Amazing - I am working on a post right now that uses the "writing is not like baking a cake" metaphor too. It's entirely different from this post, but I'm going to link back to this in a footnote, because I love the explanation of algorithmic vs heuristic tasks.
I’m currently horribly disfluent. Struggling over what should be a very straightforward journalistic post for Substack - a type of writing that I’m usually fluent in. It helps to know disfluency won’t, I hope, be terminal.
I promise it isn't terminal - but it feels like it could be when you are in the depths of it. I hope this phase passes and you find your way back to fluency.
I had a mega-disfluency moment on the weekend. After a week of forcing myself to keep writing, I wrote a chapter as usual, thought I’d finished then spent the next couple of hours repeatedly returning to my computer to add lines to a monologue as they came to me in spurts. Began to think I’d never finish! After that, the writing became enjoyable again. I’m 3 chapters away from finishing!
I met it this morning, Bec! I finished my novel this morning at just shy of 60,000 words. 💃 Thank you!! I’ve been thinking of the writing sprint goal. Starting revising on Monday would probably be too soon, so I may make inroads on novel 3 background reading. 🤔
Hey Nancy - since Chris found the original reference to baking, we have been exploring baking examples to bring the metaphor to life - it has taken literally years for it to come together in this post.
Oh I love this so much! “Disfluency.” 💓 I always have an “easier” time when things are going somewhat “poorly” because it makes me be so much more flexible and have a sense of humor. I’d love to harness this over to my writing life: partnering with disfluency! Experiment and be up for the failures and retinkerings. Also who doesn’t want to set their whole life by GBBS?!
Thanks for your comment Kara. Experiencing disfluency isn't easy but it might be a little easier to cope with once you know it's a normal thing to encounter and when you realise its not just you who encounters it! Good luck and thanks for reading :)
Amazing - I am working on a post right now that uses the "writing is not like baking a cake" metaphor too. It's entirely different from this post, but I'm going to link back to this in a footnote, because I love the explanation of algorithmic vs heuristic tasks.
thank you for sharing Stace and it is such a great metaphor, with so many different wakes to bake it 😂
I’m currently horribly disfluent. Struggling over what should be a very straightforward journalistic post for Substack - a type of writing that I’m usually fluent in. It helps to know disfluency won’t, I hope, be terminal.
I promise it isn't terminal - but it feels like it could be when you are in the depths of it. I hope this phase passes and you find your way back to fluency.
I had a mega-disfluency moment on the weekend. After a week of forcing myself to keep writing, I wrote a chapter as usual, thought I’d finished then spent the next couple of hours repeatedly returning to my computer to add lines to a monologue as they came to me in spurts. Began to think I’d never finish! After that, the writing became enjoyable again. I’m 3 chapters away from finishing!
I am so sorry to hear that Shireen but pleased that you found a way through. Are you on target for your personal NaNoWriMo goal?
I met it this morning, Bec! I finished my novel this morning at just shy of 60,000 words. 💃 Thank you!! I’ve been thinking of the writing sprint goal. Starting revising on Monday would probably be too soon, so I may make inroads on novel 3 background reading. 🤔
Whoop!! 🎊🎉🥳🎊🎉🥳
That is a brilliant extended metaphor, Chris.
Hey Nancy - since Chris found the original reference to baking, we have been exploring baking examples to bring the metaphor to life - it has taken literally years for it to come together in this post.
Oh I love this so much! “Disfluency.” 💓 I always have an “easier” time when things are going somewhat “poorly” because it makes me be so much more flexible and have a sense of humor. I’d love to harness this over to my writing life: partnering with disfluency! Experiment and be up for the failures and retinkerings. Also who doesn’t want to set their whole life by GBBS?!
Thanks for your comment Kara. Experiencing disfluency isn't easy but it might be a little easier to cope with once you know it's a normal thing to encounter and when you realise its not just you who encounters it! Good luck and thanks for reading :)