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Discussion:Writing Methods

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Bluelight Crew
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I was thinking about this just now...I have different methods of writing different pieces. Some I just let flow out, some are forced as hard as possible, and some are constructed word by word. Other times I let loose, and other times I put limitations on my writing purposely.

What methods of writing do you find most comfortable or effective?
 
I prefer to write every which way that is opposite to the way my year 9 English taught me to.

I'm a huge fan hubert selby jr, irvine walsh etc.

I much prefer to read something written with less structure, feels truer in a sense and I enjoy reading it more as much as it's easier to write in this manner.
 
For a while I had a very bizarre method for writing poetry. I would do long free-writes of phrases, lines, images, ideas, etc. Then I would sift through these free-writes at a later date, selecting my favorite parts and arranging them all into separated lines. After that, I would literally cut out these lines with scissors and scatter them all over my floor. The final step was to arrange them into poems, modifying syntax, tense, etc. where necessary. Once I had a poem composed, I would type it up and edit it to perfection. Sometimes I would edit so much, none of the original words remained (think 50-60 drafts...).

I did this all out of compulsion more than anything else. I was on lots of stimulants at the time, and had all sorts of stupid conceptions about poetry that I no longer believe. I've come to realize my method was overly convoluted, tedious and time-consuming, even though I thought it was a shortcut at the time. In reality, it made the poems sound flat and limited my self-expression. Today I write poems beginning to end. After that, if it's a “keeper,” I'll do 10-20 revisions and then let it sit for while, or just say it’s finished. It's a lot simpler this way.
 
Most times I feel something inside that says to write its as if my mind unconsciously synthesized information I contemplated recently and its time to put it into written form often times after listening to new music or reading something new I write to better assimilate the ideas.
 
Sometimes I can hear the words flowing in my mind, but they're not words yet, just sorta sounds floating around. And I need to apply the word to the sound and it comes out.

Other times I can just flow and it pours out of my finger tips without even having to think about it. Sometimes my fingers don't even go fast enough to keep up with the level of words I can spill out.

Then other times, I get wasted drunk and ramble. I always like the way that comes out :)

Also I don't write much at all anymore, as I focus on drawing. So none of these are very practiced methods. But they seem to work when the ol' word fairy comes to visit me in my head.
 
Mostly I write because I get the 'strange' feeling. Something will hit me as being meaningful or metaphorical in a way I hadn't thought of, and I'll try and put words to that feeling. About once or twice a month I'll have this 'strange moment' (if I'm lucky I might even have a strange day); then I rush to a keyboard before it evaporates.

But yes, it usually begins as a peculiar feeling that I work at attaching words to.

I'll also try and force it sometimes, especially when things have been dry for a while. I usually don't pull it off, but occasionally I'll come up with a neat phrase that I can expand on.

And then yes, sometimes I just wake up in the morning with a horrible headache and find Jekyll has written something beautiful :D
 
Writing is something that has always come really easily for me (not making any comment re: quality, just saying that it's a natural form of expression), so I don't really labor over anything too much. Generally what ends up as the finished product is the first thing that came to mind when I decided to sit down and write it. I used to get in trouble all the time in school because working in drafts and building my way to a completed piece of writing is something that's really foreign to me.....the most I'll do generally if anything is go back and maybe change a word or a phrase here and there, but generally I can't start editing too much or I'll just chop the soul out of it.

There are times where I can't just sit down and nut the whole thing out in one sitting, and when that happens I just put it away and come back to it rather than try and force something to come out. I have had pieces that went months untouched before I came back and worked on them some more...
 
A lot of people are talking about how they wait for that "IT", that fucking moment of inspiration or whatever. Well, I want to disagree, officially. I believe that if you are a true writer, then you are like everyone else who has a job. If you want to eventually write professionally, like I do, you must approach the act as a fucking job. Every day, regardless of how much silly inspiration you have, you must sit at your computer/typewriter/notebook and fucking write something. Whatever it is. In my CRWR classes, they always say "JUST WRITE". It's like, even if you seriously cannot write, then you should be writing: "I cannot write". Write that phrase over and over and over again. Endlessly. Eventually you will hit on something. Or maybe not. But that's not the point at all. The point is that you are writing. Even if it is complete shit that you will never publish. Writing every day -- regardless of quality -- is the key to success in this field. I have experienced this first-hand to a very small extent, but also I have observed this practice working splendidly for my professors (who are all professional poets or fiction writers). Writing every day is the way to be a true writer. Write! Write! Write! Don't fucking stop, or else you're just doing it for fun. If you're doing it avidly, seriously and professionally, then you must write daily. That is my prescription. But maybe me and my professors are wrong. If so, call me out. I'm ready to be shot down ;)
 
leiphos: I totally agree when it comes to looking at it from a professional point of view....if I am doing work for someone else or on some kind of a deadline, I will sit down and make myself churn stuff out because it needs to be done. Most of the time when I write though I only do it to satisfy my desire to express myself, so I can afford to be more la di da about the whole thing.

If you're wanting to write for a career, you definitely have to approach it like a job, but that's not everybody's motivation... :)
 
Papa said:
Mostly I write because I get the 'strange' feeling. Something will hit me as being meaningful or metaphorical in a way I hadn't thought of, and I'll try and put words to that feeling.
Click to expand...

I can definitely relate to that - you've pretty much captured my experience of 'inspiration', when an unforeseen possibility calls out for expression, and seems to be within reach.

I use many different methods, often making up the rules as I go along - sometimes I go for fluidity of form, whereas other times I'll impose strict formal constraints (e.g. line lengths, stanza lengths) and try to work within and around them.

If I'm not feeling particularly inspired I'll either go back to work on older stuff, or play around with cut-ups and try to get a spark from there. I collect strange and interesting words/phrases in my notebook, and I'll often pluck phrases from here and there and start assembling them, morphing, cutting, rearranging, juxtaposing, etc.

I often think of my writing and editing methods in terms of electronic music production, part sampling and part sound-generation/manipulation. It's just an analogy, but one that works for me. I also like to experiment with 'textual remixing' (remixing someone else's work, with their permission - or giving someone a piece of mine to remix).

Raz, I know what you mean about 'editing the soul out' of something. That's a genuine risk, but on the other hand I don't necessarily subscribe to the 'first thought, best thought' philosophy either. That's generally attributed to the Beats (Ginsberg, Kerouac, et al), but in fact those guys were compulsive revisers/rewriters. The myth says that Kerouac wrote 'On the Road' in 3 weeks on a continuous roll of paper, but that was just the first draft. Plus he'd done plenty of note-taking and planning beforehand.

To quote Sol Stein: 'The biggest difference between a writer and a would-be writer is their attitude toward rewriting ... Unwillingness to revise usually signals an amateur ... [W]riting is truly rewriting.'

Although like you say, we're not all aiming to be 'professional writers' (whatever we take that to mean). Speaking for myself, I make a portion of my income from writing, and another portion from teaching writing and editing. So in one sense I'm a professional writer. But when it comes to my passion (poetry and experimental writing) I wouldn't use the term 'professional' in that context. I'd say that I'm dedicated to my chosen artform.
 
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