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I can watch myself getting lost in 'wanting' when I have been writing steadily for a while - wanting to write more stories, wanting to edit and finish old ones, wanting to finish a particular contribution for an upcoming contest, wanting to do research for a new story - until I forget about the Diving Deeper process more and more.
Then, when my muse is stubbornly turning her back on me and my writing has dried up completely and I look for whatever to rescue me, I sooner or later remember that doing the process has always been the source of my creativity. Through Diving Deeper, by doing the 'one to five' (see below), I keep re-connecting with the source of my writing.
In my experience, I need to go back to my “Point Zero” regularly - when I forget, when I get too carried away by wanting to write something specific, my writing dries up gradually, my daily habit gets undermined until nothing is left of it and I struggle endlessly to get back into the flow.
I found two quotes this morning that beautifully mirror and reinforce the simplicity of the process.
Gertrude Stein:
“You will write
if you will write without thinking of the result
in terms of a result,
but think of the writing in terms of discovery,
which is to say that creation must take place
between the pen and the paper,
not before in a thought or afterwards in a recasting…
It will come if it is there and if you will let it come.”
The ones among us who have done their share of following the Diving Deeper guidelines 'one to five' (see below!) know there will come a point (for most of us) when writing turns into agony. Nothing seems to occur anymore, everything that we put on the page seems flat, pointless, useless… there is no fun, there is no light at the end of the tunnel.
Going through that painful and frustrating phase and staying in the flow , writing my way through it is about the hardest lesson for me to learn. I cannot (yet! ;) announce that I have mastered the challenge of keeping up my daily writing habit, not matter what.
The second quote reminds me of my experience with Point Zero painting, where I had a breakthrough when I allowed my pictures to look like they were painted by a five year old.
By Robert Chrichton:
I was fretting too much over that opening sentence. I worked on it scrupulously,
thinking that if I could only get the first sentence right,
the rest of the book would come easy.
That was a big mistake.
Weeks went by with my staring at blank paper
and getting nowhere.
One day I decided to just start writing
in the style of the Dick and Jane first grade readers.
Simple little words,
without bothering about style or polish -
just to get the story on paper.
I started writing,
“There is a little town on a hill called Santa Vittoria.
It is in Italy. The people in the town
grow grapes and make wine.
One day, not too long ago…”
and so on. It worked fine.
Soon I was writing like mad all day long.
The pages began to pile up and I felt better.
And last, but not least, the 'one to five' I have been referring to:
From 'Diving Deeper in a Nutshell', Sandra's Notes along the Way #6:
- Write what comes up. (Don't plan what to write, don't think about it, just 'show up'
- Go 'fearward' – write what gives you 'energy' – what makes you tingle, what makes you sweat, what you *don't* what to write about!
- Give all the 'sensuous' detail - what you see/feel/smell/hear/smell – be specific - 'show', don't tell.
- Do not edit as you write (and don't edit for at least a few days after writing).
- The 10 year rule - If you write inspired from personal experience, generally you will find that experiences that are 10 or more years old will 'come more easily' – they are 'composted'.
With lots of love to all! How about doing some deep diving over the Easter Holidays! Yay!!!
Gabriele
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