by James Dowd
Dumb Writing Tip #13: Write crap for 20 minutes.
Block out 20 minutes for yourself to just write nothing. Accept that it’s going to be totally useless and will never lead to the final product. It’s not meant for that. It’s meant to open the door for more ideas. 20 minutes, that’s it. Sit down and write, anything. Just stop thinking, and by thinking, I mean the self-critique, the planning ahead, the anxiety, the fear, the need for perfection — everything brewing in your brain that prevents the words from flowing. No barriers, no restrictions, no judgement or questioning looks from anyone. Just 20 hot minutes of wide-open words. It’s an incubation stage for ideas, but make sure it’s all on the page. See where your mind takes you. If it stalls, try changing perspective. Talk to yourself. Listen to the words in your brain. Focus on them. Oftentimes, you’ll get so caught up in the words that you’ll keep going well past 20 minutes. That’s because you’re blocked when you’re trying to write everything, but when you’re trying to write nothing, you’re free. So, write as if you’ll never be read. Write freely, and damn the critics. Be mindless, let inspiration drive. See where it takes you. Be open to the journey and know that it will take time, and that that’s perfectly fine. Allow the curious Feeler inside you to explore possibilities and ask unanswered questions. Then, have the mindful Thinker make attempts at answering those questions. Allow one to work and then the other. And don’t write any of this in your own brain. Put it on the page. Just let ideas exist on the page. Write it and see what happens. When your words are out in the world, they can open doors. They’re goddamn magic.
Dumb Writing Tip #14: Write with pictures.
Having trouble bringing ideas to life inside your own head with just words? Those weird one-on-one conversations just not happening? That’s ok. You may be a visual person. You need pictures, images, colors, and shapes to help form your thoughts. Your Dump needs to be more visually appealing. Without this, words get jumbled in your mind unless they’re funnelled through drawing, sketching, doodling, etc. In meetings, people might think you’re not paying attention, when in reality, this is you paying attention! You listen with your hands and eyes, not your ears. So, break out your notebook and Dump through pictures. Get fancy with an iPad Pro, or go retro with some MS Paint. Color with crayons with your actual hands, on actual paper, and don’t stop there — frame them! Let them be artifacts of your work — tangible creations to reflect your soon-to-be digital words and ideas.
Dumb Writing Tip #15: Write with your mouth.
Writing freely without an inner editor telling you to slow down, or to stop being weird, is extremely difficult. So if the Braindump isn’t coming easily, don’t write, just talk. Get away from that insistent bastard, the blinking cursor, and any environment that reminds you that you’re supposed to be working. Free your mind by freeing yourself. Then, pull out your phone and use a recording app to record your rant. Go for a walk and talk as if you’re talking to a friend on the phone. Explain what you want to write, what you want to say, what you want it to do. Get it out of your brain. Then, use a digital transcription service to transcribe it for you. Now all of your words, ideas, and intentions are right there on the page and you have something to work with. However, and this is important, do not try to start over. It’s all there, everything you need. That is your Dump. It will be your foundation for your writing. Craft it into something, anything. You obviously had something to say, enough that you walked around talking to yourself like a crazy person! It’s all right there, so don’t let it die.
Dumb Writing Tip #16: Let your lil’ idiot write.
If this were in the Head section later in the book, we’d be talking about this as deep focus, or being in a mental flow state. But, we’re in the Heart section, so it’s far more wacky and weird. That’s because I firmly believe that there is another you in your brain. It’s this whole other person with different talents and opinions and tastes. They’re a benevolent secret self that’s trapped inside your body with no clear voice or control, unless you give them the opportunity to come out and play.
