Do you sometimes sit staring at your journal with your heart beating way too fast? Do you finally write something down and wonder who the hell wrote that cause it certainly doesn’t sound like you! Are you neurodivergent- trying to be more unmasked in the world- and you just want one little spot where it feels easier? Creative writing is your ticket to getting out of your head and more into who you are under all those masks. This guide will walk you through a creative writing process designed for your neurodivergent mind to stop overthinking and be more yourself.
1.Choose Your Creative Writing Topic
You may already have a prompt or topic you're working off of. (btw- I have multiple prompts and workbooks available to get you started! You can check them out at my shop!)
If you don't already have something you're working from and need a little juice, here are 3 prompts to get your brain flowing:
write a poem about an irritating thought that keeps running around in your mind right now
write a children's story about your experiences last week
take the first word that pops into your head, and write 5 sentences (related to each other or not) based on that word.
2.Use A Pen & Paper
Not trying to sound elitist- but pen and paper are the best. Scientific studies support this, and show that handwriting with a pen creates a more positive mood and better learning retention than typing on a keyboard.¹
Now, it's totally okay if you need to type, use your phone- sort of like food being "fed is best", written is best- wherever that may be.
But I love how Stackflow² phrased it:
"Writing by hand remains the best way to take in new information. It helps with reading comprehension, creativity, memory, and information retention in ways that are unmatched by other learning tools. Your writing, your shorthand, and your notes that look incomprehensible to others are a special part of your processing that help you learn in your way."
So maybe break out your pen and paper.
3.Take A Breath
Think of this practice like a meditation. Even if you're doing in a weird spot like in your car or sitting like a frog on your couch- take at least 10 seconds to collect yourself, breathe in and out, ground into your body, and focus on what you're doing.
4.Welcome Mistakes in Your Creative Writing Process
If you consider yourself a grammar nerd, this may be difficult for you- but it’s okay. For this one little moment, just let the mistakes fall where they may. No backtracking, no erasing, no crossing out.
If your handwriting sucks- no it doesn't.
If you spelled the word wrong- oh well.
Some of my favorite poems I've ever written contain missteps in grammar, and I'm so grateful that I kept moving my hands instead of stopping my train of thought to fix a tiny error.
5.This Isn’t For Anyone Else
If you’re a content creator, an author (published or aspiring) or just plain used to having to read your writing aloud- take this to heart.
Whatever you’re writing is for no one else’s eyes.
Can you choose to read it to someone later if you’re excited about it? SURE! But as you’re writing- go in with the intention that absolutely nobody will ever see this, so there are no expectations about the presentation, how it will affect someone, or what it “should” look like.
That means do your best to remove the expectations of what constitutes "good" writing. (Who cares if it's good?) Or publishable writing. (This is not for publishing.)
This is for you.
6.Take A Moment For Reflection
After you've finished with your creative writing prompt, don't just shut your notebook and rush off to the next thing! Take one more moment and reread what you've written.
When you started writing, you may have gone in with a specific intention. If that's the case- you may already be prepared for what you were wondering would come out on the page.
(When you get prompts from me, you'll generally find reflection questions already included!)
Give your piece a title, date it, and take note of any thoughts, feelings or specific reflections that come up as you reread your piece.
Put Your Words On Paper
Often times, we get caught up in trying to create a beautiful, perfectly formed vision in our brains before we make anything at all. It’s like doing math in your head and having the solution before you do any work, so you can write your answer down in pen and never look back. But the work we’re here to do isn’t like that. It’s messy; it’s misspelled; it doesn’t always make sense. And at the end of the day- those parts won’t matter. Because the exercise is putting words on paper. Not writing the next New York Times Best Seller. (You can do that another day.)
Get Out of Your Head One Word At a Time
Are you thrashing?
Trying desperately to come up with the perfect solution to all your problems in your head before you make your next move
Drooling over the things outside of your comfort zone that you feel completely unprepared to do
Battling with yourself in a painful chaotic loop of “But what if that's not right?”
THRASH ERA is a FREE ebook to help you write your way through your inner turmoil today- one word at a time.
Sources:
Ihara AS, Nakajima K, Kake A, Ishimaru K, Osugi K, Naruse Y. Advantage of Handwriting Over Typing on Learning Words: Evidence From an N400 Event-Related Potential Index. Front Hum Neurosci. 2021 Jun 10;15:679191. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2021.679191. PMID: 34177498; PMCID: PMC8222525.
Why Handwriting Is Still The Best Way To Retain Information from Stackflow
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