or, How to Avoid Helmet Fires and Find “The Write Stuff” - Sometimes, we need to get out of our own way when writing's not going well. Here are some ideas how.
My helmet is on fire a lot. I think I struggle the most with the "zero draft, bad words" steps. I think I even commented on your Zero Draft post with the fact that I don't write ROUGH drafts or "shitty first drafts" as some people call them. For me, that step is very uncomfortable. Even if I'm the only person who has to read the mess, I still won't do it. I'll wait, sometimes for a long time or forever, to write the words down until they're ready to behave to do their job. 😂 I also revise/edit as I draft, because when I roll back and read through whatever I've written, I want it to be readable and... well... good. This is very limiting, of course. There are many ideas I just abandon because I'm not willing to dump a bunch of almost-the-right-words and sentence fragments and half-baked ideas down on paper to fill in the gaps on and refine later.
This is something for me to work on. Thanks for the reminder. 🙂
I am teaching myself to embrace “good enough for right now”. I love the “helmet fire” label and will use it when I’m getting thrown off course by minor details. Thanks!
Graham, this is a very helpful and actionable post. Thank you! I find myself with these writerly helmet fires often. Like so many writers out there, I struggle with giving myself permission to do the zero draft or write bad words. It can be so discouraging to watch the “brilliant” ideas in your head translate to incoherent mush on the page. But, as you help us understand here, it’s trusting in that process that will allow us to shape and craft the bad stuff into something worth reading. Conversely, if we get trapped in comparison or perfectionism, we’ll never produce a piece of writing to begin with. Thanks again.
Another great piece, Graham. Lots of food for writerly thought here. It reminds me how much we can learn about writing by adapting concepts and models from other spheres (like helmet fires from fighter pilots). Thanks for making me think…again…
Graham, I loved this one! First, I paid attention to the voice side, per our other conversation, and I really do think you’ve nailed it. To me, you write as a helpful, experienced, yet humble friend who points out helpful approaches to the writing life.
And then the “helmet fires.” 1) It helps me understand why my son-in-law is such a good firefighter: Sam is the calmest guy I know, utterly unflappable under pressure. He seeks out pressure because I think it makes him feel even calmer. How else could he run into a burning building? 2) I think I experienced my version of a “helmet fire,” which for me usually manifests itself as “what’s the bloody point of this?” Even though I know the answer, I still have to walk myself through the damned steps.
Yeah... I had a recent experience (I think I'm still going through it) of writing a long self-description. But I just got too in my head about it, developed writer's block, and probably did just 50% of what I could have with that opportunity. Still need to get better at writing apart from the weekly habit I've built with Hello Universe.
Great tips here, Graham.
My helmet is on fire a lot. I think I struggle the most with the "zero draft, bad words" steps. I think I even commented on your Zero Draft post with the fact that I don't write ROUGH drafts or "shitty first drafts" as some people call them. For me, that step is very uncomfortable. Even if I'm the only person who has to read the mess, I still won't do it. I'll wait, sometimes for a long time or forever, to write the words down until they're ready to behave to do their job. 😂 I also revise/edit as I draft, because when I roll back and read through whatever I've written, I want it to be readable and... well... good. This is very limiting, of course. There are many ideas I just abandon because I'm not willing to dump a bunch of almost-the-right-words and sentence fragments and half-baked ideas down on paper to fill in the gaps on and refine later.
This is something for me to work on. Thanks for the reminder. 🙂
I am teaching myself to embrace “good enough for right now”. I love the “helmet fire” label and will use it when I’m getting thrown off course by minor details. Thanks!
Can I change from a pilot to a spacewoman? Of course only for personal purposes .Great article! Thanks
Draft zero: love this!
Graham, this is a very helpful and actionable post. Thank you! I find myself with these writerly helmet fires often. Like so many writers out there, I struggle with giving myself permission to do the zero draft or write bad words. It can be so discouraging to watch the “brilliant” ideas in your head translate to incoherent mush on the page. But, as you help us understand here, it’s trusting in that process that will allow us to shape and craft the bad stuff into something worth reading. Conversely, if we get trapped in comparison or perfectionism, we’ll never produce a piece of writing to begin with. Thanks again.
Another great piece, Graham. Lots of food for writerly thought here. It reminds me how much we can learn about writing by adapting concepts and models from other spheres (like helmet fires from fighter pilots). Thanks for making me think…again…
Graham, I loved this one! First, I paid attention to the voice side, per our other conversation, and I really do think you’ve nailed it. To me, you write as a helpful, experienced, yet humble friend who points out helpful approaches to the writing life.
And then the “helmet fires.” 1) It helps me understand why my son-in-law is such a good firefighter: Sam is the calmest guy I know, utterly unflappable under pressure. He seeks out pressure because I think it makes him feel even calmer. How else could he run into a burning building? 2) I think I experienced my version of a “helmet fire,” which for me usually manifests itself as “what’s the bloody point of this?” Even though I know the answer, I still have to walk myself through the damned steps.
Yeah... I had a recent experience (I think I'm still going through it) of writing a long self-description. But I just got too in my head about it, developed writer's block, and probably did just 50% of what I could have with that opportunity. Still need to get better at writing apart from the weekly habit I've built with Hello Universe.