Write Once, Read Once, Move On (For Now)

It's been a doozy of a few days, or perhaps a week. But I've been working diligently on my book of essays. Or, on my random essays (the actual organization of said essays is TBD). I figure I will pull them into some semblance of a book later.

And the rule I'm living by right now is to write it once, then go back and read (and lightly edit) it once, and then move on. I think this is a good strategy for me. It allows me to push through that first dump of thoughts unhindered. Which needs to happen if anything good is to come out, because I'm really good at stopping to judge everything that I create.

This system also gives me boundaries: I know I will be allowed to read and edit it once I'm done dumping. And then when I do go back and read it, I don't have to pick it totally apart right now (and probably shouldn't, honestly). I will have plenty of time later to get it right.

Everyone has to find a system that works for them. Some people write nonstop for hundreds of pages before looking at what came out. Other people edit every sentence as they go, which probably isn't the most effective way to write (I used to do this, and I surely didn't get far). And still others make a detailed outline before sitting down to do anything. They simply need that structure to organize their thoughts and move them along.

Whatever your system is, once you find it, stick to it. Own it. It doesn't have to be like anyone else's, but feel free to borrow and try what other people say works for them.

I've been encouraged by the number of ideas that have been percolating in my head lately. I wake up in the early morning hours because of other things, and sometimes jot things down in a notebook in the dark. I think it means I have found my subject matter.

It's about damn time.

So that's it for now, I suppose. I'm having a resting weekend, mostly. Trying to get my body ready to chug along for the new week. But I am making an effort to sit down and write as often as I can when the mood strikes. And it struck. So here I am, and there you go.