Nice, thanks for sharing the link about the online stopwatch. Normally, I use a timer on my widget dashboard. I’m a Mac user. It gets the job done. Thanks again,

-Mig

If I sound like I’ve just contradicted myself, I don’t think I have. Because you can do that — writing down all your thoughts and ideas about your story — without drafting and redrafting. You can do that by applying a thorough and creative process of OUTLINING your story first.

If you understand story structure well, and if you are aware of the criteria of the various elements that go into it, then you can evolve your story at the outline phase without doing a draft. And without remotely compromising the creative process. Once the outline is solid, then your draft comes alive immediately, with your best thinking and all the elements in place, in the RIGHT place.

I’ve sold three first drafts to a major NY publisher doing it this way. It works. It makes the drafting process not only more efficient, but more creative, empowering and rewarding, too.

One thing that you touched upon that i think is really important is to let your thoughts flow and write them down. Once you have got all of your thoughts and ideas together you can then start to put together your piece of literature.

Dealing with the side-tracking and distractions of internal mind chatter is one of the most difficult challenges I face whenever I write. I have to constantly remind myself, “DRAFT”. One of the fantastic things about writing is that every word we write is not final until published. The writing process is one of constant growth and change. Having put a word here does not mean it is fixed to that point, it can be cut, moved, deleted, reworded, reworked…

I suppose this too is a sense of the “Swiss Cheese Draft”. Knowing, accepting, even embracing the imperfections that are inevitable in the early stages of writing. Getting the words down is more important then getting them right.

The good news is that with practice we make fewer mistakes, have fewer gaps, and can write more completely the first time. Getting into the habit of writing regularly is the first step. :-)

@Paul, Thanks for writing. I call your habit of switching to a complementary (or entirely different) project when the one you’re working on gets stale “domain shifting,” and it’s a very useful skill to cultivate! Been meaning to blog about this tool. Your post’s inspired me to do so soon.

@Dave, your forehead-smacking “what was I thinking” mention made me laugh out loud. So true! Great suggestion to keep old drafts…as you say, reviewing them later can be fun and instructive, too.

@Matthew, I hadn’t thought of filling the brackets with entirely unrelated thoughts that come up during writing (grocery list, etc.), but it’s a *fantastic* idea, one I’ll remember & recommend (& attribute to you). Your technique speaks to one of my primary “Relaxed Writer” messages: that with awareness, we can boost our productivity by not buying into the “Either / Or” dualisms we create (art “vs.” craft; writing “vs.” life, form “vs.” content, etc.) but instead, with practice, we can learn to work in both realms simultaneously, as you do when writing. Very cool stuff.

@Larry, I agree, deliberately blueprinting story form is good practice, especially in the initial stages of learning one’s craft or a new genre or form. In the comments to your new (well-written, btw. congrats!) WTD guest post, you say: “Craft can be learned, art must be discovered.” To discover often requires us to invest time in play, exploration or risk-taking on the page, and this “Swiss Cheese draft” exercise is just one of many ways to get there.

@Missm, @Marla – thanks for saying hello. :)

@Mary, off to check out your new post at Good Life Zen. Looking forward to it.

Great to meet you, everyone! Will check back again soon.

Thanks!
-Matthew

Nice, thanks for sharing the link about the online stopwatch. Normally, I use a timer on my widget dashboard. I’m a Mac user. It gets the job done. Thanks again,

-Mig

Three things:

1. I love Swiss cheese.
2. My name is Marla.
3. Love the place card thing–I do this all the time but had never heard anyone talk about it.

Off to check out your site!