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I’d rather write than talk. Nobody interrupts! Posting monthly or less now--see below. |
My original purpose for this blog, which I started in August of 2019, was to see if I could maintain consistency, to discover what I want to write about, and to find my writing voice. In January, I started a "niche-less" blog at Wordpress.com where I've published weekly. -- Kit’s Kontemplations  . -- I'm preparing to start a Catholic blog on Wordpress.com where I'll post weekly, and another site to put the rest of my writing. I also want to spend more time reading other blogs and offering thoughtful comments, both here on WDC and elsewhere. At most, I will publish once a month at no set time in this blog starting in September of 2020. Thank you to those who have read and rated any posts on this blog. I really appreciate it. I did NOT want to write “about” me on this blog. I wanted to share my interests, discoveries and maybe a few useful insights. If anything I've written helps even one person, whether or not they respond to the post, then this blog has been successful. |
The more constraints one imposes, the more one frees oneself of the chains that shackle the spirit... the arbitrariness of the constraint only serves to obtain precision of execution. — Igor Stravinsky My first experience with constraints around writing happened over 20 years ago in a 6-week Creative Writing course. Our teacher passed around four envelopes labelled “Who”, “What”. “Where” and “When”. We each drew out a slip of paper from all the envelopes and were instructed to leave them face-down without looking at them. At her signal, we were to look at our slips and weave them into a story within 15 minutes. There was no time to do anything other than put pen to page and write like crazy. When the timer went off, I had a story. This was my first introduction to writing prompts. You are given something very specific and a time limit. You don’t think, you just write and let the magic happen. Another experience with constraints concerned musical improvisation on a piano. For those unfamiliar with music theory, there are 12 keys, each of which has a set of seven notes, three major chords, three minor chords, and one diminished chord. The seven notes repeat all along the keyboard. Each of the chords have three notes played together but in three different positions. For example: the C chord contains the notes C, E and G. You can play the chord in the root position (C-E-G), in the first inversion as it’s called (E-G-C), or in the second inversion (G-C-E). The sheer volume of possibilities is mind boggling and not all sound well together. In each improvisation lesson, the teacher tells you which key to use so you know which set of 7 notes you are working with. Then he tells you which two of the seven possible chords of the key you are to use. Rather than crippling your creativity in improvisation, these constraints are liberating. All the other options are pushed aside and you focus only on what is assigned. When I re-joined Writing.com last summer, completely empty of confidence, it was their wide selection of short prompt-based activities that lit my creative fire. Some of these included: Tweet Me a Story, Taboo Words, 24-Syllables and Oriental Poetry. What was most effective to get my creativity flowing was more specific prompts and shorter time available to submit my entry. Creativity is full of paradoxes — not the least of which is the fact that having absolute creative freedom is often highly uncreative. It’s a phenomenon called “paralysis of choice.” The more options we have, the harder it is to choose anything. So we do nothing. When everything is an option, somehow we find ourselves optionless. I have several sources for writing prompts and several little writing projects on my mind to do. Instead of inspiring me to be creative, it only impairs my ability to focus, leaving me fatigued. What is currently hindering my writing lately includes:  no fixed time to write no planned writing “assignment” for the time I decide I’ll sit to write no deadlines too many possible things to writeHere’s how I’ve come to understand it: focus is important to our productivity as creative people. If we’re given too many options, our focus ends up fragmented. Creativity does not like fragmentation. ... Creativity thrives within constraints, because constraints give us the gift of focus. ... If we are offered a wide-open world, we can quickly become overwhelmed. So we must narrow it down. As any other writer can relate to, there are so many ways to procrastinate on writing. The worst is eating. What I’ve also realized is that if I’ve been putting off other things more than twice, they “weigh” on me. I feel physically and mentally sluggish until I get at least one of those other things done. Once I complete even one of those other things, I feel energized to complete another thing or to write. Benefits of time constraints: prevents perfectionism, self-criticism and “imposter syndrome” forces you to focus your attention applies “pressure to perform” which gets that messy and far-from-perfect first draft done forces you to think differently unleashes imagination fostering unfiltered ideas eliminates opportunity for procrastinationWhen we demand ourselves to be routinely creative, we need creative routines. ... As a growing body of psychology research shows, structure is the sustenance of creativity. ... The structure that is right for you won’t hinder your freedom, it will instead focus your ingenuity. What I think would help me, if I could make myself do it, would be to list the small writing projects I want to do and assign a deadline for the first draft of each one. I could block out times for writing that would fit my schedule and start each one with a timed free-write from a prompt to “warm up”. I need a more regular structure to my daily life so I get enough rest, accomplish the non-writing stuff that needs to be done and make time for the reading that will fuel my writing. Reflect: Have you detected any patterns in your creative “highs” and “lows”? Do you take a disciplined approach to writing with a view to earning an income or getting published or do you treat it as a hobby? If you treat it as a hobby, are you satisfied with how much writing you accomplish? Have you experimented with prompts, with self-imposed deadlines or with some other type of writing constraint? If so, what did you discover?Sources: Exploring the Power of Creative Constraints in 5 Examples Constraints in Creativity — Are They a Good Thing? The science of creativity |
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Yes, I know some people do that but I'm a creative writer not a journalist. Poetry sells ... but it's a money-maker for only a few. I write A LOT. Almost 180 pieces since Spring equinox. My goal is 300-400 per year. One year I went over 1,000. I need to do more editing, polishing, sharing, submitting. Writer's block? Who has time for that? I don't.