Smooth Sailing: Writing When the Ideas are Flowing

As writers, we sometimes find ourselves in choppy waters wondering what to write, or trying to make that paragraph work for us.

At other times, things are smooth sailing and we wonder how long the sail will last. Until our child asks for a drink of water? Until the phone rings?

I have learned through the years that the muse is a tricky thing that comes and goes so I try to get in as much writing as I can, especially when the sentences are flowing.



Photo by: Mr Akyuz, courtesy of Flickr

That doesn't mean I won't be interrupted; what it does mean is that I write continuously without checking for grammar or sentence construction. When thing are moving, the last thing I need to do is to put my left brain in gear and do some editing. Editing should be reserved for other times, especially those times when the water is feeling a bit stagnant.

I can always tell when things are smooth sailing. It's almost as if I don't have to think; just record what I hear. Somehow the thoughts just enter, almost as if they skip my brain and drift into my soul. I write almost without thinking and allow the words to speak for themselves.

Does this make sense to you?

I hope so. We writers need to stick together, and it's not often easy to explain what being a writer means to those not walking the walk and writing the talk.

But I hope you do.

I hope that if today is a smooth sailing day that you will write and write and write, and if it's not, that you'll edit or focus on another project, or vacuum the living room carpet until an idea comes to you. And then I hope you can write (at least for a couple of hours straight) without ceasing.