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I can’t believe that I’m going to share this tip with you. To the best of my recollection, I’ve never told anyone else this about my writing.
So, if you’re reading this today, you’re one of the lucky few…
In recent posts, we’ve been talking about inspiration, where ideas come from and even how to use mind mapping to get the most from your ideas.
This is all good information, but it leaves something crucial out of the writing process. And that something, in my opinion, is often what makes the difference between an interesting piece and a so-so piece.
That something is allowing your writing topics to breathe.
Let me explain.
The Writing Process
Most descriptions of the writing process go something like this:
- Come up with an idea
- Create an outline (however informal)
- Research the topic (as needed)
- Fill out your outline
- Proofread for errors
- Edit and revise
- Proofread again (and as often as needed)
Poof! And then at the end of this process, you should have a finished piece of writing, right? You ought to be able to quantify that and repeat it several times throughout your day.
Time…the Missing Step
While that’s a pretty good description of the writing process, something crucial is missing–at least for me. That crucial element is…TIME. Or, what I like to think of as letting my writing breathe.
That’s right. I usually don’t sit down and perform steps 1 through 7 all at once and come up with a finished piece.
Sure, I could do it (and have done it) if I had to. But, in my opinion pushing through the process in a hurry doesn’t always produce the best writing. (This is one reason why I dislike rush jobs.)
The real process, at least for me, goes something like this:
- Come up with some ideas
- Create some outlines
- Move onto something else for a while (Breathe)
- Research the topic
- Fill out the outline
- Move onto something else for a while (Breathe)
- Proofread for errors
- Edit and Revise
- Move onto something else for a while (Breathe)
- Proofread again
As I stated before, I don’t think I’ve actually shared this process before, but it is an accurate depiction of how I really work.
The pauses I take are substantial, too. I often come back to the project the next day (or even the next week). Today, for example, I’m wrapping up three pieces that I outlined last week.
The Bottom Line: Better Writing
What I’ve found when I write this way is that I produce better work with fewer errors. If it’s a blog post, it typically draws more readers. If it’s technical material, it’s more to the point. If it’s copy, it’s more creative and compelling.
Now, I’m not so naive as to think that allowing writing to breathe only works for me. But, I’d love to hear if this technique helps other writers.
Do you let your writing breathe?
13 responses so far ↓
1 Sharon Hurley Hall // Mar 29, 2011 at
I’d agree with this, Laura. In particular, I like to let writing breathe after the first draft. When I go back to it, I often find something that I can improve before sending it off to the client.
2 Darlene Goode // Mar 29, 2011 at
I agree with the breathe time as well, and sometimes several days to a week, as you said. I find when I work on a piece over and over again I read what I want to read and most likely miss spelling errors. I also find that some days my creative mind works well and the words just flow and other days I can stare at the screen for hours and nothing happens. So taking a break and coming back later works well.
3 Aprill Allen // Mar 29, 2011 at
Oh Yes! Thinking time, or breathing time, is crucial to my process. When a client asks me to suggest a few email subject lines, I free-associate on the words that come to mind from the topic and add a few more from the thesaurus and dictionary. I’ll make a list and send them through to the client and then advise that I’ll be ruminating overnight. I can almost guarantee, the next time I sit down to work on that subject line, a snappy phrase will come straight to my fingers.
4 Laura Spencer // Mar 29, 2011 at
Hi Sharon,
It definitely helps to take a second look at a piece before sending it to the client. Like you, I often find new things to add the second time I go through a piece of writing.
Hi Darlene,
It’s really hard to catch errors immediately after you finish a piece. That’s because your mind knows what you were trying to say and supplies any missing words or corrects any errors. And of course, as you point out, some days we are just more creative than others. 🙂
5 Laura Spencer // Mar 30, 2011 at
Hi Aprill,
It sounds like you make good uses of “breathing time” for your writing as well. 🙂
6 Debra Stang // Apr 2, 2011 at
I definitely agree with this advice. I’ve put aside pieces that I thought were pure, 100% BS, only to get them out a few months later and realize they weren’t all that bad…in fact, they were pretty good. I’ve also had the opposite happen…coming back to a piece of work that I thought was great, re-reading it, and being *so* glad it had never seen the light of day. Breathing is definitely an important ingredient in the writing process.
7 Laura Spencer // Apr 5, 2011 at
Hi Debra!
Thanks for your comment. 🙂
It’s definitely a good idea to keep unfinished drafts around for the very reason that you describe. I love discovering those “gems” that I nearly discarded, fixing them up, and using them.
8 Cheryl Wright // Apr 13, 2011 at
Hi Laura,
That my writing process too. Well, maybe I breathe too much but it makes for better writing (succinct sentences, fewer errors, within the requested word count).
9 Laura Spencer // Apr 14, 2011 at
Thanks for the feedback Cheryl. I definitely produce better work when I let it breathe. I guess “too much” might cause a missed deadline, but that’s the only downside that I can see.
10 Lucie Lewis // Apr 27, 2011 at
I admit that setting a piece aside for a while improves my writing. There are times that I have to force myself to remember to walk away when there is a short turn-around time, but I have never regretted the extra minutes in the end. Every time I have hestitated and relented, I have been amazed at the improvements I was able to make even if I just waited a few hours. This is a tip worth practicing.
11 Laura Spencer // Apr 27, 2011 at
I think this “pause” is a necessary part of the writing process, yet I seldom see it mentioned…
12 Carrie Schmeck // May 22, 2011 at
I do my best work while napping. 🙂 Seriously. If I have my outline roughed out, I can take a nap and the blanks fill in. I guess it is something about the relaxed mind.
13 Laura Spencer // May 24, 2011 at
Carrie–While you’re asleep? That’s interesting. I sometimes wake up with fresh ideas, but not always. Regardless of whether I come up with new ideas or not, I always feel better when I get enough sleep.