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How is your writing flow?
Posted by Anthe • 8/13/09 • Subscribe to this Discussion [RSS] • Report This Topic
Topics: blogging, Posts, words, writing
Mine is horrible at times when I am trying to find the right words to write what I mean to say. Today I found some very timely weblogs about getting the right flow. And it made me write a post on that immediately.
developmentals.wordpress.com/2009/08/13/writing-with-flow/
I have the feeling that for most bloggers here it is a bit more easy, so I was wondering if that really is the case. Or does it just look that way and are you also struggling like hell to write down what you really want to say.
So how is your writing flow?
User Comments
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I work hard on writing flow because I know bumps in the flow of the language can tend to disengage the reader-- draw them out of the story when you don't want them to be.
How good the flow is, usually is proportional to how much time I have to smooth it out before publishing.
I try to keep to a M-W-F post schedule, so some days the pieces read more strongly than others.-
Yes, that almost seems like a paradox, in order to make it look natural, you have to work very hard on it.
But for me it is not only essential to have time to 'smooth it out', I also have often trouble to find words at all. There are often not even words, let alone sentences to express what I mean to say. So a good practise for me is to write a lot right now, just ramble on to give me something to smooth.
And I totally agree that the flow of the language is almost essential to keep the reader in the story.
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I'm interested in what I write, so the flow doesn't start and stop as much as when I have to write about a topic I'm a bit uncertain about.-
Well, that is the most important I guess, writing about something you are interested in yourself. For me even on top of anything else, as otherwise I would not even get one word out. I really would not be able to focus on writing something I was not interested in.
And that is the beauty of a blog, you can write exaclty what you want to write about.
But the real difficulty is maybe being very interested in something, but at the same time being uncertain about it because it is a field you are not familiar with. For one that is the problem of being interested in science or philosophy. In order to focus on that you have to learn to 'speak' the language first, which is a total struggle. Well, for me it is.
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Its sometimes very hard to put my thoughts into words but I try to make as much sense of it as i can-
Translating thoughts into words, I agree that is really very hard to do. Those thoughts can go into every direction and as long as they are not made into words they still have all the potential I guess.
But then words are made and someone else has other associations with those words. Which makes it sometimes indeed very hard to make sense of it.
But to me exhange, interaction and discussion helps. Along the line I notice differences in understanding of words and expressions. And then I can adjust and alter a bit what I am saying to get it understood and understand others better. -
I have the opposite problem. I think in words--I'm not even sure what a thought in any form other than words would be. But the words I think in are much more akin to those I'd write than those I'd speak. Verbal communication often requires me to filter and break things down into conversational English when the thoughts come to me in prose. -
MadameX: This is so really interesting to hear. I thought about what you said and try to understand how that would be.
Maybe it is something a born writer has, someone who has a natural talent for language. Maybe opposed to thinking in concepts or something like that.
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again? -
Oh no! its back
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Not as easy for me. That is why I don't post every day,... I stand in admiration for people who post every day.
But then if it was that easy, I would have been bored out of my mind. Love the challenge.-
That was also for me one of the reasons I did not post every day. It really took me hours and hours of writing, editing and rewriting to get one blogpost done, that I often ended up just saving as a draft because it was by far not what I had meant to say.
But a few weeks ago I did the challenge to do one blogpost every day for a month and I just have to press the 'publish' button, either I am satisfied with the post or not, because the day is almost over.
And much to my surprise I just love it. Okay, many of the posts should really be rewritten as they are by far not saying what I intended.
But then I think, so what! I will try to say it better next time. And I also just love the challenge.
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Enjoyed the post, I hate reading aloud as I cant help putting on a funny voice.
My flow has flown off, so at the moment I am doodling instead
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I am glad you liked the post. Yes, I know what you mean about the reading aloud. Not my favourite thing to do either and I avoid it all the time. Sounds so silly. But it does help me I noticed. Not that I will do it all the time now, but maybe if a post is important or difficult I might try it more often.
To bad that your flow has flown off, but maybe that is the natural flow of life. Maybe there is a time to be active, write a lot, interact all the time, which is followed by a more reflective or maybe just an inactive or as you say doodling phase.
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I admit I cheat on my posts. When nothing comes up I come up with Interviews because for me it is very easy. Essay is also easy especially when it is about personal stuff. the HARDEST would be something about reviews and writing about artists. Now I find myself deleting and rewriting and also editing what's already posted.-
I am thinking about what you wrote here, about the different sort of writings, and I tried to write how I see that, but I can not get clear what I mean to say. So I have to think about that a bit, because I think it is are really interesting differences.
