#useresther

Favourite films → The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride (1998) dir. Darrell Rooney & Rob LaDuca

𝖇𝖚𝖙 𝖊𝖛𝖊𝖓 𝖎𝖓 𝖉𝖊𝖆𝖙𝖍 𝖒𝖞 𝖌𝖍𝖔𝖘𝖙 𝖈𝖆𝖓'𝖙 𝖗𝖊𝖘𝖙 𝖜𝖍𝖎𝖑𝖊 𝖜𝖊 𝖘𝖙𝖎𝖑𝖑 𝖋𝖎𝖌𝖍𝖙.

dean winchester + ‘a soldier’s burden’ + red req. by  ･ﾟ: * @snowyhunter  ･ﾟ: *

Once a king or queen of Narnia, always a king or queen of Narnia.

hello fellow writing compatriots in creative crime! i’ve been trying to figure out how i want to kickstart the major writing aspects of this blog, and i figured one of the best ways i could would be to share the writing method i’ve been utilizing for almost two years now known affectionately as “sprinting.”

i’ve shared this with a few of my writing friends and they’ve said it does wonders to help break writer’s block, and i know it has helped me get through some of my most difficult scenes and projects by breaking it down into manageable chunks without literally breaking the scene apart. i’m sure a method like this has existed many a time before, and i wouldn’t be so bold as to claim myself the sole divisor -- in fact, my own method was somewhat inspired by a method lauren graham referenced in her memoir, “talking as fast as i can.” so check that book out because it was a fun read, but also read on if you’re feeling frustrated or unproductive with your writing my friends. we shall tackle the struggle together!

the other really nice thing about sprints are that you can do them alone OR with a friend, and both methods are relatively effective. i tend to do sprints with my darling friend emma ( @stevesharrigton ), and the fun part about that is not only do you have someone actively writing with you so you don’t feel so alone in the process and have someone to bounce questions or brainstorm roadblock fixes with, but part of the process involves sharing your favorite part of what you just wrote so there’s immediate gratification and feedback which can help combat the overwhelming feelings of needing to “finish” something in the writing world to be at all acknowledged. so without further ado!

the sprint method in it of itself is actually very simple.

the goal of the sprint is to dedicate all of your concentration towards your wip for a little bit of time again and again until it builds up to a significant amount of effort without even realizing. emma and i always start with one 15 minute round, and usually on a good day we end up spending about 2 hours working on our projects without it feeling like so much at all.

firstly, choose your workspace, as well as set up your desktop / writing workspace. i recommend choosing locations where you feel comfortable writing (at this point i can write anywhere, but my bedroom used to be my sacred spot), and a place with limited distractions as that’s a big part of this methodology.

when it comes to setting up your writing workspace, what i mean by that is you want to create an environment with as little exterior distraction as possible. if you’re working on paper with pen, put all of your devices far away from you, like face DOWN on the table, or even all the way across the room so you’re not tempted to look at messages or scroll mindlessly. if you’re on desktop, you should have only two things open and active on your screen -- your wip document, and a “scratch” document (like notes or stickies, etc.).

set your amount of time for your “round.” this can change by round, but i usually start with 15 minutes, and then additional rounds range from anywhere from 15 - 30. for whatever amount of time you end up setting, you will only be focused on the document in front of you. the scratch doc is helpful for if you get other story thoughts and don’t want to forget them, or just want to write “AHHHHHHHH” for all 15 minutes. the point is you’re dedicating ALL your attention to your project for that time: no messaging, no tumblr, etc. give your devotion to that project! it deserves it, and so do you!

write, write, write. spend that set time doing what you said you would do when you set out to sprint -- writing. it doesn’t have to be brilliant, you don’t even have to make substantial progress. sprints are a no pressure entity, and their whole purpose is to put something on the page.

take note of your progress. see how many words you managed to write in that time allotment. if you’re writing with friends, share your word count. then, take a moment to find a piece of your work from that sprint that you are really proud of -- it can be a whole little exchange, or as minor as a word choice that just seems to really fit. this is where doing this method with friends is really fun, because each of you get to share your work with immediate reactions. it’s also a great way to support each other’s progress!

if you’re feeling energized, sprint again! keep sprinting until you run out of steam by doing those manageable 15 - 20 minute chunks.

if you’re thinking “but can i really disconnect for 15 minutes with no distraction??” trust me, i know its hard to believe, but you certainly can. if you’re worried about missing a text or someone getting worried, you can even explain to them that you’re writing for a set amount of time and won’t be available. writing is part of your day just like anything else -- no one will be upset with you if you dedicate some of your time to it!

all this to say, i will note that the sprint method will not magically fix writer’s block or feelings of ennui. you have to be willing to to try the method at all and actually commit to the rules: it’s guaranteed to be ineffective if you sit down to “sprint” and spend 10 of your 15 minutes looking at the phone that isn’t supposed to be part of your world for those 15 minutes, you know what i mean? if you give it your all and it just doesn’t work for you as a writer then that’s totally okay, but you’ll never know unless you truly try!

i’m personally one of those people who believes writer’s block is a myth blah blah blah, but whether that’s true or not, the thing that works about this method is just by putting SOMETHING down, you will already feel a lot better. the way that writer’s block and inactivity in writing is so effective at holding us back is because we get into cycles where the sheer act of writing again can feel intimidating because we haven’t done it for a hot minute. this method serves to break that by just encouraging bit by bit fixes. it won’t knock your mental block down like a sledgehammer, but rather tackles it brick by 15-minute brick.