Writing is energy.
Some advice on taking the handbrake off, writing drunk and leaving it all out on the dance floor.
I’m writing a mini-series (a series within a series, if you will). It’s on these three stages of writing.
Writing is energy
David Hieatt (one of my writing heroes) tells a great story to make this point.
There was a study done of the courts in Tel Aviv where they assessed 1000 parole hearings.
The study found that:
from the hearings done in the morning, 65% of people were granted parole
from the hearings conducted in the afternoon only 10% were granted parole
That study perfectly illustrates this truth:
The biggest thing that affects our work is the energy we bring.
That goes for decision making. But also doing creatively demanding tasks. Like writing.
This has really interesting implications.
First: whatever energy you bring to the keyboard will be transmitted to the reader.
If you want them to feel something, you’re going to have to feel it first.
No tears in the writer. No tears in the reader. Robert Frost
The other interesting implication is around energy management.
Most people do their writing at the end of the day. But most people also tend to be worn out by then. So if you write when you’re tired and worn out, how is the reader going to feel? Eek.
What you really need to do is design a routine that funnels your high energy periods into your writing.
Take a wee moment to think about these questions:
When are you at your most wonderful, effervescent best?
How can you create a routine to do your writing?
How can you protect this time to prevent distraction?
This is all about doing something with intention, and ring-fencing time for your writing. To give it the energy it deserves.
Write drunk, edit sober
This is a quote attributed to Hemmingway, which he never actually said. He certainly didn’t believe it. Apparently, whilst he liked to drink, he did never actually wrote when he was on the razz.
That said…
There is something to this quote. Because drunk people have a key characteristic that is very helpful at the first stage of writing:
They’re uninhibited.
Imagine two people at a nightclub.
One is the hippy, free, bohemian who just lets it all out on the dance floor.
She isn’t self conscious. She doesn’t care what others think.
She is just letting her body do its thing, as her limbs and flowery dress fly around in response to the music.
Now also imagine the no-nonsense bouncer at the door.
Tightly holding a clip board, wearing an ear piece and a permanent scowl. Looking each person up and down to assess whether they make the cut to get in through the doors.
You need to be both these people. But at very different stages.
During this first ‘Writing is Energy’ stage you need to be the hippie dancer.
Getting words on paper is such a hard task, that you want to do whatever you can do to make that as easy and fluid as possible.
So just let it flow.
At the beginning it doesn’t really matter what you write, just that you actually write.
The trick is to not overthink it.
We’ll come to the bouncer later (Writing is Rewriting). But for now, just be that dancer - wild and free - and let it all out on the dance floor!
Peace and love,
Jamie