as a matter of interest how can you be keeping an eye on things when your head is down writing?

 

[bronzeage]

as a matter of interest how can you be keeping an eye on things when your head is down writing?

In an estate sale, the garage is generally where the "guy stuff' and other left overs are put. It's difficult to shoplift a lawnmower or outboard engine.

What was kind of strange was I had a clipboard full of hand written pages and no one asked what I was writing about.

 

[Palba_Noruda]

Okay guys, how do you write? Do you have habits or is it a random thing?

Being in a writing program, I am required to write about 45-1hr everyday and this is designed to keep the muscles flexing. I always practice on my couch in front of the TV. I have a small spiral bound notebook, one of many over the last few years and I have to have a smooth black biro.

Interesting question, V. I think it is a good idea to post such a question, and try to think of solutions with creativity and your sense of artistry. It certainly is a challenge at times to fit your infinite self into narrower confines, LOL. While I'm not in school, I feel somewhat narrowed and constricted by other factors of my daily life: job, family, history, etc. Writing seems a good way to grapple with the interplay between outside expectations and the sort of messy internals that perhaps we want to express.

I think it's fine to write while watching TV. I've used tv to write similes for example, trying to describe different characters' faces, bodies, characteristics, energy, etc.

I consider the writing I do here to be Writing with a capital W, even though I think a lot of people don't, necessarily. I know at writer's magazines and such, they treat blogs and forums, etc, as a way to do marketing, but not necessarily as venues for art making, which I think is unfortunate. If you write little essays here on this discussion board, couldn't you count that as part of your 45 minutes - hour? Perhaps you can find a role playing story to join, might be kind of a fun way to do some interactive writing?

Other things I like to do that are easy: write 49-word found-word poems. I like to flip through a book and write down, at random, seven lines of seven found words each. I think I've posted some of them on my Sketchbook thread. It takes from 10-15 minutes. I try not pay much attention to what I'm doing, and I don't read what words I picked out till a few days later. It's fun because sometimes the words I picked out relate very specifically to something that happened that day, but I totally didn't notice while I was writing.

Another easy exercise I do is to find a paragraph I like in a short story or something, and try rewriting it with my own details, etc. I can do three or four different ones at a time, that usually takes another 15-20 minutes.

Another easy thing is to find an art book and practice describing scenes and characters that way.

Another thing I did a few times recently was I had this Best American Short Stories anthology. I tried to make my own short story borrowing a few lines from each. The only changes I allowed myself was to change character names and pronouns. It was fun enough, ended up with a bunch of nonsense, but I think I will be able to keep working on that piece for something else.

If you want to write for a set time each day, I guess I would just start making up some silly little exercises that you don't have to think too much to do. It's pretty satisfying to fill up notebooks that way. Sometimes when you look back at what you did, you see that you were mining your own experience in a way that you wouldn't have otherwise.

If you don't mind writing essays, you might surf around the Internet to where ever you feeling like surfing, read a few articles or something, then write a response or a review. You can write reviews of all kinds of things, even seemingly vacuous blogs. Just find a few similar ones and write about that style of blogging or web site or whatever. I'd be inclined to include the surfing time as writing time LOL.

But Poet Guy writes primarily for personal enjoyment, so his methods are not recommended for those who are more serious about writing.

Thank god you said that, PG. I like to visit other writing sites and always end up arguing with people who think that no one in their right mind would ever dream of writing for their own personal pleasure.

That's why I like to write, too.

 

[Angeline]

I write most days though for the past year, I've been switching off between poetry and prose. I'm not as disciplined as I used to be, but after around eight years of forcing myself to write every day I was getting really burned out and needed a break. For over a year I rarely wrote at all--and I was afraid the poetry had burned out of me entirely, but then about six months ago I started wanting to write more and more again (thank heavens!).

I have two different creative processes. One is for working on poems I've been turning over in my mind and planning to write (or rewrite). Those I approach in a pretty orderly way--if I know I want to work on poem X, I will block off some time to do it and have a plan for what I want to accomplish. It's kinda like having a date with my poem. The other process is for poems I am moved to write immediately because I'm inspired by something that I've read (often here) or heard or seen, something I've experienced. Those I usually write very quickly (like ten minutes or less) and then spend considerably more time editing.

ETA: I agree with Bogus that I do better when I write quickly. If I slow down to think about what I'm doing I lose the pace and often the whole poem. Slowing down is for editing imo, not during a first draft.

Two other things are always part of my process. First, I always write at a keyboard. I'm left-handed and have that horrible habit of dragging my hand across the page when I write and making a mess. In fact I never write in cursive but rather print because I can do that a lot faster and more neatly. I also prefer typing because I have a better chance of keeping up with my thoughts. Second, I almost always have some kind of music playing when I write, usually jazz (and if I'm writing about jazz it definitely helps to be listening to it when I write). But if there are other noises happening around me, like someone has the television on or whatever, I am very good at blocking them out and focusing on my writing.

Also like PoetGuy (I think he was the one who said it), I will often write in a traditional form if I'm feeling blocked or having a hard time with a particular poem. For me, the discipline of the form makes it easier to write (I think so-called free verse poems are much harder to write well than form poems). And even if the poem doesn't turn out a way I like, it's still good practice for me to work those forms. I think they've helped me to be more aware of word choice and how to break lines. In fact I believe that writing sonnets (many, many sonnets over the years) where I'd run sentences across lines has helped me a lot to get a feel for where to break a sentence to get most out of it.