Mine’s in there, I know it! And he’s a great Writer. I’m actually not a good Writer, at all, never have been. I didn’t do well in college. I was told by my advisor not to even try. Yet, somehow I’ve made a living off of it. I even sold at least one copy of a book, which you’re reading right now. That’s because he gets it, man — my little guy, he gets it. He doesn't worry about what people think. He doesn’t overthink anything. He just unleashes words onto the page. It’s actually cool to witness. I’m just sitting there, not thinking at all, kinda zoning out, but words are appearing on the page. Sometimes they’re good, most of the time they aren’t, but there they are, right there, flowing, coming to life. I can’t control it, or him, but I like it.
His name is Kevin, my little idiot who lives in my brain and writes for me. He’s too dumb to understand critique or social pressures. He doesn’t care what I want or what I think. He doesn’t understand job security. He doesn’t worry about us paying our bills. He just knows words, and that’s it. He LOVES words. He never helps me anywhere else in life. He’s just this dummy in my head who actively grabs onto words, ideas, and anything creative and he stores them up there for me. In everything I do, I’m the critic, I’m the judge, I’m the skunk, I’m the party-pooper, and Kevin...man, Kevin is the creative madman — an open hydrant of ideas. Gotta love Kev.
Oftentimes when someone comments on my writing, or asks questions, I can’t respond because I don’t really know what happened or why I made the decisions that I made. People think I’m being humble, but since when am I ever humble?!? I can’t answer because I didn’t actually write it. Kevin wrote it, not me. Someone will ask why I wrote something the way I did, or used that word specifically. I have no friggin idea, man! I didn’t actually write it, my mind’s a blank right now! Someone will compliment a piece of writing, and I feel like I can’t even take ownership or praise. Aren’t you listening?! I didn’t write it! For the Heads out there, I was in that hyper-focused flow state, which can slightly blur memory, but for you Hearts, I simply wasn’t in charge. I didn’t write those things. My boy Kevin did.
Plus, when things go wrong and I make mistakes or follow the wrong paths, I don’t take credit or beat myself up over it, because it wasn’t me. I didn’t do it. It’s not my fault. It was that idiot Kevin over there, wasting my precious time with his dumb words. My writing wasn’t bad, HIS was! What an asshole. I’d totally fire him, if I could. But, he has tenure.
So, find that person in your brain. Get to know the little idiot in there. Trust your inner weirdo. Give them a name. Listen to them when they have something to share. Give up the wheel and let them drive for a bit. Feel the flow of ideas they can offer, and blame them if things go poorly.
Once you become acquainted with your inner idiot, like being in a deep meditative mental flow state, like musicians or a Navy SEAL sniper, writing with your idiot allows you to forget space and time in order to experience a form of intense hyper focus. Normally, you’re in control, so you saying the words aren’t right, or that you’re wasting time, or wondering if it’s ‘they’re’ or ‘their’ is just slowing you down. You’re getting in your own way. But, your little creative idiot up there in your head, they don’t worry about these trivial things. They just want you to get out of their way. They want to write. It’s why they exist. Let them do their thing.
Well said, Kev.
Dumb Writing Tip #17: Dress up for the words.
In order to disrupt fear and my own repeating routines, style, and existence, I’ve found myself making subtle changes during my writing days by “dressing up” for the work ahead. Now, be clear, this is not dressing up in the way it’s commonly used. I am certainly not in a suit & tie. I am instead in whatever I can find, from a pink cowboy hat to rainbow suspenders, in order to change my perspective.
In college, I would sneak over to a female friend’s house next door and grab what I could — some Juicy sweatpants, che
ck! Some big ol’ fashionista sunglasses, got’em! Whatever I could quickly and easily get my hands on, I used them as tools to help myself fall deeper and deeper into myself. I was pure focus, driven by a force that is purely “me” or maybe purely “Kevin.” There were no expectations, no barriers, no prejudices, no preconceived notions, no rules. I was creating a small experience for myself, not trying to look or be cool, and not trying to prove anything to anyone. I didn’t care what people thought of me, I was just in the moment, a conduit for words and ideas. I was telling myself that this moment is different — that I should do and see things differently while in this uniform.
