Procrastinating No More: Making a Game of Writing to a Self-Prescribed Set of Rules

Focusing on self-assigned “rules” frees us from the burden of being brilliant

Sitting down to write can feel like plunging into a cold lake, and even very experienced writers will sometimes avoid it for days or weeks.

In fact many of us become rebellious children at the very thought of it, and it is amazing how many other activities begin to glow! Resistance can take many forms which can include washing the windows, brushing the dog, calling an old friend, and/or staring at a package of chocolate covered rice cakes (while wondering who invented them and if they made any money).

Flannery O’Connor said she wrote for 2 hours everyday because that was all the “energy she had”, and she didn’t let anything interfere with that time. This is admirable, and many writers I admire operate in the same way.

Unfortunately, my brain doesn’t allow me to be this disciplined, so I am often tricking myself in to writing. The point is that we need to get writing and however we get ourselves there is fine.

Once we sit down and write, and have DONE it, we feel so much better. And if you’re anything like me, you may very well have to tempt yourself into doing it on a daily basis.

This is why I’m suggesting that during these times you make yourself a constraint, also known as a fixed form, or make up a bizarre set of rules.

Reading this you may be thinking that writing is hard enough already, why add completely artificial constraints? Because this kind of writing is fun and can feel like a game. When we can’t think of anything to start with, we can always get writing to a fixed form, no ideas necessary. A tired writer without any ideas, and with no inspiration will, when confronted with a fixed form, become playful.

Most importantly, focusing on self-assigned rules frees us from the burden of being brilliant.

When we are writing sentences according to some made-up rules, we will make choices, find interesting details, and in the end, it very well may become a story we didn’t know we had lurking inside us.

Here is one to try:

Write a story consisting of 15 loosely linked first lines. See if you can make your first lines connect to each other by including some of the same characters and/or objects.

Don’t overthink. Set a timer for 7 minutes.

See if you can incorporate one or more of these random words in some or all of your first lines: mulch, shopping, off-kilter, soundtrack, bottle, clinking, pebble, silvery, bell. This can be a warmup exercise, or it might become a self-contained story.

No matter what, you will have created one or two dynamite story starters for the future.

I’ll leave you with the wise words of Jane Smiley.

Every first draft is perfect. All it needs to do is exist.