Interesting thread, Ms. Vee.

 

[butters]

Okay guys, how do you write? Do you have habits or is it a random thing?

Being in a writing program, I am required to write about 45-1hr everyday and this is designed to keep the muscles flexing. I always practice on my couch in front of the TV. I have a small spiral bound notebook, one of many over the last few years and I have to have a smooth black biro.

first off, i never worry about dry-spells or 'is this the last poem i'll ever write?' kind of thing. i've been doing this a while now - about 12 years - and know that if i don't write for a month it's only a case of something working itself out in my subconscious before it's ready to show up. i ignore it and do other stuff, refresh my muse if you like.

since being back online, i do find myself using words everyday, if only in superficial posts on the GB; more often here discussing writing, others' writes, and taking part in challenges/learning & development tasks. even if i'm not writing, i'll be reading. quite often i'll read and not have time to give the piece the comments i'd like. but it's ALL ABOUT WORDS.

when i get hit by inspiration, a write tends to arrive fast and nearly complete, only getting small editing, though individual words may bug me for far longer than sensible till i find a replacement. live writing does seem to suit me best atm, and has for a while. maybe that's me being lazy - i don't know. i don't especially care, either: it's where i am right now along my own writing path and i accept that. i also accept that this phase, too, shall pass. just as all the others i have dallied in have passed.

when i try to force a write, i can often achieve something others call poetry. it's what i term 'head' poetry. it relies solely upon tricks and devices, and has little of me invested in them. for me, these are not satisfying. they are about writing a poem and not about writing what i, as a poet, need to write. so they lack what it takes to make me feel like i've done a good job. sure they are still worthwhile as tools to hone wordsmithery, but they have about zilch to do with what i term 'heart poetry'. in otherwords, they can be their own truth, but i don't share in that. the best analogy i can come up with right now is the difference between a loaf of bread baked in a factory for mass consumption and the loaf created by the master baker, who invests something of themself into each loaf, hand-shaped, rested and knocked back and risen again, baked to perfection and served crusty and warm with great cheese and a glass of red. (i do not think i'm at that stage yet, either, but more an apprentice baker hoping one day to bake the perfect loaf )

 

[Black13]

I never force writing unless I'm getting paid to write. Seeing as how I have never gotten paid to write, I never force writing. I'm probably more of a recreational writer, but the circumstances of my life currently require my focus to be elsewhere... once shit gets worked out on that front I'll probably start writing more. I'm a musician, so everything that I do write as far as poetry is concerned, tends to be in some sort of song form, or has a definite rhythmic pattern to it. When I'm in the mood to write, I'll push myself and squeeze it for what it's worth, but when I'm not I use that time to edit or, more often, practice an instrument.
I also have problems creating cohesive plots. I can create characters like a sumbitch, but I can't make meaningful plots out of them. Generally I depend on the random, fleeting, yet surprisingly frequent sparks of inspiration to hit me. I grab a post it, write it down, and throw it in the Bin of Ideas. Yes, I have a massive collection of scratch notes and papers full of unfinished ideas... every now and then I go through it and see if I can't piece something together. It's worked a few times now. Just catch your ideas as they come, cause they probably come quite often.

 

[vrosej10]

I never force writing unless I'm getting paid to write. Seeing as how I have never gotten paid to write, I never force writing. I'm probably more of a recreational writer, but the circumstances of my life currently require my focus to be elsewhere... once shit gets worked out on that front I'll probably start writing more. I'm a musician, so everything that I do write as far as poetry is concerned, tends to be in some sort of song form, or has a definite rhythmic pattern to it. When I'm in the mood to write, I'll push myself and squeeze it for what it's worth, but when I'm not I use that time to edit or, more often, practice an instrument.
I also have problems creating cohesive plots. I can create characters like a sumbitch, but I can't make meaningful plots out of them. Generally I depend on the random, fleeting, yet surprisingly frequent sparks of inspiration to hit me. I grab a post it, write it down, and throw it in the Bin of Ideas. Yes, I have a massive collection of scratch notes and papers full of unfinished ideas... every now and then I go through it and see if I can't piece something together. It's worked a few times now. Just catch your ideas as they come, cause they probably come quite often.

Try writing flash fiction. I think you might be ideally suited to it.

 

[twelveoone]

i know how you feel. Doing the essay thing you sometimes sit there blank especially when the research is not working well.

I try to cultivate ways to court my muse. Regular habits seem to work.

"My muse is Icarus - lands like a lepers dawn"
`*
)
*

 

[butters]

"My muse is Icarus - lands like a lepers dawn"
`*
)
*

hahahahahahahahahaha.....

oh, the inhumanity

 

[twelveoone]

In an estate sale, the garage is generally where the "guy stuff' and other left overs are put. It's difficult to shoplift a lawnmower or outboard engine.

What was kind of strange was I had a clipboard full of hand written pages and no one asked what I was writing about.

Next time you do that, go in a Hazmat suit. Tends to bring the prices down. I often write in a Hazmat suit.

a toxic bunny
under a glowing red couch
watch out for the spring