Imagine my roommates’ confusion seeing me at my computer dressed like this. They had to not only wonder why I was wearing a Speedo, but where did it come from and why didn’t it fit very well? They were too scared to ask. And, worse for them was that I would never have explained it even if they asked, because this was my time. I was working. I was in the zone. I was dressing for myself, my muse, my dearest Kev-Kev, and my words, and nothing or no one else. I had no time for their mundane worries like being a normal human functioning in polite society. I had to write, dammit!
Elizabeth Gilbert, writer of brilliantly written books Eat, Pray, Love and Big Magic goes beyond the absurd to actually dress up for her ideas. With a dress, some jewelry, and some make-up, she doesn’t just show up to write, she shows up to entice her creative muse. It’s about the seduction of this creative magic that’s floating around us. Impress it and maybe it’ll join you as you work. Don’t and maybe it’ll go off and find someone else to inspire — someone who appears to be more interested in a collaboration — someone worthy of their creative, artistic powers.
Keep in mind, it doesn’t have to be clothes, or props, either. It’s more about creating a new mindset for yourself — a fresh perspective to put you into the right room for wild, freewheeling creativity. Aaron Sorkin, winner of all the screenwriting awards, takes as many as eight showers a day when he’s writing. He does this as a redo, to start the day over fresh, to feel new again when he hits walls or is unhappy with his work. Each shower is a new day, a chance to wash away the bad writing from time past, and instead, feel refreshed and capable of looking forward with a renewed perspective. And, even if he is still writing poorly, at least he is clean, which not all working Writers can truthfully claim.
So, don’t just write the words, entice, seduce, and interact with them by playing dress up. Literally grab things from the world around you — someone else’s shoes, a funny hat, a jacket made from human hair — and put them on while you write. Dressing up in odd, unexpected, non-traditional outfits while you write will help you get outside yourself, to break your routines and sense of self. It’s a way to see your world with new eyes, and to condition yourself to mentally switch mindsets — to forget the worries of the world for a bit. With a few random articles of clothing, you’ll become someone else entirely, and maybe they have some fresh ideas.
Dumb Writing Tip #18: Less critiquing, more creating.
Don’t you dare edit until it’s ready. Write long and never critique when you should be filling the page. All good writing begins with terrible first efforts, but you need to start somewhere. When you’re writing in this Dump, you’re creating, and the prefrontal cortex of your brain is suppressed, which is linked to conscious self-monitoring. It’s a simple switch. One turns on, and the other turns off. If one is working, the other is not. What that means is if you allow yourself to self-edit while being creative, the creative part of your brain is actually turning off. Actively trying to prevent yourself from making a mistake or come up with “dumb” ideas means no longer creating something new, so stop thinking so much. We make the mistake of thinking everything we write has to be a masterpiece. We forget that not only did the greats like Hemingway write crap now and then, but they believed in the art of the draft. They didn’t turn a blank page into The Sun Also Rises by plopping down once and having it all figured out. They explored. They allowed themselves to make horrible mistakes. They crafted and shat all over the page, knowing they could come back later using their Head, and they could fix everything. But, they also knew that there was a time for creating and a time for critiquing, and they never worked together at the same time.
At some point, as a Writer, you yourself also have to become comfortable with writing badly and then exploring it, understanding it, learning from it. You can’t hide from writing badly, no matter who you are. It’s inevitable, it exists. You have to face it head-on. You have to see terrible sentences and ideas on the page and not be scared away. You have to ignore your ego — that one telling you that you’re secretly the next great thing, the next great all-American novelist in disguise, just waiting to be discovered. You damn well may be, but you’ll earn it by your final drafts, not your first, so be fearless. Be foolish in these dreams. Be flat-out dumb. Put bad, shameful, ridiculous things on the page. Work from there and remember that it’s all deletable and private, and therefore a safe place to play with words and ideas.
