Spontaneous Writing

....is a way to tap into your creative side and quell the self-consciousness that stifles fluent writing.  If you have trouble writing smoothly, have trouble thinking of the right words, or cannot seem to write unless you "feel ready to write", then spontaneous writing exercises might help.  Even if you are already writing, practicing such techniques can help you generate ideas, raise your consciousness about your writing habits, and lead you toward more fluid and rewarding writing experiences.

The method is to rise early and before you do anything else such as having coffee or reading the paper, you write about anything that comes to mind.  You write as fast as you can without concern about grammar, punctuation, or if your writing is interesting.  Don't reread what you've written; don't think about what you should write next; just put down whatever thought comes to you.  If you can't think of a word, just leave a blank or series of letters and move on.  This is done daily for 10-15 minutes for about 2 weeks.  Below is an example:

My mind is blank.  I find it difficult to think when faced with getting something down on paper.  It's the blankness of the paper that haunts me.  The paper is almost mocking me by being so empty--like my mind is at the moment.  I try to think of a topic, but nothing occurs to me except writing and why I have such a difficult time of it.  I want to be able to write, but can't seem to get past this problem of initial dread at the thought of filling up an entire sheet of blank paper.  I'm surprised now at how many words I've already written, and I've done this pretty quickly, maybe a minute?  It's hard to judge how much time has passed, but it seems pretty quick.  I've written almost a paragraph, which is beginning to feel somewhat amazing to me.  I've never been able to write so much in such a short period.  It's beginning to feel natural now to write without thinking about what to write next.  It just seems to come, to flow out of my fingers and onto the page.  I don't know if what I've written makes sense or not, but it definitely feels good.

I wrote the above example by pretending to be a person who has primary writer's block (unable to write at all) and writing what I imagined that person might write on their first try at spontaneous writing.  I did it as one would actually do spontaneous writing--quickly, without thinking, and without editing. The words are exactly as they came and without any thinking or planning beforehand.  I was not sure what would happen, but was curious to see how it would turn out.    

Spontaneous writing can help people with writing anxiety or who are perfectionists.  Self-consciousness is the culprit here.  If you worry about potential imperfections or what others might think of your writing, your brain gets jammed up and puts the brakes on.  If you let your internal critic restrict you, then spontaneity and fluidity are repressed.  The objective of spontaneous writing is to learn to write unselfconsciously.

Practicing spontaneous writing is particularly good for jump-starting someone who is paralyzed by the thought of writing. I once had a member of my staff who had extreme difficulty writing.  His problem was that he thought he had to write each sentence perfectly, and this thought prevented him from making any progress.  I suggested that he try writing a section of a paper without worrying about grammar--just to get the ideas down on paper.  He resisted at first, but I showed him an example of a draft of a paper I was writing.  It had sections missing, and there were incomplete sentences and thoughts.  He was quite amazed because he thought my papers, which he had read, just came out of my head in a form very close to the final version.  After trying my suggestion, he came back very excited at how he was able to get an entire section drafted without his usual difficulty.  

Spontaneous writing has its origins in what was known as automatic writing, popular during the 1800s.  Spiritualists used it as a way to tap into the spirit world.  Automatic writing was done in a meditative or trance-like state, but sometimes produced some surprisingly creative writing.  Instead of communicating with the spirits, practitioners were actually connecting with their sub-conscious and by-passing the self-critic.

There is a downside to spontaneous writing, however, if it's taken too far.  The problem is that people get hooked on it and cannot move on to more mature, productive forms of writing. They become addicted to the spontaneity.  Also, it can tap into disturbing or traumatic memories and possibly lead to emotional distress.  So take care with this method.

For the aspiring author, continuing too long in the spontaneous writing phase is unproductive because it prevents the next step, which is to incorporate planning and direction into the spontaneity.  This more mature type of writing is called generative writing.  The method is similar to that for spontaneous writing in that you write quickly and without editing.  The difference is that you write about a specific topic and have a direction in mind.  The easiest way to do this is to pick a memorable event and write it as though telling a story.  Once your ideas are on paper, you can go back and edit, correcting grammar and punctuation or rearranging sentences into a more logical sequence.

