The Writing Life Too

Another Blueprint for the Writing Life

Cirrus clouds wispy across the sky this morning and I've got a pile of email correspondence to catch up on. I want to pass along a blueprint for the writing life that I wrote in in 2005. My blueprint changes from year to year, but I’m always striving to not be tossed away by churning emotions or the events of life so that the writing comes first. I work to settle at my desk every morning feeling rested and clear. What I know is this: I am writing and learning more at this point in my life than I ever imagined, and daily add to my knowledge about storytelling in all its forms. So here is my blueprint—it’s not particularly original, but it works for me, so I’ll pass it along.
Face your fears. Most people are afraid of some aspect of writing. Fear is okay, it’s how you face it that shapes your life.

Pay attention to the words and joys of small children.

Walk through your days and nights with deep awareness, noticing, always noticing.

Take a writer’s notebook with you everywhere and use it to collect all you see and hear and smell and taste.

Take risks with projects, characters, sentences.

Have two or three projects in the works at all times, so if one bogs down you can slip into another project.

Read like a writer, always analyzing how an author has worked his or her magic on the page.

Tap into your dream life for images, metaphors, drama, the hidden aspects of self, and proof that you have a limitless imagination. Dreams are best captured by keeping a dream journal. Linda Seger, author and Hollywood guru suggests that you open your dream journal each night and date it for the next morning.

Use your writing to bring meaning into your life, introspection into your days, and to leave your footprints in the world.

Write your first draft as fast as you can and as soon as you can after the inspiration strikes.

Create a system for editing and rewriting.

Find other writers for camaraderie, inspiration and support. If they don’t provide this, dump them and find other writers who do.

Use potent verbs.

Use mostly words of Anglo-Saxon origin.

Write for all the senses.

Avoid adverbs and be able to justify every modifier on your pages. 

If you have a blueprint that works for you, please pass it along. Meanwhile, good writing and don’t be tossed away.