Ruth's invitation to write fast speaks to me. I understand that not all writing can be fast, and sometimes the slow is necessary to get in the flow. The fast writing empowers me when I am pressured for time or filled with self doubt. Here is my post as a response to the invitation.
The learners in my class are in the process of generating ideas for animations. For the past three weeks we have played many drama games, done funny drawing activities and used various techniques to improve our creative thinking skills. All activities help us to come out of the comfort zone, use imagination and let go of the judgement. Sometimes before we start an activity or when we share the outcome, we look at our left shoulder and say "Shush" to silence the little critic sitting there.
Isn't it the little critic on the shoulder that often stops us from writing? For me it is. The critic tends to whisper: this idea is not interesting enough, the writing won't turn out the way you wish, nobody cares about this, you have written about this already, you are not a writer, you are a comment addict, your writing is boring, this is too complicated to write in detail, this writing is too simple to write interestingly about, your beginning is dull, you can't organise your text, you don't make sense. Oh, the critic could go on and on.
With time I have become better at ignoring the critic. One way is to write fast. I write so fast that I out speed the critic's comments, it has no time to say anything. I write so fast that the concentration on the writing makes the critic invisible, I forget its existence. I write so fast that the the sound of the pencil moving or keyboard clicking muffles anything the critic wishes to say, he might as well close his mouth. Yes, writing fast is the way to get things on the paper.
We all have that critical voice in our head. I'm glad you found a way to get past it because we have to get words down in order to find the perfect way to express our thoughts. How powerful it is that you address letting go of judgement with your students. I hope your voice echoes in their minds as they start to be critical of their work.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad that you have lifted that critic's voice and dug in and write fast. I love the idea of using drama to spark your students. xo
ReplyDeleteThis idea that writing fast speeds past the critic on our shoulder gives me more reason to write fast every day. Have you ever tried morning pages? The idea is to just write whatever comes on three pages each morning. I'm trying it. I think it helps weed out the woeful writing and bring a new focus.
ReplyDeleteI love the way you write about this inner critic and the way you teach your students to tell it to be quiet. It's a long lesson to learn sometimes.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of shushing the little critic sitting on our shoulders. I love how you conclude that writing fast allows you to out speed the critic's comments, make him invisible and muffle his voice!
ReplyDeleteYou may have written fast, but you have written truth in your clear, concise lines. That critic is a hard thing to silence, but the ongoing rush of words surely drowns it out.
ReplyDelete