Writing right

The rite of writing right is wrong. So many of you tell us that you "can't write." Now think about it. do you make grocery lists? take notes in class? text? email? blog? tweet? Then you are writing. Think about what's going on behind the assertion that you cannot write. Is it a response to getting a poor grade on a paper about existentialism when you were in college? (oh, wait, that was me.) Did your middle school teacher tell you that your handwriting was sloppy? (mine did) Maybe it was the art teacher in kindergarten who told you that your drawing of a tree looked like a bunch of worms (do teachers still say things like that?)

Regardless of where the can't-write message comes from, if it still manifests itself as a block to your creativity, then you need to erase it with some better experience of writing. Try stream of consciousness writing. Pick up the pen or poise your fingers over the keyboard and...just...begin...to...write. Are your fingers frozen? Look at them as if they live independently from you and just let them do their thing. If it's gibberish the first time they have a life of their own, that's okay. You can then ask them to write for you. If you can only think I don't know what to write, then write that.

this probably sounds silly until you try it. It won't work for everyone but I bet the results will surprise you. If it doesn't work, we have plenty of exercises to free the writer in you. Come back next week.