Don’t think, Just write

Don’t think, Just write

When I recently took up writing again after a long break, I tended to over think things, aiming at a perfect story on the first draft. I have met a few other writers who have complained of this as well and so I decided to share my thoughts on the issue.

I began writing in my teens, my final year of secondary school, precisely when I had been preparing for my school leaving certificate exams. Over studying for exams had been getting to me and my friends were so bored in class one day, that a friend and I decided to collaborate on a story. That was the day I realised how interesting and awesome it was to craft tales.

When I wrote then, because I did it for fun, I didn’t think too much about it and writing came really easy. Due to university workload and other things that came along, I had to drop it for years. I had been too busy to think or come up with plots until about three years back when the zeal returned.

Now when I write, because I am older, I want it to be mature, I want the readers to love it, I have so much to prove and I put so much pressure on myself to make it near perfect.

After a while of writing under so much pressure, I lost the zeal and I just couldn’t bring myself to write. I hadn’t even wanted to look at the story I had been working on.

So I took a long break, dumping a story I had been working on and leaving my readers hanging in uncertainty.

Time passed, months went along and I began feeling less like a writer. I envied writers who were consistent and I wondered if I had ever had the talent.

When i got tired of leaving my story hanging, I did a little reading on the Internet and there, I got the help I needed.

Writers need to understand the limitless resources on the net, whatever answers or help you need, I can assure you that you can find it somewhere online.

On the Internet I learnt some tricks in the trade, the first and most important is;

Don’t think too much

You really don’t need to worry about making the first draft perfect because it really is difficult to do that.

Once you have an idea, just write

I call it write without looking behind. Don’t bother with spell check, upper or lower case letter mistakes, typos or punctuation. Just pour out what you have at the moment, however ridiculous or riddled with mistakes it is.

I find when I do this, even if I had been reluctant to begin at first, I begin to get into the story and I can write on and on until I feel the need to rest.

It’s a really neat trick and it works especially for those going through the dreaded writer’s block. It doesn’t matter how stupid your lines might seem, just keep on with the story.

Rest your head

When you are done, leave it aside and give yourself some time to rest. There are some relaxation exercises writers can observe. I won’t go into that but you can Google it.

Find a time and a place that inspires your creative flow

For me, I write better at nights or early in the morning before everyone else is awake and when it’s really quiet. So I like to sleep early, wake up sometime at night with a clear head and do my writing. While I listen to music of course, somehow music inspires me.

Develop later

After I draft the chapter, I spend the next few days developing, brushing up and making necessary corrections to it little at a time until it is perfect before I move on to the next chapter. Sometimes I get so into it that I can write two or three chapters at a sitting while at other times, I manage to write just one chapter of three thousand words.

So my advice to writers out there is don’t over think it, just begin. The hardest part is to begin, once you do, it will flow freely. Remember, the trick is to write without looking behind and not over thinking it all at once.

Would you like to add yours? Please feel free to in the comment tab so we can all learn.

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