Sharing your attempts at either spontaneous or generative writing with others is beneficial to the process.  Writing groups composed of peers who are supportive and uncritical can share their writing by reading aloud.  I find that students and novice writers are very reluctant to share their initial attempts with someone whose writing they admire or are perceived as excellent writers.  However, when everyone is similarly inexperienced, the fear of looking bad is somewhat diminished.

I can imagine such a writing group starting out with descriptions of past experiences and then moving on to assignments in which the group spontaneously writes a paragraph or a page related to their topic of study, e.g., explaining why their work is important and how it will contribute to the field.  Such practice often leads to some creative and interesting insights.  It ultimately teaches a writer to trust that lack of control (by the internal editor) is not to be feared and that the act of writing actually generates insights and creative thoughts that don't occur while just thinking about writing projects.

An advanced writer can write spontaneously and edit simultaneously without inhibiting spontaneity.  But it's a fine balancing act.  The trick is not to get stumped when you can't think of a word--just leave a blank and go on.  The idea is to let your imagination go free and get your ideas down on paper.  This ability does not mean never having to edit or rewrite.  You will always have to carefully review and revise a rough draft.  Even if you are able to write fairly polished sentences in a rough draft, you might need to go through several versions before settling on the best way to express your ideas.

The next posts will deal with long-term writing strategies and some specific recommendations for improving technical writing.

Writing Worries

Most of us started out in science with visions of all the neat experiments we would run; the interesting plants, animals, and environments we would work with; the exciting people we would meet; and the fame we would enjoy when we made some new discovery.  We were not aware (or if aware, did not give it much thought) that to succeed in science and continue doing all those other fun things, we would have to write....a lot.  And the writing would have to be good.  And it would be scrutinized by reviewers and editors.  And it might not pass muster.  Little wonder that many scientists struggle at some point in their development with writing problems.  

Until I did some reading about writing problems, aka "writer's block", I thought these were due to single factors such as perfectionism.  According to R. Boice, author of a book on writer's block, things are a bit more complicated.

Information about writing problems apparently is based more on conjecture than on empirical study. People view writer's block as being as mysterious as writing itself.  A lot of myths surround the process of writing, which can contribute to some of the problems novice writers encounter.  For example, I often hear people say that they have to have a good idea of what they are going to say before starting to write.  The fact that this is a statement often made by people with writer's block speaks for itself.  I find, in contrast to this idea, that the very act of writing stimulates ideas and insights that do not necessarily come while just contemplating a writing project.

So what are the causes of writing problems?  The following points are modified from the book, "Professors as Writers-Self Help Guide to Productive Writing", by R. Boice:

1. Poor work habits. I would guess the single most common reason given for not writing is lack of time.  I know I use that excuse. However, observations of academicians' activities show small blocks of time during the work week in which writing could be done, but isn't taken advantage of. These writers often say that they need large blocks of uninterrupted time to write.  In fact, professors who write in brief, daily chunks (30 min) accomplish more than their colleagues who binge-write. Successful writers tend to write early in the morning when they are fresh, work at a regular schedule, and ensure a good physical environment for writing.

2.  Fear of failure.  We fear that our writing may turn out to be inaccurate or boring and get rejected.  Or we may fail to complete the writing task on time.  These writers are apprehensive about the outcome and engage in behavior that undermines their writing.

3. The internal critic.  This construct of our own brains censors our ideas as not being good enough, which prevents us from getting any ideas down on paper until they are perfect in our heads.  This mental censor kills spontaneity and confidence.

4.  Perfectionism. This trait is a major cause of writing problems and one that has connections with #2, fear of failure and #3 internal critic.  For some writers, this manifests itself as a compulsion to keep revising and never getting to the point of finishing.  For others, perfectionism prevents spontaneity and getting ideas down on paper because they think it has to be written perfectly the first time.

5. Procrastination.  Because writing is an intermittent activity and easily put off, it suffers inordinately from procrastination.  People procrastinate because of #2 fear of failure and distaste of the task.

6. Early experience.  This cause can range from being told unproductive myths about writing by teachers to a terrible writing experience such as the one I described previously. 

7.  Mental health.  Writers and other creative people have traditionally been portrayed as being mentally or emotionally unstable.  This idea about writers' psychopathology naturally extends to why writers have writing problems.  Studies correlate mood disorders with creativity in writers and conclude a cause and effect relationship.  But it may be that mood disorders arise from the writer's work habits or that both are responding to a third, unobserved factor.

