Should you write before you write?
Writing before you write? Why?
The obvious answer is to get your thoughts together, but there are other reasons as well. Here are five you might want to consider:
1. Whether you’re a pantser or plotter, we all need to rally our thoughts. We’re human; our thought tend to fly in a hundred different directions at once. Even as I’m writing this, I’m thinking about my book which released yesterday, the short story from one of my coaching clients I need to edit, and a problem I’m trying to solve in my WIP.
But when I need to focus on my writing, I don’t want all that nonsense distracting me from my goal of writing an engaging scene that will move my story forward. In order to shut out all the noise, some people like to meditate, silently sitting and focusing on emptying their mind. But I’m a writer. When I want to empty my mind, I vomit all my thoughts and concerns on to my page. I write it all out and eventually I will lead myself back to where I need to be — focusing on my story.
2. When I write, I don’t just focus on the story and what needs to happen. I use “ method writing” to get into my POV character’s head. I become the character so that when I write I will have all the emotions and authenticity my readers expect. Pre-writing gives me space and time to make that shift from my head to the character’s.
