Writing on the Go
Today’s guest post contains great writing tips for writers on the go. This post is courtesy of WereBear, who blogs at The Way of Cats.
Legend has it that when Elmore Leonard was a copywriter for a Detroit ad agency, he would go to a local park, eat his lunch, and smooth out the brown paper bag. Then he would use it to work out the latest part of his novel. Many novels and screenplays later, we can conclude it worked for Mr. Leonard.
Can we take our odds and ends of time and use them to improve our writing? When we finally get to sit down for that anticipated writing session, do we find ourselves frustrated by the white space? Do we not know where to start or what to do?
We can prepare for our session even as we go through our busy day. Whether we use a notebook of paper or of pixels, we can take advantage of waiting for our coffee, our lunch, or our turn in line to write: something.
It can be a bit of dialogue that expresses the essence of one of our characters. We can try describing a scene we know is coming up in the plot. We can come up with wild ways to get our hero or heroine out of the mess we put them into.
We don’t have time to second guess ourselves. That’s the beauty of writing on the go. We don’t care if that word might be misspelled, or this character might be too much like the one we saw in last night’s movie. These concerns are what we wrestle with once we have something written. We are not there yet.
The short time span, the lack of the complete work to fiddle with, the simple tools we are using; these can free our minds to work without pressure. It is when we are playing that our minds are at their most creative.
Once we have taken this slice of time for our work, we have given our writing mind a treat to savor. The back of our head will be busy chewing on it until the next time we can pull out our notebook. Has this idea developed any wings of its own? Can we build on it, or have we discovered it doesn’t really work?
Either way, we have progressed with our writing project while we were busy doing other things. We have taken something for a test flight without devoting pages or hours to it.
The next time we sit down at our desk for some serious work, we at least have something to add to that blank page. We are already in second gear. We don’t waste any time figuring out what to write about or what avenue we want to explore. We’ve already done that; while we were getting everything else in our lives taken care of.
A work in progress is now always progressing, no matter what else is going on in our lives.
That is the power of seizing these thoughts. By keeping the tool of our choice always handy, we will never have a wasted moment again. We’ll find more time to write. Anywhere. Everywhere.
Don’t waste another minute. Go. Write.
Writing Tips for Tools:
If we love paper, make that notebook a good-looking one. Spring for a fountain pen. The lack of drag will keep writer’s cramp away. Keep it for future reference, or tear off and copy each scrap into the computer to savor the shrinking size.
If we go electronic, we have the advantage of bringing the text right into our word processor and starting off that much ahead. There’s two ways to go here. The Blackberry-type has a little keyboard that develops our thumbs into mighty weapons of creativity.
It could seem that touch screen-types would be at a disadvantage here. However, having recently acquired an iPod touch, I can reassure Mac fans that not only can we get pretty good at the virtual keyboard, there’s a marvelous program called Shapewriter that lets me type the fastest ever on any handheld. How good is it? I wrote the first draft of this article on it!
Special thanks to WereBear for this guest post. Do you have any writing tips to share? Please leave a comment!
I write EVERYWHERE. A brown paper bag would work just fine for me. I’m content with receipts or any scraps I can find, anywhere I can find them. I would kill for an ipod touch though. Sigh. Maybe this summer.
Writer Dads last blog post..I’m Moving!
I don’t know about the iPod Touch, but I definitely recommend an iPhone! It’s a bit more of an all-in-one that the Touch because, well, you can use it to call and email people, and you can blog with it too. Actually you can do anything with it. Best. Device. Ever.
Good topic!
My best ideas come when I am on the go. I have smart phone w/me so when I need something to “write” down I send myself en emails with the keywords in it. When I am back to “blogo-work” i scan my inbox for the on-the-go-nuggets and quickly get on track with it.
Alik Levin | PracticeThis.coms last blog post..What Aristotle Could Teach You About Consulting
I’ve always carried little notebooks with me – one in my handbag, one in my car, in my nightstand drawer. They’re all over the place. But now that I use the iPhone, those notebooks aren’t as necessary. Another great iPhone feature is you can record yourself talking, which is perfect when you get an idea while driving or doing some other activity that doesn’t allow you to use your hands to type.
