Note 182b – Psychology of Writing (after clutter clearing)

I’m glad I committed myself to coming back to a second blog today.  It made me clear the space around where I write and now I feel a whole lot better.  Here’s the link if you missed Note 182a. 

Below are also a few notes about the psychology of writing that I was inspired to write after reading the insightful post by Bill MacWithey (booksbybill.com) that I left you a link to earlier.  He stresses how important it is to “grab the reader’s attention” and to be in the right frame of mind (and surroundings) when you write.

A few pointers:

• Your mood is reflected in your writing – if you let your emotions flow onto the page when you are in the right frame of mind, you could produce a masterpiece. 
• An uncluttered space around you will help unclutter your mind – you won’t be distracted by things falling off your desk and everything you need will be within reach and organised.  There should be nothing on the floor that you can trip over including extension lead cables!
• To write about sad and irritating things when it’s cold and grey outside and you’re feeling low – this is the time to write that sad scene, or blog about how you’re fed up with the mess around the house (it would help if the house looks like a bomb’s hit it as well).
• To write about happy and uplifting things when you’re spirits are up – maybe you’ve just watched a funny film, won some money (ha ha) or you’ve passed an exam.  This is a great time to write that ‘happy party scene’ or ‘how to be a positive parent’.

If all else fails and you have to write when you are in a mood that doesn’t mirror what you are writing about – just write something and then edit it when you can.  I’ve done this before and have been surprised how much of it I changed.  Also it’s so much easier to churn out a writing piece about happiness when I’m feeling on top of the world.

Tip:  Editing something that you’ve written has got to be easier than not have anything to edit at all and have to start from scratch.

I’ll leave you with an extract I found today:

Brendan Foley (guest post on The Creative Penn, Psychology of Writing: 5 States of Success) suggests moving around every so often.  He writes  “I often will get myself into a physical state (body position) that reflects what I want to write about. If I want to write something motivational I might jump up and down and shout a few times to get me [my] adrenaline going.”

Good luck!

This blog post forms part of my writing challenge. Don’t forget that you can subscribe to receive my daily blogs by email so that you don’t miss any. Just click ‘sign me up’ on the home page. Alternatively you can follow my blogs on Twitter or my ‘Tips and Luxuries‘ Facebook page. Requests for future blogs (punctuation/grammar/writing tips) are always welcome.

Until tomorrow…

Sandra
Freelance writer
Please visit www.sandramadeira.com for more information on my services as a freelance writer.

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Twitter: @madeirasandra @tipsandluxuries @OpenLeafJourney

Related articles

• Writing that Touches your Readers (writingsmart.wordpress.com)
• Clearing the Clutter (martinlakewriting.wordpress.com)

Reference list:

Books by Bill  Bill MacWithey
The Creative Penn, Psychology of Writing: 5 States of Success