Monday, August 29, 2005

Detoxing my Writing

We're doing this 2-day fruit detox diet. I am now about 3 hours into it and am feeling equal parts virtuously healthy and a fierce coffee craving. I am actually looking forward to the thin chicken broth we're having for dinner tonight. Yummm!

Is my mind starting to wander or does everything link back to writing somehow? Maybe both.

After years of getting into the habit of writing in a particular manner, I have become very comfortable in my ways. I know I am a skilled prose writer. I have a good turn of phrase. I can make a scene evocative. But I am lost in it somehow. I've become lazy. I rely on the mechanics of what is comfortable, the things I know I can do well. What I need is to fall flat on my face.

Witing means to explore, to go out on a limb, fly without a net, live dangerously, run away from the usual. And to discover a new facet within myself, a new way of writing. Re-discovery.

I need a writing detox. Any ideas anyone? What's the equivalent? Any exercises to detox my writing? I am going to look on the web for some ideas.

2 comments:

Anne said...

Have you tried NaNoWriMo? (http://nanowrimo.org) It's a fly by the seat of your pants type thing and it really helps me.

tastes like chicken said...

i don't know about writing, cos i'm not yet a writer, but writers are people first and they need inspiration for their craft. some get it through actively living their lives (hemingway?) while others sit alone and imagine what it's like (dickenson?)...about writing as ''living dangerously''? sure---for foreign correspondents, or if divulging secret info in a tell-all biography or putting out a revolutionary concept...but mostly i think writing is a low risk activity, so therefore...jump off, fly and have fun!