Wildness and craziness

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Wildness and craziness are not the same thing at all. ‘Wild words’ are connected, contained, channelled, a healthy expression of our thoughts and feelings. ‘Crazy words’ are disconnected, rambling, unfocussed, out of control.

We want our characters and situations to ‘live’, and to ‘jump off the page’. They must, however, do it on our terms, not theirs. 

Look back at the written work you’ve produced over the past month/year/decade(s) (depending on how long you’ve been writing). How often when you’ve written, have you had a sense of being in control of the words, and how often have the words controlled you?

From block to flow

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Think for a moment about the word ‘block’.

‘Block’ is a metaphor that has its origins, (like most metaphors) in our embodied physical experience.

  • How do you experience writer’s block in your body- as constriction, or tension, or hardness perhaps?
  • Where in your body (if anywhere) do you feel it?

Now, think about the word ‘flow’.

  • Again, where do you experience flow in your body?
  • How would you describe the qualities of it?

Move your attention precisely but gently between the place in your body where you feel block, and the one where you feel flow. By pendulating between the block and the flow in this way you should notice the block gradually start to unwind, or ease.

I’d be fascinated to hear your experiences of undertaking this exercise, if you’d like to put them down in writing and send them to me.

Inner And Outer Worlds

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One of the most magical aspects of being a writer is that fact that while we are washing up in our humble abode (or undertaking similar mundane tasks), we can simultaneously be living out a whole other life in our imagination.

Write a piece of poetry or prose that explores the similarities and differences, the agreements and contradictions, between our outer and inner worlds.