Staring at a blank screen? September 27, 2007
Posted by arussell in : Getting started , trackbackIt has happened to all of us: you read the prompt, you have an idea about what you want to write, but somehow the words just don’t come out. Minutes drag by, and turn into an hour, maybe two. What’s a writer to do?
One of my favorite writing tactics is what I’ll call the “15 Minute Blitz.” If I’m unsure about what I want to write or how I wanted to get started, I employ this tool to get something on that screen in front of me. I set a timer for 15 minutes and type continuously until the timer goes off. I’m not allowed to reread what I’ve written or to go back and make any changes. When I’m finished, I at least have something on the page. I feel better because now I know I have something, and now I can begin to refine my ideas. It’s a lot easier to work with something you already have on the page than stare at a blank screen while ideas swirl around in your head.
This tactic is also a great way to realize what you really want to say about something and can even yield your thesis. It’s similar to stream-of-consciousness writing, in which one simply writes what is on his or her mind continuously for 15 minutes. Stream-of-consciousness writing often surprisingly yields a new conclusion at the end, and the 15 Minute Blitz can work the same way! Without adding all researched, textual support, simply type out what you want to say and why you believe it to be so. Then you will see what your real thesis is! After you’ve cemented what you are trying to say with your paper, you can go back and break up evidence into paragraphs and add the necessary textual support!
Staring at a blank screen? Try the 15 Minute Blitz today!
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