Wednesday, April 14, 2010

S-t-r-e-t-c-h-!

In the gym, I spend five minutes warming up before moving into the strenuous movements of my workout. If I plan to run, I walk at a quick pace to raise my heart rate and loosen up my legs. If I'm weight training, I do an opening set of 20 to 25 reps with just the barbell, letting the movement and the bar's weight gently ease my muscles into action. If I'm short on time and skip this vital step, the workout is more frustrating in the beginning and less efficient overall.

Considering how long it seems to take me at the beginning of each writing session to get into the groove, I've decided to add a warm-up to my daily writing practice.

Sarah Ahiers at Falen Formulates Fiction sent me a great little writing book as part of my prize for winning third place in her 100 Followers Flash Fiction Contest. The book's called The Writer's Book of Matches, 1001 Prompts to Ignite Your Fiction. At the outset of each writing session, I'm going to open The Writer's Book of Matches and copy one prompt into a Word document. I'll set a timer for fifteen minutes. The only rule will be: Don't let my fingers stop typing. Launched by the prompt, I'll just write whatever flies into my head. No rules, no punctuation, no limits. And NO BACKSPACING ALLOWED. When the buzzer sounds, I'll save/close the document and open my WiP. Warmed up, I'll be ready to go!


Do you warm up before writing? What's your method? Have you found it works all the time, some of the time, or rarely?

38 comments:

JE said...

Wow, that's pretty cool. I think I may have to get that book. I don't have any warm-ups for writing. Except, make sure all my emails are answered, blogs are done, dogs are fed, child is doing something that won't bother me type-thing.

~JD

Aubrie said...

Yes, I do warm up before writing! I read the previous day's work and then go from there. That seems to help me get my mind in the right place. :) Great topic.

Sarah Ahiers said...

i used to, but not recently. I don't know if i'll go back to it or not.
Glad you're liking the book - and just think about all the useable sories you might get out of your warmups!

Summer Frey said...

No, I don't, but that sounds like a great idea for overcoming a bit of writer's block, too!

Laurel Garver said...

My usual warm up is to read through and clean up the previous day's work. It gets me back into the story pretty quickly and soon I'm moving ahead.

When there's been a long lag, or if I've been jumping around in the manuscript revising, I sometimes start the day by pulling out a set of rough notes from my notebook and creating a "smooth draft" on the computer just to get back in the flow.

Unknown said...

Great idea. I don't, but I should.

Jaydee Morgan said...

I've definitely been thinking of trying something like this. I need the kick-start to get going. I'm up for trying anything if it helps.

Christine Danek said...

I don't think I do but I will definately try.
Great post!

MTeacress said...

Not really, except maybe a review of where I was the last time (to pick up where I left off). I'd like to track down a copy of that book, though. Thanks for the info. :)

Valerie Geary said...

I've been keeping a novel journal for my current WIP. Most days I'll write in it before I sit down with the manuscript. It helps me to clear my mind of doubts about my writing, fears about the future, questions about the story, etc--Things that clutter my brain and try to push to the front when I need to be focusing on the story.

BK Mattingly said...

Before I write, I read over what I wrote the day before and then think about what I'm going to do for the next chunk for 10-15 minutes before writing it. Sometimes it takes less time if I've thought about what to write throughout the day. I like your idea of writing about anything for 15 min flat. I might have to try that sometime.

Jessica Bell said...

I never warm up. I guess because I have to write for my day job, there doesn't seem to be any need.

I'm like Bethany, I read what I write the day before and then get on with it.

Anne Gallagher said...

I don't generally warm up with writing because I'm working on the fence and that leaves all kinds of room for my brain to roam. You'll see tomorrow what happened.

Talli Roland said...

I'm impressed you go to the gym, Nicole! :)

I usually warm up by skimming over what I've read the day before, maybe tweaking the last paragraph or two. I find that helps me recapture where I left off -- and then I plunge in!

About Me said...

Sometimes I warm my brain up before writing by thinking through the scene I'm going to be working on before I even open my laptop.

Keep it up in the gym. I miss my gym membership.

Shannon said...

I like this idea a lot. I think I'll use it for weekend writing. During the week, I have work as a writer and I have blogging to get me warmed up, but on the weekends I find myself staring at the screen willing the words to come.

Awesome suggestion. Thanks!

Lola Sharp said...