Don’t ever be precious about this. It’s not your baby, yet. It’s a creative free-for-all. You’re attached to none of it. Laugh crazily while you burn through ideas. You’re an insane person running naked, wild, and free — away from critics, rules, reviews, and opinions. Write with Heart, dammit. Have some fun because, here, in your draft, you’re a puppy — curious and energetic, playing with everything, focusing on nothing, and occasionally peeing on the floor as you get overexcited. Don’t expect great tricks from yourself here, just be. You’re only a dumb little puppy and that’s not a bad thing, it’s a glorious thing. Everything is new, everything is wonderful. You will stumble over your giant paws and that is ok. This is a time for learning and exploration, and you’re only at the beginning of your journey. You’ll grow from here.
Dumb Writing Tip #19: Turn off your brain.
Writing with emotion and Heart is extremely difficult when so many of us are accustomed to thinking strategically and logically. Being truly free to transfer words to the page is not a simple switch we can flip, but we can try by finding routine ways of shutting down our mile-a-minute thoughts, if you have them.
For myself, 9gag.com is the trick. I browse straight-up dumb digital content for a few minutes, just scrolling past idiotic memes. Soon, I start to feel numb, like you feel after a solid gold Netflix binge, or by watching any primetime network TV multicam comedies for a minute. Through this 9gag scroll, I stop thinking about everything else going on in my life and work. I stop thinking about yesterday, or tomorrow, or lunch, or even whatever I was just worrying about, and I can transition into any piece of writing with a fresh, open, uninterrupted mind. Whatever I was doing before, whatever was on my mind, is gone now. I’m an empty vessel ready for words.
To go even further in calming your ADD brain with some structured procrastination, choose a series of sites that reflect what you’ll be writing. If you’re writing for moms, set aside some mom blogs. Writing for young millennials? Throw Buzzfeed up there. The point is to allow yourself the time to explore new worlds while also capturing language from your audience and forgetting the other stuff you were getting caught up in. Slowly, you begin to focus while also finding inspiration. And, with a simple, methodical scroll, and some websites that require little brain-power, you can lull yourself into a soothing, relaxing trance, allowing your Heart to take over for some writing fun.
Writing for an Existing Voice
Whether writing for brands as marketers, for individuals as content ghostwriters, or for fictional characters, it’s not uncommon for Writers to be required to quickly adopt a variety of voices in our work. As you Dump, it helps to not only drop your thoughts and ideas onto the page, but also to become the voice you’re speaking as in order to make sure it’s accurate and truly reflecting that brand, person, or character.
Obviously, writing in different voices can be a great challenge, for anyone, no matter how experienced they are. When it comes to writing i
n different voices, let me say, I'm no expert, but I have done it quite a bit with everything from writing as a suburban mom to writing for Latino teenagers in a language I don't even speak. So these few steps are what have always worked for me.
1) Do The Research
Jumping right into the writing is a great way to simply craft for a voice or reader, but it's not a great way to write as them. Having an idea, interview, brief, and some notes is just the start. Go further.
I will watch videos, listen to recordings, read through emails, slack conversations, text messages, social feeds, and news articles. I look for every form of written or verbal communication I can find about the person I’m writing as, if it exists, and then I capture it in my Dump. For example, on a brand that was solely for moms, I read comments on news articles that got them fired up (I wanted to hear raw emotion and comments sections are great places to get unedited rants). I spent a lot of time on Pinterest. I pulled quotes from Nielsen studies about moms. I talked to my sister who is a mom. I watched the E! network. Throughout it all, I put everything I learned in one place until I had something that gave me a new perspective beyond myself. From my Dump, I was able to take the passion, language, and energy the moms brought forth and I wrote in a way that would not merely paint them with the "mom brush" but instead represented who they are beyond being just mom. But, it all began with thorough research and not mere assumptions. Never assume you know someone until you’ve done some work first.