Fostering an Amazing Experience of Writing
Yes, the process of writing is important to develop. But there’s something else that’s equally important to foster, as I discuss in the video below. It is the experience of writing.
Most of the time, when I was home, there had to be so many pragmatic moves to move forward with writing (or anything else) that I never could fully relax. It was always about how to make it work or get where I needed to be. I never knew what “done” was with that. If I finished a story, for example, how could I get to the library to pick up Writer’s Market, or even to get the money to go make copies? If I wanted to practice my instrument or sing, what other jobs could I do to pass the time until my dad was out of the house? The puzzle always distracted me from enjoying.
So, I share this experience because it was really the first time I got to feel what it felt like to be completely free creatively. For two weeks, it was just me, paper, a typewriter (yes, a typewriter), and Bach. (Brahms was in there, too, so now his E minor symphony is burned into my brain.) I had no outline for the novel. I just let it go where it wanted. I wrote 10 -12 pages a day and finished the book.
I understand how hard it is to get the opportunity to set this kind of experience up, let alone make it your normal. But I wouldn’t be sitting here writing about it if it weren’t powerful and motivating — decades later, I still hear Brahms’ first four bars with a pitch memory nothing will ever dissolve. That’s what I want you to go after. Be ruthless about it.
[Transcript summary]
Have you ever had a writing session that just felt amazing? I know I certainly have.
When I was back home, when I was still a teenager, I was writing my first novel. I was going to do that. (And that didn’t turn out too bad!) But when I was doing that, I had an experience where I could sit there through the summer. School was out, and I was just typing away.
What made that experience so amazing is that I could just do that. There were no interruptions. I had Bach playing in the background because I’m a music major. (Music was always important to me.) But it created this atmosphere. And so, I had this, not not necessarily a sense of flow, but there weren’t any hurdles. I was in a place where it felt like it was okay to write. All the pieces kind of fell into place where it just felt right. The environment was inviting to it.
So, how can you create that environment for yourself? I think that is so important, because we talk a lot about the process of writing, but I don’t think we talked so much about the experience of writing. The experience of writing is just as important. That’s what’s gonna get you the draft that feels amazing. And if it feels amazing as you’re writing, guess what. The writing is going to be better.
So, it’s worth it to take the time to look at your environment, eliminate as many hurdles to your emotional well-being as you possibly can, and get yourself surrounded by things that you enjoy that feel good. Maybe that’s your puppy that sits at your feet. I don’t know. But whatever it is, put those things in your environment. Get yourself set up so that you’re not distracted, those things can feed you, and it feels great.