8.  Personality types.  This cause is related to several of the others. People who are introverted and more self-conscious (perfectionists) may be inclined toward writing problems more than those who are extroverts and less concerned about what other people think of them.

In the next posts, I'll take a closer look at some of these issues and some possible solutions.

Photo credit: Library of Congress, unidentified "woman scientist" circa 1909

"I Hate Writing"

...was the emphatic statement made by a young acquaintance recently.  Why do some find writing akin to passing kidney stones, whereas others absolutely love writing? 

I think the answer is that people who abhor writing are people with writing problems, otherwise known as "writer's block".  Contrary to what most people imagine writer's block to be, this affliction encompasses a whole suite of behaviors (and their accompanying thoughts) that many writers will recognize:

"I don't feel like writing [this morning, today, this week, this semester......the rest of my life]!"

"I have no ideas for this writing project."

"Even if I do a good job [writing], the reviewers will criticize it for some picayune reason."

"I write best when I'm under the gun."

"I wish I had never agreed to write this [paper, book chapter, review]."

"My writing will never be as good as my peers."

"I've got too much to do, and not enough time."

"I like to keep revising and perfecting, even after the paper is 'good enough'."

"What if I've made a mistake or left out an important reference?"

"I hate outlines."

"I can't write unless I can set aside large blocks of time when no deadlines are looming."

The above thoughts are from a test for writer's block in a book by R. Boice.  The next series of posts is going to focus on writing problems.  I hope to cover the causes of writing problems and some possible solutions for dealing with them.  Some of this discussion will be based on information in resources such as the book mentioned above.  Other insights will be based on my own experience and that of colleagues. 

But first, a personal story to illustrate the fact that it is possible to go from near paralysis at the thought of writing to adoring writing (technical and non-technical) and everything about writing.

I was entering the home stretch of my master's program, having completed all my field and laboratory research and data analysis.  It was time to write my thesis.  I had not given much thought to this part of the process up to that point because I had been so busy taking classes, working in the lab, and admiring my data.  The memory of the moment I sat down to begin writing is scorched into my brain.  I was in my apartment at my desk, which faced a window overlooking a forested lot.  Outside, the day was somewhat overcast, but still bright enough so that I did not need additional light.  I had a new yellow legal pad and several new pencils sharpened to perfection (this was way before personal computers).  I picked up a pencil, looked at the blank page, and.....froze.  Not my mind though.  It was going 90 miles an hour.  Thoughts of how to start, what should I say, which parts should I include, what did my results mean--all tumbled around in my head.  I could not focus on any single thought.  The harder I tried, the worse it got.  It was like trying to grasp an handful of sand. The more I squeezed, the faster the grains escaped.  

I thought, "Oh, God.  I'm stuck."  

And I was, in more ways than one.  For the next several hours, I sat there, paralyzed.  I could not move.  The longer I sat, the more difficult it was to move...to even imagine moving.  The light grew dimmer as evening approached.  Still I sat, staring at that yellow pad.  My initial shock turned to despair.  I began imagining how I was going to explain to my adviser that I couldn't finish my thesis.  What would happen to me?  Where would I go now?  What about my dreams of becoming a scientist?


"Stop it! Stop thinking.  Just sit and try to relax."  I finally started talking to myself.  I did not know what else to do.  Eventually, I felt the need to go to the bathroom, but I could not move.  I felt that if I moved from my spot that something dreadful would happen.  "You've got to move,"  I said to myself. "Are you just going to sit there and wet your pants?"  That thought galvanized me.  I told myself all I had to do was to go to the bathroom and then I could come back and cower in the chair.  


That was all it took.  Once I started moving, I was able to gradually do other things.  I eventually applied the same tactic to my writing--breaking it into small stages.  I would set a tiny goal for myself in the beginning--write the first paragraph of the methods.  Then another paragraph.  I did not think about anything beyond the next small task.  Before I knew it, I had a rough draft of the Materials and Methods done.  Eventually, I finished my thesis and passed my defense.

That experience put me off writing for a long, long time--years in fact.  In the coming posts, I'll describe how I transformed from that writing-averse person to a well-published author, now approaching my 100th publication.  Along the way, I'll relate my experiences to known causes of writing problems and describe what can be done to resolve them... or avoid them in the first place.

I hope you'll share your writing problems and solutions.