In today’s post, we are going to be discussing MY writing process that so far has been fine-tuned over, let’s say, about the last 7months as I finally got back into writing after burying my desire for it due to fear of perfectionism and crippling self-doubt.
I have discovered that I am what you call an INTUITIVE WRITER. No matter how much planning I do before I start writing, knowing my overarching themes, and perhaps some chapters and scenes, when it’s time to get down writing, I really just have to really let it all come out onto the page without any back-peddling, self-editing, or tweaking.
This was discovered through realizing during my first novel (I just finished in December 2021), that I would get stuck and feel uninspired whenever I began to compare and contrast myself to others, and try to go back and ‘control’ or edit the way my story was coming out.
After realizing the reason why my writing days were becoming so bland and lifeless was due to the fact I wasn’t allowing the story to just come out as I channeled it from the universe, and accept it as it was in that state, I began to make a dramatic shift in my writing.
Below are some of the new loose rules I follow to create a day full of abundant words that sparks joy and ease of flow in my writing.
- On the first draft I write only forwards. I never look back. I never trying to control what comes out. This is because intution is mostly right-brained, while editing is left brained. If you really want to channel and get into the intuitive flow, you have to shut down the analytical side of your brain.
- I allow myself to write whatever comes to my head in my writing session. This works best if you have scrivener, because you can simply create a new scene on any given day and organise it later. Perhaps one morning after listening to some music, I get inspired about a certain character or dialogue. I will just go with where that character is leading me and write it out there and then.
- I do not organise any of the scenes untill I complete that first draft
- I accept the draft the way it is. This is hard. I’m not perfect, and intuitives are more prone to imposter syndrome than anyone else. So I often journel out my emotions, or use affirmations to get me through the doubt.
This is the writing process that I find is working best for me. Do you have something of your own?
Do you find you tend to quit first drafts because you are disappointed in them or giving into perfectionistic tendencies? Comment below and share your experiences.