A Simple (and productive) Writing Exercise

when the blank page feels overwhelming

I’m aware that the bulk of my readers are just here for an essay, or perhaps the occasional poetry fix. But over the past few months I have had a handful of people reach out and ask for tips and tricks on beginning a writing practice. While I do not feel qualified to give Real Advice, I am happy to share any creative exercises that have helped me along the way. The method I illustrate below was used in our writer’s group a few weeks back, and could be used to stimulate any form of writing: travel diary, essay, poetry, short story, etc. The finished product from this exercise lives here.

Some folks assume that being a writer must be terribly romantic¹. They imagine a snug attic scene; an artistic tableau complete with stacks of books, shiny floorboards, and steam curling from the rim of an earth-toned pottery mug. The work done in this space flows from inspired fingers and straight into beautifully structured and thought provoking sentences. The backspace button is never used.

I regret to intrude on this cozy narrative, but I’m afraid the word picture in the paragraph above is rather the exception than the rule. (It is also not currently available to an almost-forty mom of four.) The reality of the writing process is a bit more messy, less aesthetically pleasing, and a lot more labor intensive.

I will admit that being a writer² has its moments. But in writerly realms, it is a truth universally acknowledged that crafting concrete sentences from nebulous thought can sometimes feel like the height of futility. 

Creative ideas can be capricious and uncooperative things. Purring at your ankles one minute, then escaping up the nearest tree the second you sit down to pay them real attention. They are utterly irresponsible—unbothered by blank pages, good intentions, or looming deadlines.

Instead they seem to swirl through my thoughts like Ecclesiastical vapor, and leave me dashing for scrap paper at inopportune moments when my hands are otherwise occupied with vacuum sweeper or garden trowel. Or worse still, dripping with pink juice as I work through one last tote of late-season tomatoes. Don’t even get me started on how my very best ideas seem to be of the “instant” variety—just add (shower) water—never staying put by the time one gets around to toweling off. Highly inconvenient, incredibly soggy, and zero romance to be found.

On the days when I do locate a blissful uninterrupted hour to write, it appears that the gate to my brain has been left hanging open and all clever metaphors have run for the hills. Sometimes I forge ahead all the same—cringing as unwieldy words fall into clunky sentence arrangements—my cursor blinking out an insistent and angry-looking SOS. 

This is the part of the story where I usually conclude I must have written my final decent paragraph last week, and perhaps I should take up watercolor?  

Thankfully, people who have been writing far longer than my few short months are quick to assure me that this is a malady common to all who wield the pen. Which is frustrating. But also incredibly comforting in a weird way. 

Maybe this sounds slightly unhinged, and a little shocking too.  After all, aren’t published authors usually literary savants from whom these musical words flow through fingers like magic? 

Apparently not. There are a plethora of factors that contribute to successfully shaping one’s inspirations into paragraphs—but persistence and consistency seem to be standard issue ingredients for most (if not all) successful writers.

Which is not to say every writer doesn’t also have their own unique process when it comes to navigating the path from mind to manuscript. I am always curious to hear what works well for others. And eager to glean what methods I can in order to keep myself from falling into comfortable ruts that tend to develop into full on writing blocks .

Today I want to share one of my recent favorites. I don’t use it all the time, but when I’m feeling particularly dusty, it usually helps to brush loose the cobwebs and get the words flowing. Bonus points because it’s also fun!³

I am fairly confident that even those who do not consider themselves a writer will enjoy this exercise. For those of you who teach 10-15 year-olds, this could be an engaging and spontaneous group activity as well. It is particularly well-suited for creating vivid “word pictures.” 

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Mind mapping (explained below) is a fascinating peek inside the way your brain makes observations and connections. It illustrates well the joints and couplings that lurk just below the surface of our constant sensory input. 

At its most basic level, mind mapping is a visual tool that organizes our thoughts and illustrates how ideas are connected.

It can serve a purpose similar to an outline—but it is more flexible and spontaneous, perfect for the initial stages of brainstorming a written piece.  (Note: I am well aware that the illustrations below are not the elegant sort like other examples found online. If you are so inclined, there are programs available to do this process digitally that are much much neater. I, however, am still steadfastly an analog girl in certain respects.)

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1. Start with a main central idea. Write down (and circle) your main topic in the center of a blank page

   

2. Make associations.  Looking at the topic you have circled, write down the first word or phrase that comes to mind. Now circle it. Be spontaneous, and don’t over analyze! Draw a line connecting the second circle to the first.

   

3. Repeat. Continue writing words that associate to words you have already written. Draw lines back to the last word, central word, or any other words that seem connected.(however loosely) Don’t worry about how or why they are connected yet; just let your right brain do its thing, which is to see patterns.

   

Step back and organize. Once your page is full, or your ideas seem to peter out, step back and review what you have written. Cross out words that seem irrelevant, then begin to organize your clusters into an outline, then sentences, and finally paragraphs.

Sometimes all it takes is creating the initial “web” of interesting word patterns to get my creative juices flowing.

May your fingers be nimble and your pages be full!

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Those of you who write, teach, or just enjoy playing with words—what tips or tricks do you employ most often that others might be find interesting? Silly or serious, let’s help each other out and share them in the comments!

1. I suspect a fair amount of us arrived at this conclusion courtesy of Anne Shirley.

2. I am still pretty squeamish when typing this sentence. I am never sure when it is “allowable” to consider oneself a writer. I feel as though some adjective is still required before the title: fledgling, baby, newly hatched, novice, aspiring? Imposter syndrome is real.

3. I am of course referring to the nerdy kind of fun. You understand.