Starting to write: Writing freely

I’ve always written. I have very vivid memories of being huddled over a notebook and pencil in the classroom at infant school when I was about 7 years old. I’d scribble away during our ‘free play time’ while the other kids jostled for the wooden bricks or the play mat and toy cars.

Yet I didn’t share my writing until I was fifteen when I wrote a letter of outrage on the topic of inclusion and bullying to a magazine. I was ecstatic to see my name in print and I wrote a number of other letters across my teenage years, 95% of which were published.

Years later when I finally shared my writing again it was for a joke. I spotted a romance short story competition in a magazine and joked with a friend that I was fed up of reading substandard romance and that I could do better. I entered and won!

I wrote the story in the space of an hour or so, unencumbered by expectation or fear. My innocence and naivety had enabled my subconscious to just write.

Despite other positive feedback over the years, I didn’t take my writing seriously until my early thirties.

For some reason, my writing would feel stilted, forced and clunky. I’d settle down to write based on a prompt from my writing group only to churn out pages that ended up crumpled in the bin.

I realised that my approach to writing had taken on a seriousness loaded with expectation and fear. I thought about my writing as I was writing. I wondered how readers might judge my work before I’d even finished the story.

I’d self-edit as I went along and wondered why I took so long to write anything. When I read my words back, I’d feel disappointed and despondent. Perhaps those early successes had been flukes? Maybe I shouldn’t bother at all.

Connecting with other writers in my writing group and on social media helped me realise that every writer has their own voice and style of writing and that these qualities are built through practice and letting go.

By overthinking my writing I’d ended up censoring myself and consequently my writer voice. Little wonder my writing seemed clunky!

I refer to the following tips every time I sit down to write.

Get out of your own way

Write in the moment. Write for the now. We all have a tendency to think ahead and live an imagined future and this will show in your writing. Write with the aim of getting it finished and go from there.

Let your subconscious lead

The act of writing relies on the subconscious leading the way. Yes, there has to be plotting, grammar and so forth, but the creative aspect of storytelling is heavily linked to the subconscious. Control and fear are the enemy of creativity and I learned to write in the moment, letting the words flow freely.

Edit later

Write the first draft in all its clumsy glory. Editing comes after. I find that editing as I go along is inefficient and breaks the creative flow of a story. You can’t edit what isn’t on the page.

Trust

I am still working on this one. Trust that the words will emerge. Even on those days when all the words seem wrong. Write them down and you can always come back to them later.