historylass
sallyduchessThe Right Time to Write
October 23rd 2006 11:25
When is the right time to write? If you want to be a writer, always. Okay, so there may be some exceptions. Writing personal stuff at work is not a good idea. Writing in your sleep generally needs too many edits to make it readable. Same goes for writing when you're drunk. I would also suggest against writing when you're the bride at a wedding, undertaking a driving test or performing heart surgery.
That said, everybody can find the time to write. So many people say they want to write, but they just don't have the time. If you want to write, you will find the time. Give up television. Get a dictaphone and dictate as you do housework. Take a notebook with you on the bus. There is time. You just have to find it.
So what if you do find the time to write, but you can't think of anything to write about? Either that, or you have this grand literary masterpiece planned and the words just won't come out. Although I believe it is always the right time to write, sometime it's not the right time to write certain things. Some written pieces need a period of gestation. They need to grow in the mind. They need to be pondered and thought about before the words will come. If you're writing is based on a personal experience, you may also need some distance before you can write about it properly.
If that's the case, then write about something different. Write something fun. Write about writing. Write about how you can't find the time to write. Write about the heart surgery you're about to perform and how you really should put your notebook down before you do it!
That said, everybody can find the time to write. So many people say they want to write, but they just don't have the time. If you want to write, you will find the time. Give up television. Get a dictaphone and dictate as you do housework. Take a notebook with you on the bus. There is time. You just have to find it.
So what if you do find the time to write, but you can't think of anything to write about? Either that, or you have this grand literary masterpiece planned and the words just won't come out. Although I believe it is always the right time to write, sometime it's not the right time to write certain things. Some written pieces need a period of gestation. They need to grow in the mind. They need to be pondered and thought about before the words will come. If you're writing is based on a personal experience, you may also need some distance before you can write about it properly.
If that's the case, then write about something different. Write something fun. Write about writing. Write about how you can't find the time to write. Write about the heart surgery you're about to perform and how you really should put your notebook down before you do it!
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Comment by Wendi
I keep a notebook in the bathroom on the back of the toilet.
I keep a notebook in the glovebox of my car (ever been told to pick someone up at 3 and they don't come out until 3:30? Perfect time to write!)
I keep a notebook in my purse, of course. This comes in handy when waiting at places like the doctor's office or the department of motor vehicles! (U.S.)
I keep a notebook on the end table next to the couch so I can jot down ideas or notes during television commercials, or can write down random ideas I get by channel surfing.
That takes care of the "when" part, eliminating accounts of intentional scheduling (such as I'll write every day from 8-10 a.m.).
As for the ideas, I keep what I call an "idea box". It's not a box at all, really, but a file on my computer, or the last page in the back of a notebook of the computer isn't handy. Sometimes, I suck at the actual writing, but I'm brilliant with ideas. Other times, I'm lacking ideas but fired up to write. Keeping an idea box balances that out. During the idea phase, write down every idea that crosses your mind - poetry topics, novel plots, article subjects, blog rants, etc. -- Then, the next time you find yourself ready write but lacking an idea, you can just draw from the idea box and get the pen moving (or keyboard clicking, for that matter).
Just my two cents.
W
Comment by historylass
The Written Word
History Lass