Welcome to My Writing Lair!
I write quite a lot. One idea leads to the next, and soon I have several pages written. My process leads to a lot of words in a hurry.
My process of writing and idea generation is great whether you are writing an article, essay, or a book.
I'll explain my process of writing and thinking and try to use examples wherever possible. Read on to learn more.
My process of writing and idea generation is great whether you are writing an article, essay, or a book.
I'll explain my process of writing and thinking and try to use examples wherever possible. Read on to learn more.
Table of Contents
My Writing Starts with an Idea
Creativity is where it all begins.
I have a refined and organized process of writing. It starts with an idea that becomes a sentence, then a paragraph, then its own document. That document is a distinct idea with a certain topic. It gets its own folder. New ideas find their way there and branch out into new documents and some get their own folders. The result is thousands of ideas in several hundred documents in over 100 active folders. I don't even keep track of my archives (seldomly-used files and folders).
I jot down my ideas each day, going through them every few days, sorting and organizing them, expanding on my ideas. It is a process that takes time, sometimes a few weeks or months before I am mostly done, adding bits and pieces from time to time.
It does not take much effort. I just let the ideas write themselves down; I don't try to force it. If my ideas don't want to come out, they don't have to. This leaves me writing more some days than others, but it works for me.
I jot down my ideas each day, going through them every few days, sorting and organizing them, expanding on my ideas. It is a process that takes time, sometimes a few weeks or months before I am mostly done, adding bits and pieces from time to time.
It does not take much effort. I just let the ideas write themselves down; I don't try to force it. If my ideas don't want to come out, they don't have to. This leaves me writing more some days than others, but it works for me.
Expanding on Your Thoughts: Idea Generation
Get thinking! This is a Creative Exercise I Use:
I start with a word. I think of other related words, associations with that word and with the new words. I quickly grab a thesaurus to find more words. I do a web search.
There is soon an explosion of words, new ideas, and new documents. I try write down as many related ideas as possible. My brain becomes a thought ticker. I try to catch the thoughts as they go by. I write down whatever comes to me.
Once you've got your brain going, there is no limit at this point. All you have to do is keep up with your thoughts; your fingers will likely be stumbling all over your keyboard struggling to keep up with your over-active mind.
I'm not concerned with sorting or organizing my thoughts or ideas at this point, I just try to get them all written down. I can organize them later.
There is soon an explosion of words, new ideas, and new documents. I try write down as many related ideas as possible. My brain becomes a thought ticker. I try to catch the thoughts as they go by. I write down whatever comes to me.
Once you've got your brain going, there is no limit at this point. All you have to do is keep up with your thoughts; your fingers will likely be stumbling all over your keyboard struggling to keep up with your over-active mind.
I'm not concerned with sorting or organizing my thoughts or ideas at this point, I just try to get them all written down. I can organize them later.
Tag It!
This method is also a great way to think of tags for your lens. You can easily think of many related terms for your lens and then pick out the best ones to use.
These are two Great Writing Books from Amazon:
I am not a novelist, but I have read these two books and they're both great!
These two books are step-by-step guides on how to write a "Damn Good Novel". (Plus they show you what a catchy title is like).
The first one is great and is a general introduction into fiction writing and the second one is more in-depth, talking about more advanced writing techniques and offers great advanced character development tips and advice.
I highly recommend these books to anybody who writes fiction or anybody who is thinking about writing fiction.
The first one is great and is a general introduction into fiction writing and the second one is more in-depth, talking about more advanced writing techniques and offers great advanced character development tips and advice.
I highly recommend these books to anybody who writes fiction or anybody who is thinking about writing fiction.
Damn, it Feels Good to Be a Banker: And Other Baller Things You Only Get to Say If You Work On Wall Street
Amazon Price: $5.58 (as of 11/29/2009) 
How to Write a Damn Good Novel: A Step-by-Step No Nonsense Guide to Dramatic Storytelling
Amazon Price: $14.93 (as of 11/29/2009)
Here's How I Do It, Step by Step:
- I jot down my jot points and thoughts.
- I organize my jots within the document.
- I expand on my thoughts by going through the documents adding new thoughts and explaining existing ones.
Spontaneous Ideas: Be Prepared...
You never know when a good idea is going to hit you.
I have many ideas going at once and try to catch them all. I usually have about 3-5 documents opened at once. When a thought pops into my head, I jot it down in the appropriate document. This happens when I'm reading a book, watching a movie, reading a webpage, or doing whatever.
I carry a pen and two small pieces of paper folded in my pocket everywhere I go. When I get home, I type them out. I can remember only about 3 different ideas in my head at once. Any more and I start to lose some. That's why I carry a pen and paper with me everywhere I go.
I keep a notebook on my night table at night and usually find myself waking up in the middle of the night to write out some jot notes.
I carry a pen and two small pieces of paper folded in my pocket everywhere I go. When I get home, I type them out. I can remember only about 3 different ideas in my head at once. Any more and I start to lose some. That's why I carry a pen and paper with me everywhere I go.
I keep a notebook on my night table at night and usually find myself waking up in the middle of the night to write out some jot notes.
Final Thoughts
Life is an open book. I never stop writing. A document on a particular topic or idea is never finished; it is a perpetual work in progress. I'm always adding new ideas to them, re-organizing them, and breaking them up into new documents.
I think this method goes hand-in-hand with making a lens. It all starts with an idea but soon expands and branches off to new ideas and you have to make more lenses about the individual aspects of your original idea.
I hoped you enjoyed reading about how I think and organize my thoughts.
I think this method goes hand-in-hand with making a lens. It all starts with an idea but soon expands and branches off to new ideas and you have to make more lenses about the individual aspects of your original idea.
I hoped you enjoyed reading about how I think and organize my thoughts.
Other Stuff:
If you liked this lens, please give it 4 or 5 stars.
Link to this lens, favorite it, lensroll it, or bookmark this page with del.icio.us.
If you want to learn more about me, stop by my Bio Lens.
Check out my blog about life and happiness, The World Observed to learn more about my perspective on life.
Link to this lens, favorite it, lensroll it, or bookmark this page with del.icio.us.
If you want to learn more about me, stop by my Bio Lens.
Check out my blog about life and happiness, The World Observed to learn more about my perspective on life.
It's your turn. Tell me what you think.
What is your method of writing?
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- kohuether kohuether Apr 18, 2009 @ 11:08 pm
- This is such a valuable skill for writers! I find that I need to keep a notebook in my purse just in case... One idea seems to lead to another. :)
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- chillingbreeze chillingbreeze Dec 29, 2008 @ 6:22 am
- It is indeed a great lens. Very interesting and thanks for sharing this info :)
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Sun
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- moneyman17 moneyman17 Dec 1, 2008 @ 8:17 am
- Your tips certainly are top-notch. so i want to Invite you to visit and submit your articles to
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- WritingforYourWealth WritingforYourWealth Jul 26, 2008 @ 2:44 am
- Yup, you can't force those ideas out. I often get the best ones when I'm doing something unrelated to writing and what I've been working on. Sometimes other areas of your life, or books you're reading, are great for idea fodder.:)
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- bekat bekat Jul 22, 2008 @ 12:07 pm
- Find your muse! Did you see the movie, "Shakespeare in Love"? I loved the concept where the movie started, Shakespeare with writers block! Then he found his muse - Juliet...I tell people, "write, write, and then write some more!"
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by EricOlsen
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