I do exactly what Laurel and Aubrie do. I read through the previous day's entry, make a few minor edits on it, and then go forward writing.

I hope your method works for you! Sounds fun. :o)

Shelley Sly said...

Gosh, that is such a good idea. I don't do any warm-ups, but recently (as in, this week) I got an idea for one. I'm easily inspired by music, so I'm thinking of listening to a song, then giving myself a set amount of time and writing about whatever comes to mind after hearing that song. It'll keep me writing, and if they come out halfway decent, I might post them on my blog. :)

B. Miller said...

I don't really do a warm-up before writing, but maybe that's something I should try! Sounds like a fun idea and something that might lead to future stories!

Thanks for sharing! This was a great post.

Susan R. Mills said...

I don't normally warm up before writing, but maybe I should.

Kirsten Lesko said...

What a great idea! I think I'm going to try this myself. I have a VERY hard time getting into it. Usually by the time I'm in, it's time to close up the laptop and pick up my son from preschool. But it makes sense that I'd have to warm up. And who knows? Maybe some publishable short stories could come from this activity.

Thanks for sharing!

Unknown said...

I hate when blogger deletes my posts!!!! Hmph! Grrr!!

What I was trying to say before I was rudely interrupted by blogger was that I really don't have a writing routine sometimes I dance around the counter like a crazy person but that's about as far as it goes! Maybe I should rethink that strategy or people might worry but my muse seems to love it!!

Anonymous said...

Hmm... I don't normally warm up, but it does take me time to settle into the writing. Perhaps a warm-up is exactly what I need to make things flow better. Although, honestly, if I got hit with a great story idea from the prompt, I'd totally forget about whatever I'd intended to do and blast on through till the flash fiction was done. Still, I shall consider this. Thanks!

Shannon O'Donnell said...

The closest I come to a warm-up is a little proofing of the last thing I wrote before diving back in. :-)

Julie Dao said...

Oooh what a great analogy! I need to warm up before writing. I usually do a little bit of reading to get me inspired :)

Lisa_Gibson said...

I do a bit of mental gymnastics to get my gray matter moving. I usually check email, check blog, try to resist the urge to go by twitter and then start writing. I will generally take a break from writing about once every hour. I try to write for an hour straight though. :)

Kristen Torres-Toro said...

That's a good idea! Thanks!

Leigh Hutchens Burch said...

Honestly, I don't feel like I have time to warm up before I write. I usually just pound it out, trying to get to my daily goal in word count. (I'm sure I'm going to pull a muscle at some point.) ;)

I would love to try some of the prompts, though. You should post some of the ones you enjoy most!

sarahjayne smythe said...

No, I don't. And I'm impressed as all get out that you get to the gym. :)

Angie Paxton said...

What a good idea! I never thought about this before, but I do warm up. I read and do a light edit of what I wrote the night before to get myself back into the world of the book.

Moll said...

My warm-up consists of me telling myself that the first couple hundred words will be drivel anyway so I might as well get it over with. ;)

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

I warm up at the gym, but I usually just dive into my writing.

Anthony Duce said...

I journal before I write or paint, about whatever I'm thinking about, or dreamed about, feelings I am having, I don't want others to know. Sometimes it's just a pep talk to myself before starting.

Crystal Cook said...

That is a brilliant idea!! I think I must try that. I've noticed how much my writing stinks right at first, and I know this will help.

Thanks!

Susan Fields said...

I don't warm up. I'm usually so anxious to get back to my wip that I wake up early and can't get back to sleep, so by the time I get to the computer I'm ready to jump right in. I think I'd be too impatient to spend time on a warm-up, but patience is definitely something I need to work on. :)

Christina Farley said...

I suppose my warm up is what I'm doing right now! Visiting blogs. They inspire me and it's fun to see what my writing buddies are up to.

Eric W. Trant said...

Because I wake early and write deep in the quiet hours of the morning, my warmup is often laying in bed dream-writing my next piece for about fifteen minutes.

I'll also use Ray Bradbury's suggested technique, a common mental jumping jack and pushup: write a series of random words, about 150 of them, and then string together a story from two of these words. That's often how I start a fresh short story or novel concept.

- Eric

DL Hammons said...

Nope...no writing warm-up excercises for me. I hope that by writing something every day I stay pretty limber. But who knows...I could pull a muscle someday. :)