Thought bubbles and writing tip discussion

Having a hard time putting together an essay?  Looking for ways to grow as a writer?  One exercise that I constantly return to is Thought Bubbles.  Take a piece of paper, consider your topic, then begin unloading charged words by writing important ones down in random places on the page, then think about descriptives, atmosphere, etc.  When you have your page filled with various bubbles, begin linking them, some of your words won’t relate to the others but most will.  Once you’ve linked all of them in a pattern that makes sense to you begin writing.

I think you’ll be surprised by the results if you haven’t tried this method before.  This method will bring you closer to your subconscious and give you some power and control associated with it.  There are websites that use this bubble concept to organize the web, perhaps you have stumbled across them.  You’ll see patterns emerging as you cluster certain bubbles together which is indeed a learning experience.

Some other quick tips that may help:

Combining Art with Writing – doodles, sketches and photos can all have an impact on what they are placed beside.  In college I was asked to do a collaborative piece, I created a charcoal sketch while my friend David created a piece on piano, our inspiration was “movement of flame”.  The class then had to write a piece based on our presentation.  It was great, very honest emotions came to the surface, people felt free to say things that they might otherwise have edited.  Why?  We created an atmosphere, once people realized the atmosphere was a creative one, not filled with testosterone, they were able to let go.

The Triple Edit – So ya like James Joyce?  Well he was a big fan of the triple edit.  This is where you write a piece, let it percolate, come back to it with fresh perspectives and add in even more references.  Then repeat and only in the last revision do you take things away.  This process can turn an ordinary opinion piece into a kaleidoscope of meaningful words.

Spewing Forth – drink two cups of coffee real fast and just dump all your thoughts down on paper.  Don’t look at a clock, barely look at the page, just write until you can’t write any more.  You may be lucky enough to find a rough gem that needs polishing,  more likely you will feel like a weight is lifted off your shoulders and you’ll be able to focus better.

These are my top four ways to break down obstacles while writing.  What are yours?