Writing – Unencumbered!

Posted on by Victoria

I love being a member of the Chicago Writers Association. Blog posts from author B.A.Durham from “Chicago Writes” pop into my inbox providing inspiration. Last month I shared some thoughts about one of his recent posts – one that helped me navigate a plateau in my latest writing project. You can check it out here.

Staying the course when you’re in the midst of a lengthy manuscript isn’t easy. When I wrote about my mom’s life, “Surviving Sue” it came together (the first draft, anyhow) in just three months’ time and I know why. All I needed to do was turn on the faucet and the writing flowed, natural and cathartic. This time? Writing fiction is something new. I’ve written poetry, a textbook and a memoir, but taking a whirl at fiction? The effort is tapping an entirely different skill set and I’m feeling challenged.

I like to think of myself as a creative person. Visually and with words. I think that’s why poetry flows freely when I slow down, even just a beat or two…to release what’s naturally within. Stanzas arrive, often about gratitude moments, my love of family, nature and the power of perseverance.

When I was a punky college student a beloved English professor said, “Hey, let’s talk about publishing your poem” – one that I wrote in a hurry just to complete an assignment. His praise gave me pause. I said yes and the piece ended up in a college anthology – which was lovely. Don’t get me wrong. But the takeaway from that endorsement, decades ago is this: 

What might I be able to do if I try. Actually try?

So I’m pushing on, into territory that’s new as I lament the reality that juggling writing projects with other tasks is tricky. I love learning from other writers about how to prioritize to go deep…put the hours in, however possible. Late night? Early morning? Set schedules? Pockets of time and bursts of productivity? I’ve tried them all and I’m learning I can’t get much accomplished unless I feel as unencumbered as possible. And that? Pretty darn tricky. Almost as tricky as trying to type unencumbered correctly the first time. (I don’t know what my fingers were doing but the “word” that stared back at me looked like this:  unemencumberered. Whaa?)

Merriam Webster wasn’t much help when I dove in…dodging my writing duties as I wondered about the word:

Gee thanks. “Free of encumbrance”. I prefer dictionary.com’s entry, providing a bit more info, especially the references to “having few burdens”:

Digging a little further, I learned the etymology of unencumbered can be traced back to an Old Norse word, meaning “loose, free”.

Let’s recap. Fewer burdens, loose, free. Unencumbered. The perfect state of mind to sit down and write. Unless you dove into a detour of your own making, wondering about the origin of a word you struggled to spell. I think I just lost twenty minutes of “bear down and buckle up” time by exploring a twelve-letter word synonymous with ‘free’. 😉

Still with me? Let’s go back to the booster shots from B.A. Durham. In his recent post, 21 Writing Tips, he summarizes some of his favorite tips from fellow writers. Many are thoughts you’ve heard before from the well-known ‘biggies’ but I enjoyed reading Durham’s summary of best practices. Take a look and let me know which tips resonate with you. Me? I love this one:

#6: “Write something new every day. Even if you spend most of the day editing, try to write at least one new line or paragraph to maintain your forward momentum.”

If I had to pick one more, I’d say it’s…

#8: “Abandon self-consciousness. Overthinking and worrying too much about what your reader might think leads to florid and overly descriptive writing.”

And…spoiler alert. Durham’s most important tip. You knew this one was coming, didn’t you?

#21: “Write. Spend less time reading about writing and write. Spend less time workshopping and write. Spend less time thinking about writing and write. Just write.”

Yup. Spend less time pondering the origin of words, wasting time whilst at my desk. When it’s time to write. Just write.

See you next time, friends. I’m pivoting over to my project…heeding Durham’s advice. If you have wisdom to add to his list, don’t be shy. Share!

Vicki 🥰

21 Writing Tips You Should Know (substack.com)

Hopping Genres – Victoria Ponders

35 thoughts on “Writing – Unencumbered!”

  1. Well, Vicki, you can’t go wrong if you go to write. And, pick a time in the morning to start. As Tchaikovsky said, the muse will learn to be on time.

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  4. Wow. So many nails hit squarely on the head! After a lifetime of practice, I have a well-earned Ph.D in Distraction. Meanwhile, super kudos to you for even attempting to write fiction. I might have to reincarnate into another lifetime to even think about giving that thought a shot. Carry on, girlfriend. I can’t wait to read the product of your imagination! As far as distractions go, reading and commenting on so many fabulous blogs written by like-minded friends is one of my favorites.

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    1. Aren’t you the funny one, madam with the best Ph.D ever! 😜 I love your insight…hanging out with like-minded friends who encourage and inspire is, perhaps, the BEST tip of all. Thank you, Jules!
      🥰❤️🥰

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  5. Oh, I love the dive into unencumbered. Being loose and free – such a useful state for almost any pursuit. And so hard to figure out how to unburden ourselves.

    So I love that you coupled that with Durham’s advice with wonderfully helpful tips.

    This is such a great post! Love your creativity which in turn helps all of us step up our game!

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  7. Being encumbered with lengthy comments will only serve to distract, so I’ll naturally make mine as unbrief as possible. Naw, you’ve already heard my advice and my best wishes are always floating out there. I do, however have advice from my second favorite artist which I think I’ve not yet passed on. “Don’t think about making art. Just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it’s good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art.” -Andy Warhol. Your art is your words and we love it.

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    1. So good! I don’t think I’ve ever heard the whole Warhol quote – just the “let everyone else decide” snippet. Thank you for being the best sort of distraction. I chuckled about being ‘encumbered with lengthy comments’ quip. I’ll let you in on a secret. Comments from dear ones are the best sort of distraction because they become inspiration/motivation moments. Thank you for doing just that! 🥰

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  10. I found NaNoWriMo very helpful to just write. There’s no editing for an entire month of writing. I had a goal of so many words per day and wrote 50,000 words in one month. But now the editing is not as easy!

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  11. I could have written this post, Vicki. Writing fiction for me has been much more difficult, but I love the creative challenge. I’m still learning a ton. It’s taken me far longer than I anticipated, but it will eventually happen. Keep plugging away.

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  12. What a great post, all around. Fiction is tricky, so finding the time and space where we can hack at it unencumbered. Like E.A., I’ve done NaNoWriMo many times and found the pressure (but fun pressure) and camaraderie to be helpful. Good luck, and I can’t wait to read the final work!

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  14. Pingback: Learning to Rewrite – The Heart of the Matter

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