Warm Up Before Writing
I play golf. But not very well. Funny thing is that my golf buddy and I never warm up before we tee off on the first tee. We usually show up few minutes before our tee time, rush to the first tee, maybe make a few token stretches and body twists and — whack! — we tee off.
It’s not that we don’t know any better. We always say, “Next time let’s show up earlier so we can each hit a bucket of balls at the range before we start.” But, I guess, it’s difficult enough to manage to fit in a round a week, let alone find time to warm-up. Yet every single time, we inevitably lament the even more inevitable bad shots we hit.
Then there are the golf pros we watch on TV. The guys who play practically daily. The guys who warm up 30 minutes to an hour before they play. Every time.
I’m not saying I could be a pro golfer. But it’s painfully obvious why my sorry game isn’t improving an iota.
But what does that have to do with writing? Maybe plenty.
It got me thinking… if pro golfers need to warm up before they “work,” why don’t pro writers do the same?
Maybe we do. At least I do, now that I think about it. As I get started, I always spend a considerable amount of time mulling over the planned piece and my first paragraph. Then I start slowly. Maybe back up, rewrite and restart. And again. Then start building up speed. Then faster. And faster…
… then at some point — click! — it starts flowing out.
In varying degrees, I seem to do that every time. I think the mulling and starting and rewriting and restarting, etc. etc. etc. — that’s the warm up.
Which got me thinking some more: Maybe that’s not the best way to do it.
Back to golf… one of the things the pros try to teach us hacks is to come up with and stick to a “pre-shot routine.” A deliberate and constant series of steps performed before each shot is executed. It’s more a mental thing than physical. In a sense, the warm-up is the whole round’s pre-shot routine, which would explain why the pros never really change their warm-up routines day-to-day. They show up the same amount of time before every round. They hit the same number of balls with each club (which they also hit in the same sequence they always do). Then at some exact point every time — click! — they’re ready to play.
Notice the difference? They know when their clicks will happen. I have no idea when mine kicks in. There’s something wrong with this picture.
Boy, that we need to incorporate some kind of warm-up routine is the only conclusion I can come up with.
But the big questions is: What? Well, I guess this is one of those “to each his own” things. But here’s what I’ve been trying of late. And so far, I think it’s been working. Try it out. See if it works for you. (In fact, it’s something to try if you have writer’s block.)
It’s very simple.
• At the start of the day, I sit in front of my computer. Then go to a website with subject content that matches what I plan to write about that day. (For instance, if I’m going to be writing a Wordpreneur post, I may decide to go to the Writer’s Digest site).
• Then, I pick out a reasonably sized article. Display it in its own window. Next to it, I open my text editor or word processor…
• …and I just start typing in the article. Verbatim. Just reading, typing, reading, typing, reading, typing.
• For exactly 10 minutes. Then — click! — my real work begins.
To date, I’ve been hitting the ground running as a result; no delays or stuttering starts or even restarts. I just go.
Worth a try? Of course it is! Let me know how that works out for you or if you’ve come up with some other warm-up routine we can all try…
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9 Responses to “Warm Up Before Writing”
By Ward Tipton on Nov 12, 2007 | Reply
Me? I write about some of the crazy things I saw growing up in West Virginia. It is just too good to pass up. There were many sites that would have befuddled the occasional city slicker who wandered through town and throw in a little hillbilly flare and you have quite the story.
For me personally, it is just a matter of coordinating my hands and my mind I think. Once the juices are flowing, the tedious work becomes relatively painless and when I want a break, I can switch right back to writing my passionate work with no problems.
My biggest problem is getting out from my true writing once it is time to get back to the paying work.
By Wordpreneur on Nov 12, 2007 | Reply
Hello Ward
I guess the goal of the warm up is to get to the point where “the juices are flowing.”
So, how much WV writing have you done so far?
ees
By Ward on Nov 12, 2007 | Reply
To date I probably have about twenty of those stories actually written down. They would probably be best classified as literature but unlike my heroes O’Henry or Sam Clemens, there really is no point or conclusion but rather just recollections and a little literary license thrown in. I have been writing mostly canned copy for web sites for about the last three years but I was offline for six months and when I came back, those prices were down so low even the more competitive global writers are having a difficult time coming up with anything people will pay for. Thus, I decided to try and get some “real” writing work again rather than hiding behind NDAs. My passion is science fiction and I have probably twelve stories written though not all of them are great. Some are from a series that I hope to put out as an analogue of sorts. One I am writing into a book, and in the meantime I am looking for paying work so I do not starve to death here LOL
How about you?
Ward
By Michael Werner on Nov 13, 2007 | Reply
Here’s a technique that I often use, and it usually works for me.
I call it the List Technique and it’s so very eazy-peezy.
In fact, it works on just about any topic. Say you need to write an article on bicycle commuting; here’s how to jump-start your noggin.
Step 1. Do a Google search on “bicycle commuting.”
Step 2. Don’t edit or qualify anything; simply go down the list and then WRITE DOWN the names of the first 10 websites that catch your fancy.
I’m betting that, once you do that 3-minute exercise, there are at least two or three of those sites you want to look at in more detail. Once you start looking, you’re off and running and the article starts to take shape in your head.
Works for me.
By toni on Nov 17, 2007 | Reply
To warm up, I do clustering. And doodle a lot.
By Wordpreneur on Nov 17, 2007 | Reply
Hello Toni, welcome to Wordpreneur! Interesting. Folks know what a doodle is, of course, but for those who’re like, “Clustering… huh?” click here for more info on clustering.
So, where’d you learn about clustering Toni? I don’t remember anyone teaching me about that when I was in school, and I’d like to pretend that school wasn’t that very long ago for me.
ees
By Toni on Nov 18, 2007 | Reply
I learned how to cluster during a writing workshop. Once I learned how clustering worked for me, I used it a LOT — for poetry, short stories, essays, even strategic and communication plans.
By Wordpreneur on Nov 21, 2007 | Reply
Hi Toni
I’ve been doing something similar for my personal brainstorming and for who knows how long. But text-based, using my text editor. I just found out recently they’ve actually got a name for the practice.
ees
By toni on Nov 21, 2007 | Reply
Sometimes it’s also called mind-mapping. But some mind-mapping techniques have certain rules (thickness of a line indicates something, even colors, etc.).
It’s simply random word association, only written in a circular format. They say circles open up the right brain.