This article comes from Rita Lewis, writer, editor, poet, and valued member of the Clear Sight Books team. (Also, we are envious. Sigh.)
I’ve been on vacation for a month in the French Alps. (Tough, I know, but someone has to do it!) When I set off, I had optimistic plans for lots of productive, sunshine-y writing sessions on some mountainside. I took laptop, notes, paper and pens and pencils. I was ready.
Well, guess how that went.
I hiked. I ate tasty bread with ten different kinds of cheese. I read good books and learned to sleep again. I spent quality time with cousins, made friends with sheep and cows, took dozens of photos of the wildflowers rioting on every hillside.
But I did not write. I just couldn’t. I discovered that I really, really needed the time off to think, to let my mind wander among the ideas I’d intended to work with. To just BE.
So I turned to what I call “shadow writing.”
Shadow writing is…
A way to sidle up to actual writing. It’s giving yourself mental and emotional space before you write, and using writing-allied techniques to get you going.
I’ve always just… written. I do some mind-mapping, some outlining, and get to it. My prep is minimal. A few (or dozens of) drafts later, and voilà: finished product.
I tried my usual process for about ten minutes on my sunny mountainside, and it didn’t work. My brain hung out a “nobody home” sign. So I decided to not-write. Like negative space in a painting, the blankness of not-writing gave meaning and shape to my subject—my “picture.”
I allowed myself a generous grace period before touching pen to paper, and when I felt I could eke out a few words, I tried some techniques that felt nothing like “real” writing. It was shadow writing, and it was good.
Shadow writing is not…
Avoidance or procrastination. Lest you think, Oh goody, I’m off the hook—you’re not. You’re preparing to be productive during a time when you aren’t. Shadow writing is not about using your regular writing tricks and hacks. It’s not butt-in-chair, chained-to-a-desk-with-no-food until you get something on the page. And my form of shadow writing is not traveling to the dark side of your psyche (one definition that popped up during a Google search).
Shadow writing is letting go, with purpose.
Shadow writing can help when…
You need to fill the well
My vacation was the first one I’d had in years—nearly fifteen years. I’d been a caregiver for a dozen of those, surviving the death of two close relatives and settling two estates while meeting the obligations of work and daily life. I was bone-tired, and the well was completely, utterly dry. I needed to see wonderful sights. Eat actual food, sitting down. Listen to new music and watch the sunrise unfurl.
Your ideas need to percolate
If you find yourself in an exhausting wrestling match with your subject, it may help to do some processing before you write. Maybe your subject is huge and unwieldy. Maybe it’s too slippery or nebulous to nail down. Or maybe it’s so near and dear to your heart that you just can’t get at it. Let your subconscious—which is pretty intelligent—do some of the work. (See “Plant and nurture your idea” below.)
You need to heal
In the aftermath of a challenging or traumatic experience, you need time to heal. It’s intensely frustrating to not be able to write, to feel like your brain and fingers are behind a wall of thick cotton. But you might need to let your soul knit itself back together before you try to write and risk ripping the stitches open.
Techniques for shadow writing
Just let yourself be
Take walks. Lie on your back and stare at the clouds. Nature, art, time alone, travel, human connection… all great ways to fill the creative well. Grant yourself the space and grace to think, feel, and process before you rush pell-mell into writing. Thinking of absolutely nothing for a while can help things settle down enough to think for real.
Plant and nurture your idea
Read about your subject, read books in your genre, consume inspirational material. Water your idea faithfully. As it sprouts, turn your seedling so it gets equal sun exposure all around and grows straight: Talk with trusted friends about your idea. Write the title for your future book on a whiteboard you pass often during your day, and edit as your idea takes shape. Write the elevator speech for your book. That’s it—just plant your idea and watch it grow.
Journal and take notes
Nibble around the edges of writing. Start by journaling. The process of journaling helps you process your thoughts, feelings, and ideas. (The internet abounds with how-to’s and examples of journaling, like Wild Wordsmith’s take on the practice.)
Keep your phone or a small notebook with you. As you get ideas about your ideas (which will happen if you make a regular practice of journaling and note-taking), jot them down, but don’t transcribe anything yet; that’s for later. Keep notes from conversations with friends, your therapist, texts with your confidantes. You’ll be surprised how much good stuff you can gather. At the end of every day or week, put it all into a document, in an outline, in comic strips with thought bubbles, or in whatever format makes sense and isn’t too much like formal writing.
Play with process
Let joy guide you. Want to write in a spiral? Do it. Want to play with structure? Take a blank wall and some colored sticky notes and go to town. Buy a physical thesaurus (the older, the better) at a used bookstore and try some word play with your elevator speech.
Get help
As you move toward actual writing, enlist the help of friends, fellow writers, and editors. Form or join a writing group. Hire a writing coach. Getting help will help you become accountable to yourself and gain momentum. And it’s a lot less scary to take a creative journey with others.
Shadow write your way back
Shadow writing is particularly helpful when you’re blocked, burned out, or confused. It requires time and patience, so it’s not meant for situations with tight deadlines, or really, any deadline. It’s fun, insightful, and liberating—a great way to chip away at the rock face of writing. Shadow writing will help you create toeholds for the tiny steps that eventually result in summiting a mountaintop with a breathtaking view.
Ready to move beyond shadow writing? Want some help getting over the next hump? Give us a call; we have plenty of ways to help you over the rough spots in your writing process.