I completely agree that it helps to keep your writing projects on the backburner regardless of what else you’re doing. There’s a doctor here in Panama who has written several novels; she explains that she writes wherever she can: while waiting at the dentist’s office, while waiting for a flight at the airpor, and so on. Although having enough time to achieve the flow state is important, adding little bits to your project here and there helps keep the project “alive” at all times.
Marelisas last blog post..Make Your Workspace More Creative
I absolutely agree – especially in today’s hectic world, we writers have to snatch our writing time whenever and wherever we can grab it. Plus, sometimes the best creative insights come when you’re standing in line at the grocery store.
I loved the pace of this post it completely energized me and renewed my commitment to steal those bits of time to keep moving forward. It is true that the snippets we capture throughout the day can be surprisingly effective, allowing us to get the ideas out of our head and on to paper. I find that when I do sit at the keyboard with my scraps of ideas, I am not wrestling with the muse but simply working on the idea. Thanks Melissa as always for bringing us great writing tips!
Karen Swims last blog post..Planted in Adversity, Harvested in Hope
Thank WereBear for this one! “Writing on the Go” is her brainchild. And it’s definitely a good reminder to take advantage of those short but empty time slots, and to keep a notebook in your pocket at all times
I absolutely only can write on the Go somehow! When I try to force my writing, I do see those blank white spaces on my computer screen… I really write though “feelings” if I can say, and then suddenly all the words keep flowing…
Nicolas Prudhons last blog post..The 10 key elements of an optimized post
That’s interesting. It sounds like you get your best writing done when you’re on the go. It’s good that you’re aware of it and take advantage of it!
I’m so glad everyone is committed to writing; all the time!
Because works in progress need that continual nudge, that sense that we are interested in them, before they can grow to the point that others will be too.
The Apple App store has some nice side programs for creativity. I use Idea Generator, Oblique, Shapewriter, and Headspace (a mind mapping program,) and even the I Ching.
It makes my iPod Touch a complete playground.
WereBears last blog post..Cat Affection Move: The Flop
Ooh, more apps that I can check out; thanks for the tips WereBear. There’s another one called WordTwiddle, which is pretty cool. I am thinking about reviewing some apps here at Writing Forward, or at least promoting them in some way. There are several that are quite useful for writers. Thanks again for contributing this guest post
My take away is using our odds and ends of time to improve our writing.
I agree. I carry a sticky pad around with me to help keep ideas flowing. Just this one little act causes me to pay more attention and look for insights all around me whether it’s lunch or a movie.
J.D. Meiers last blog post..Monday Vision, Daily Outcomes, Friday Reflection
When I’m out and about, I tend to get struck by ideas while driving. So while I do keep a notebook in my car, I also use my phone. It has a voice recorder, but before I had this (iPhone), I used to just call myself and leave a message. It’s pretty weird getting a voice mail from yourself.
While I like this notion, I definitely wouldn’t use a brown paper bag. I’ve found any writing I do on non-paper and even paper that’s just not in a notebook quickly disappears when I get back to my room.
I always carry my notebook though, so I can jot down notes whenever inspiration strikes. It’s good to always be ready for any ideas you come up with.
Martin – Writing Promptss last blog post..Stories Centered Around An Object
I always carry a notebook too, but I guess if I found myself without it, I might put a paper bag to use. It’s always best to be prepared, but if we find ourselves unprepared, then innovation is the next best thing
Haha true. I actually find that when I’m without my notebook, I’ll pull out my cell phone and create a draft where I’ll type a few quick thoughts. It’s very tedious (I don’t have a fancy keyboard cell phone) but it gets the job done.
Martin – Writing Promptss last blog post..Stories Centered Around An Object
Even the smartphones are tedious for typing in long passages of text, but it’s still better than forgetting
I’ve been known to leave myself a voice mail message; sometimes that’s faster. And certainly better than forgetting!
WereBears last blog post..Picking up on Presence: Part 2
And it comes in handy when you’re driving and can’t type or write!