Dumb Little Writing Tricks That Work: Snacks
This is a really dumb trick, but damn, if it doesn’t work.
This is a really dumb trick, but damn, if it doesn’t work.
So it’s like maybe 15 years ago and I’m reading an interview with noted playwright and screenwriter Neil Simon. And in this interview, Simon confesses that one way he forces himself to write is the judicious use of snacks. That’s right. Snacks. I don’t have the interview, but basically what I remember is that he’d get like a bag of Fritos, put them in a drawer across the room , sit down at his desk to write, look at the clock, and say to himself, “Okay, I’m going to write for 30 minutes, then I will allow myself a handful of Fritos.” And he’d write. Then get the Fritos. Sit back down then, “Awright, this time I’m going to write for 45 minutes.” 45 minutes later, more Fritos. In essence, Simon had trained himself Pavlovian style to write, your basic behavioral psychology.
Do some of you use this type of enticement to lure you to write? If not, why not give it a shot? Pick out some snack that you really love. Sit your butt on chair, write for an hour, then give yourself a treat. Fritos, ahoy!
This has been another edition of Dumb Little Writing Tricks That Work.