~ Renewing the Joy of Writing ~

Are you stuck in a rut? Do you sit down to write and do the same things every time? Turn on the computer? Open your draft? Stare at the screen? Then pray the words come? I do. For the past month, I have thought long and hard about ways I can renew myself as a writer.

RENEWAL is not change. Change means to transform or give something a totally new form—like writing my novel in a journal or using a speech-to-type program. But the basic writing process is not one we can totally remake.

I don’t know about you, but no matter what CHANGES I make, I am still going to have to turn on the computer at some point and type words on the page if I want to get my book written.

So how can I bring renewal to this process? The key is to focus in on that little word inside renewal—new.” Here are three things I came up with to make typing my novel draft new.

ONE – Move the computer to a new location. Find a spot with a view or a different setting. Work outside on a nice day. Try a different room or a porch. Or even a someone else’s porch.

TWO – Invigorate your fingers. Instead of unconsciously dropping your hands on the keyboard and chugging away, take a moment to do a simple set of hand movements. I have a sea-smoothed piece of quartz that I pick up and roll between my hands, pinch between my fingers, and rub over my palms.

Or you can do one or two of the many finger exercises found on the web. Here is a slideshow of six such exercises you might enjoy. Repeat this finger action every once in a while as you type along, perhaps at the end of scene or a chapter and feel your hands and finger renew themselves.

THREE – Renew your brain. Sit down at the computer and instead of diving into your manuscript, take a moment to breathe deeply and oxygenate your brain. Deep breathing has been shown to increase one’s attention span so you will be able to focus on your writing longer. It also reduces stress. Repeat every time you come to a natural stop or run out of words to write.

Keep the practice simple. Here is the method I use. Sitting straight in my chair, I inhale as deeply as I can through my nose and then exhale as slowly as possible through my mouth. I do this about ten times and then start writing. Or you can try Belly Breathing.

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So far, I am finding merely doing these three things have cleared my head and helped me make more progress on my current work in progress than I had been.

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Have you tried any of these methods to reinvigorate yourself? Or do you have another technique you can suggest?

I welcome your thoughts and comments.