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I can't avaoid to being casual when writing... the flow, the words, all are casual and lack of seriuosness.-
Well, a sort of nonfiction than actually. Just writing what comes to mind. Must be great if you can do that.
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I can't avaoid to being casual when writing... the flow, the words, all are casual and lack of seriuosness.
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i just kind of... write... and then go reread and make corrections. but i put more thought into content than flow, since really... i'm not a professional writer. i hope my readers don't expect me to be perfect!-
Personally I hardly ever think it is about being perfect. And then again what is perfect. I do not think that is ever possible because writing is using certain words where someone else might have used others.
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I make sure my writing flows from the first letter to the last period. It has to flow smoothly wihtout any bumps or hitches that causes the reader to pause. Oddly enough, a lot of my writing tends to read like a text-book, so I don't know if that's good or bad. Someone pointed this out in a comment to me once and it made me look back and say "Oh... I guess you are right."-
Without any bumps or hitches that causes the reader to pause, well totally utopia for me I guess. But I love to read such writings.
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I don't have anything to say. I let the words say it for me. In others words, I don't begin with a preconception, I let the muse take over and lead me by the nose. Writing, for me, is less a matter of expressing something I want to say, than discovering something that can be said.-
Again you've have said it beautifully -
Nothingprofound, thank you for commenting on my blog. I think you really have a very interesting way of writing which seems rather opposite to mine. But the main difference is maybe that you seem to have 'access' to so much more words than me.
And I really like the distiction you make between 'expressing' and 'discovering'.
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When it comes to writing flow I just write and let it happen. After I have written I go back over what I have read, read it aloud, and then edit if necessary.-
I really think that is a perfect balance between natural flow and structure. Both are equally important but the sequence makes the difference.
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I write a lot these days, for school and for fun. And the thing is, I mustn't think too much about it, because then I can get a writers block. I just have to let it go and type, preferably with some good music on the background.
And it's just like Timethief said, after I've written something I have to go back, read it again and then if I have to, edit it.-
Yes, I am finding out more and more that my thinking gets in the way.
And I also love to play music in the background, kind of makes your thinking less prominent or so, lets it wonder around more.
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Ordinarily, the written word is my all consuming passion. Words flow effortlessly and dependably and articles rarely call for more than one edit.
About two weeks ago, that connection fizzled. No life changes, no stressors, just PoOf! and it was gone. Writing became an exercise in frustration.
Suggestions would be oh, so welcome. In the meantime, you can safely ignore any screaming from the general direction of Missouri .. it's just me working on the next article.-
Writing an exercise in frustration. Could easily be someting I would have said, so I do not have much suggestions.
But the frustration must be so much worse if you HAVE to write. To bad, I hope the flow will return soon.
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My writing experiences have varied greatly. Drawing, creating visual imagery, was my beginning creative outlet. Writing was just an assignment in school class. A page on this. 2 pages on that. Only in the 11th grade did I learn writing could be more. P.J. Neff, our new history teacher (I still remember his name) assigned for our final project a 6-page report. It was the largest any of us had every tackled. Because I liked war stories and drew war comics, I chose WW2. When I showed it to Mr. Neff, he read it, then told me this: That my writing was historically fairly accurate but I could do better, that he had heard me before and after class relate war stories my uncles had experienced throughout the war. "Focus on that. Include their stories," he said. It was a moment of enlightment. I did rewrite the assignment. For the first time with excitement and focus. Six pages was hardly enough. I turned it in. And received the highest praise from Mr. Neff.
Drawing remained my main art form, but writing became personal and pleasurable. My combining the two begin. Writing without drawing? Drawing without writing? I cannot see seriously doing either without the other. Both sustain me today.-
I really think that is a great combination, drawing and writing, words and images. For me it works very well I must say.
About the more personal writing as contrast with dry but accurate facts, very timely, I am thinking about just that, right now. And trying to get a blogpost done about it, as I find that really very interesting.
Especially what you mention about writing about the experiences of others. Not sure if I can get my thinking about that in a flowing blogpost though!
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My writing flow is like a wide river that has a glassy appearance but it is rapidly moving beneath the surface....actually sometimes it is more like a stagnant lake that reeks of methane but at those moments I just step away from the computer and do not return until I have cleared my mind. -
Q. How is your writing flow?
A. Non existent at present. -
Great..maybe because i'm super eccentric -
My writing usually flows pretty fast. I kind of have a different problem. That's when I know the exact word I want to use, but I'm not sure if my spelling is correct. I have to stop what I'm doing and go look the stupid word up or enable a spell-check function. It totally breaks my flow and irks me to the last. I guess I could put off checking the word until later, but then I worry I'll forget to do so or miss it.
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