Another odd thought/question. . . about random writing.

[MstrTal]

As the thread title says I had another odd or random thought/question.

How many of you for no reason other than just to do it will open a blank word doc/text editor or just grab a pen and paper and with no idea what so ever just start writing?

By this I mean not just write down ideas and the like but just sit there and type/write out what ever story just feels like coming out. Without worrying about grammar, typos (that much), over all flow or where its going. Just sit down and let your hands and imagination go wherever they will? Even if the story changed mid or partway and suddenly goes from fantasy to scifi to horror to something completely off the wall? Even if you can't keep up?

Forgive me if there is a thread about this somewhere already as I did try a forum search but its a hard topic to search for and I did try first.

By the way at the rate I keep having these random queries I may have to start a single thread and just keep updating it whenever I have a new one.

 

[Lucky_Lola]

I never set out to write stream-of-consciousness, but I carry multiple pens and a notebook in my handbag wherever I go because sometimes a sentance or a phrase or a pairing of words just won't stop rattling around in my head. It generally has a strong autobiographical element and I think it hearkens back to my years writing poetry, which was always inspired by my own life. I find that until I scribble something down I can't focus on anything else.

Sometimes there are words in the way of what you need to be doing, be it the 9 to 5 job, the WIP or operating heavy machinery So I suppose that's a yes from me.

 

[J-WO]

I never set out to write stream-of-consciousness, but I carry multiple pens and a notebook in my handbag wherever I go because sometimes a sentance or a phrase or a pairing of words just won't stop rattling around in my head.

I keep seeing those trouser hidden, ankle-strapped gun holsters in action films and copshows and thinking how I could really use one that holds a notebook and pen.

 

[Boneman]

I use the notepad section on my mobile phone. Although I tend to wait for an idea, rather than trying to prompt one, as it were. Often there are a few 'whatifs' going round in my head before I commit them to paper or phone.

J-WO: excellent avatar - actually heard 'Round the Horne' on the radio t'other day, and it still makes me laugh!

 

[J-WO]

J-WO: excellent avatar - actually heard 'Round the Horne' on the radio t'other day, and it still makes me laugh!

Cheers, mate. 'Ope you didn't get yar moolies in a twist with all that thar laughin'.

Oh, but I be ramblin' off topic I be...

 

[Lucky_Lola]

I keep seeing those trouser hidden, ankle-strapped gun holsters in action films and copshows and thinking how I could really use one that holds a notebook and pen.

*Strokes imaginary beard* Interesting proposal, sir!

 

[Jake Reynolds]

Back on topic, all the time. I first read about Stephen King doing it, and since then I have tried it multiple times. Doesn't always work on its own, but it can lead to some great spontaneous dialogue or descriptions of settings as I try to goad the words into an idea. Really useful tool for discovery wirters. Though it may seem daunting or pointless to outline writers, I never throw anything away. Everything you write is useful in some way.

 

[Lemmy]

Didn't Stephen King say it's impossible to just sit down with a blank page and write a novel?

I use both methods. I enjoy writing down ideas and concepts for stories, and some of them turn into finished products. Other times I get a fun idea for a scene, start writing it on an empty page and end up writing for days or weeks. I once decided that while "It was a dark and stormy night" is a huge cliché, I have never actually seen a book that starts like it. So I decided to start my own, wrote that line in a word processor and kept writing. I ended up writing half the book over a weekend, and it's still one of the books I'm the most proud of.

 

[Mouse]

How many of you for no reason other than just to do it will open a blank word doc/text editor or just grab a pen and paper and with no idea what so ever just start writing?

Always. That's how I write short stories. Sometimes I'll open a blank document and stare at the page, then close it and wander off without writing anything. Sometimes I'll open it, stare at it for a bit then start writing whatever comes into my head. I don't really do 'ideas.' Not for short stuff.

Novel writing is entirely different.

 

[Philosopher]

How many of you for no reason other than just to do it will open a blank word doc/text editor or just grab a pen and paper and with no idea what so ever just start writing?

By this I mean not just write down ideas and the like but just sit there and type/write out what ever story just feels like coming out. Without worrying about grammar, typos (that much), over all flow or where its going. Just sit down and let your hands and imagination go wherever they will? Even if the story changed mid or partway and suddenly goes from fantasy to scifi to horror to something completely off the wall? Even if you can't keep up?

Yep! I find that it really helps with generating the original creative expression which some writers struggle to find . . Highly recommended to all writers. Just enjoy the process rather than expecting a particular outcome.

 

[J-WO]

I read an interview with Frank Black from The Pixies where he said he'd walk into a small room and scream until a tune emerged. I guess the 'blank page' method exists in all the arts.

 

[MstrTal]

You know I was doing this just last night and just about had a heart attack. I discovered a feature in Word I didn't know existed. Its called "Track Changes" and I some how clicked on it. How I clicked on it and then returned to my "Home" panel I will never know, unless I accidentally wiggled my fingers across some magic command key sequence.

Next thing I know every thing I type is bold, red, underlined and highlighted! Not to mention when I indented to start a new paragraph it put an underline bar as well. I was freaking out. It took me about a half hour of digging around in Word's settings to no avail before I found the little "Track Changes" button in the "Review" tab to turn it off. Aside from being embarrassing I thought I had some how destroyed what I was working on. I even tried to close the doc without saving to no avail it was still all screwy when I reopened it.

So in one night, I learned something new. Had a near death experience. Started to enjoy a new, to me, aspect of the writing experience and found a totally new angle for my WIP.

Oh and I lived through Finals. Not to sure of my grades but I lived and so did the wife and kids so the important bits are covered.

 

[Brev]

I use the notepad section on my mobile phone.

I've started doing this, even if its just a few words or a line that pop into my head when im out and about.

The whole blank page thing is fun, its almost like writing and reading at the same time, because I often have no idea where its going. Its a good way of exploring dialogue, or coming up with scenes that you can use later, but like Mouse said, much easier for short stories, I wouldn't want to try and write a novel without a few plans laid out...

 

[TheDustyZebra]

I read an interview with Frank Black from The Pixies where he said he'd walk into a small room and scream until a tune emerged. I guess the 'blank page' method exists in all the arts.

So can you walk into a small room and scream until a short story or novel emerges?

"Why yes, I write by the Primal Scream method, why do you ask?"

 

[J-WO]

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAggggggggggggggggggeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit was the best of times, it was the worst of times...

Hmm... apparently so...

 

[Norlan]

I have freestyled wrote before but I always get bored quick and want to write for real. I guess you can say it motivates me to get the job done, the real job.

 

[psychotick]

Hi,

I think that is more or less the way I write. Planning is for other people, I just have ideas and put them down, and then one by one expand on them, turning them into novel stubbs. Some then go on, others just sit awaiting my next creative burst.

The pain is that I hardly ever finish anything, and finally ending Maverick a couple of weeks ago nearly ended me. I had to spend roughly two months doing nothing but editing, concentrating on just one book, and trying to ignore all the other bits and pieces that tried to distract me. Now I can't even look at the book having finished something that gave me years of enjoyment writing. Bummer! I could have spent years more just polishing it.

Cheers.