Reader Question: Do you have any suggestions to warm up for writing?

Two suggestions to help you overcome the dreaded “how to get my ass into the chair and writing” conundrum.

Question from Brian Trichon:

Loyal blog follower here, devout writer, and praiser of the Scott Myers scriptures :)

I have a question about warming up, which I thought could be an interesting blog post….

For some, the gift of written word comes with great ease, while others must exert way more time and energy crafting their ideas into concrete prose. I unfortunately fall into the latter category. And just as a pitcher warms up in bull pen before taking the mound, over the years, I’ve found that sending out emails, jotting down notes, or writing pretty much anything before I start tackling a scene in final draft always helps my brain get into literary gear.

But I wonder if there’s a more effective approach to warming up for what we writers do. I feel like I was a writer in isolation for so long…and then once I discovered your blog and a few other online resources, so much of the writing process has been demystified.

So, through your own travels talking with writers, working on your projects, etc… Have you ever discussed any “warm up” writing techniques or rituals?

(And by ritual I don’t mean drinking 40 ounces of starbucks and chaining yourself to a desk until you get a word out. I mean, things to get the words-a-flowin’)

Indeed I have pondered this issue, Brian. In fact, I’ve blogged about two techniques you can use. First: Don’t Finish That Scene:

Let’s say you’re in the middle of writing a script — and it’s a slog. You’re finding it really tough to drag your ass onto the chair and start writing the next scene.

Well, let’s roll back the clock. What if yesterday, you hadn’t finished the previous scene? What if you got halfway through that scene, knew exactly where it needed to go to reach the end, but instead of completing it, you quit your writing session with the scene unfinished.

Now instead of starting the next day having to break a new scene, you have the easy task of finishing the scene from the day before.

Bada-bing, bada-boom, you knock out the ending to the scene, giving your mind and your fingers a chance to warm up — and now you’re ready to charge ahead.

So the trick is stop each writing session in the middle of a scene. That way you can start the next session with the ‘positive’ experience of finishing a scene.

Second: Script Diary:

The last thing I do before I type FADE IN is create a Word file which I call Script Diary.

I come to the diary to start every writing session. I visit it when I get stuck. I return to it when I hit on a story revelation. Day after day, I use my script diary to chronicle the page-writing part of the process.

At the start of a writing session, I note the date and time in the script diary, then get my fingers and brain loosened up by typing up my thoughts about the scene I am about to tackle. I’ll remind myself what type of scene it is, which characters are participating in it, what each of their agendas is, who is playing what story function for that scene, how the scene relates to the overall plot, what the central point of the scene is, and so on. As I’m doing that, normally lines of dialogue pop to mind and I’ll put those down — so in essence I’m pre-drafting the scene, and can take that sketch to my script file and use it to write the actual scene.

Those are a couple of tactics you can use to warm up for writing. I’ve heard of others. Start off each writing session with journal writing. Or blind type for several minutes to get the fingers moving and focus your energy. But perhaps the single best way to get you motivated to write has nothing to do with techniques, rather it’s simply this: Find a story you are passionate to write!

If you love your characters…
Love the story universe…
Love the narrative elements…

Then that emotional connection you feel can help connect your fanny to your chair… and your fingers to your keyboard… and compel you to start writing.

Readers, what suggestions do you have to warm up for writing?

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