The Rules of No Rules

An e-mail today that offered the 39 best blogs for writers actually sucked me in. That is, they had me until I looked at one touting "No Rules" that had too many of those in the first 10 posts. Every post was an opinion piece on another aspect of writing, with each writer "selling" the idea that we must depend on expert opinions to be valid as writers.

Granted, you can read limitless articles and take a multitude of classes on the business of writing. But all those instructions will do is move you forward. For now, however, I believe that any writing prompt that pushes you in one direction should be approached warily. We need to trust in our voices and the strength they have to overcome any and all obstacles, including the criticism that is inevitable when we put our writing out there in the real world.

The first three months of this blog is just intended to encourage others to really believe in themselves as writers born to this life. The second quarter can focus on how we shape what we have discovered about ourselves into something that resonates on every level as writers.

I have already started playing with words, sounds, meanings and context again. It's been far too long since I've done that as a writer who wants to find the joy in all of this again. The one rule, for now, is that no rule is a good one and if anything in this blog sounds like one, ignore it, or tell me why you believe it smacks as one.

Belly Laughs and Motivation

As writers, too often it's sadness or grief that drives us to tell a story. Maybe it's time to laugh at life and motivate ourselves through the ironies that abound in what people say, do and their intentions.

Harking back to the Super Bowl yesterday, how many of you laughed out loud at the commercials? What struck me were the very basic actions and characterizations that led to those laughs.

No matter what you have been told about humor writing, it shouldn't prevent you from trying to make yourself smile when you read a line, or even a paragraph of something that you write. (Many "experts" write or say that only a few people are skilled at humor columns or books.)

I'll just stress once again that my approach to writing motivation is one of gentle, humorous, self persuasion. It also has no rules, no failure and much laughter. It's personal and powerful in allowing a freedom that only writing can provide.

Leaning Into Learning Styles

Although not written in stone, a better understanding of how and why you write, in terms of learning styles, can help alleviate some of the self-defeating self-talk.

Many writers know the doubt that follows an attempt to find inspiration in the habits or organizational skills of another writer via advice columns or classes. How many times have these experiences left you feeling like a failure when you can't bring yourself to write every day or write what or in the other ways that others believe you should?

Instead of beating yourself up for what you can't do, celebrate the way that you approach and accomplish writing. One way to do this is to assess your strengths and weaknesses, then acknowledge that the only failure comes from deciding you can't write because you can't follow arbitrary "rules".

For instance, as a visual learner, you might write more based on what you see than what you hear or feel. A kinesthetic writer could benefit from touching items she wants to describe. And an auditory learner could take a few minutes to close his eyes to listen for inspiration. If you are interested in learning more about these styles, do a search that includes any or all of these terms.

Also, just a quick nod to those with ADD or ADHD. Don't give up. Just try writing in smaller chunks, write down ideas when they come to you or try speaking into a tape recorder when the urge strikes. In other words, attempt to make it work for you.

For anyone who has been discouraged, please believe in yourself enough not to doubt your ability to express yourself in the unique way you have done all your life.

Escape the Inner Censor

An internal censor can be sensed in the midst of free-flow writing that is staunched by a gut feeling of guilt or a pain that cannot be explained.

 When a writer stops in mid flow because the story led to discomfort or emotional pain, it's a deep loss because we tend to only skim the surface after that.  When we allow ourselves to write through these moments, to plumb the events and even humor that urged us to create words, we come out on the other side stronger.

So gently tell the censor to turn away and let you continue. Then let the writing take you deeper.

So Close, But no Closure

How many times have you sat down with a goal to finish, complete or successfully end a story or book? Did you feel good about the outcome?

For many of us, the story continues on far past the need for "closure."

As a writer, the day comes when my characters may have killed each other off, either physically or emotionally, and deserve to be put to rest. But that time has to wait until I'm ready to let go. It can't be mired in a deadline, held hostage by an editor's needs or grappled into submission by me to fill anybody's expectations. That includes my own.

Only when I honor the writing by allowing it to flow and be shaped rather than forced into existence does it lead the way to a natural conclusion.

Write Your Way Through Life

At some point in our lives, it's imperative to stop counting words and start writing as an essential journey forward.

Writers for newspapers, magazines or online publications are always aware of the word counts, the need for graphics and the inevitable subheads and bullets. And if you search for word counts for books, you get the idea that literature can be contained in the number of pages a publisher can afford to print or a server can store.

At some point in the 24/7 push for "news", writing became a rote chore. Consider how many articles you read that are written based on interviews by e-mail or phone, which prevents the reporter from responding to questions based on proximity. You can't describe the tapping of a pencil or the way the person kept checking her or his watch. We miss the tears or disdainful raising of an eyebrow that would add teeth to the story or article. It's no surprise then that readers race through online articles and promise themselves to actually read the ones that offer meaning to them, but never get around to it. Instead, many committed readers bury the magazines, journals and newspapers that hold any promise of great writing under the daily give and take of survival.

Through all this, we can lose sight of the reason we started writing in the first place. So, write to shape the world. Write to express yourself. Write because your words and ideas allow you to write your way through life and give life to true freedom.

Think Big, Write Small

No, writing small doesn't refer to the length of a tweeting moment or the words you may think of during an argument. Combined with thinking big, writing small is about allowing your ideas to shine through.

The words you choose are up to you, but try to expand beyond the ones you regularly pick because they easily make sense. The words can be mile-long medical terms, or basics ones of color, sound, motion, taste and emotional depth. It only matters that you use them in unusual ways when you are stalled and can't get past a roadblock.

Think big in terms of the give and take of words and their meanings, rhythms and reach. Then shrink your focus to just that word and why it resonates for you.