Word counts, daily hours, publication, awards. Writers fret about a lot of things, most of them out of our control, many of which rob us of the joy of writing. In a post on the BookBaby blog, Andre Calilhanna extols the virtues of writing without purpose.
For Calilhanna, his breakthrough moment came when he treated himself to a short writing retreat. “Find the most comfortable chair in your house and give yourself the gift of focused time to write and reflect,” he writes. “Put down the phone and computer and email and social media and laundry and explore your words.”
It might not be exactly what you need, but it might be worthwhile, Calilhanna suggests. You might find you need some time to write without purpose. “I’m telling you — I’m telling myself — to write like no one’s reading,” he writes. “Just because you’re putting pen to paper (really, you should try that sometimes), doesn’t mean this has to mean something. It doesn’t have to be good. In fact, allow yourself the luxury of writing things that exist beyond judgment.”
Write some journal entries, jot down the dream you had last night, write a letter that you’ll never send, describe the room where you’re sitting. “Write for the experience of writing and let your mind and your words roam free,” Calilhanna says. “Because maybe you need to do this to rediscover the joy of writing with a purpose. Allow more freedom. Establish your voice without trying to.”
