Think - Write - FAST

 

Do you need to think/write quickly. Use the FAST method:

F - Face it. The job isn't going away. It isn't getting easier. You will never get a perfect inspiration. Face the task and start.

A - Act on it. Start thinking and writing. Just put your fingers on the keyboard and see what they do. The finger bone's connected to the brain bone.

S - Say whatever comes to mind as you begin. Don't edit yourself - at least not yet. There will be time for that later.

T - Terminate. Whatever you have when  the time is up is what you have. Walk away and come back to it at another time. If it isn't obscene, ridiculous, or illegal, post it.

That is what I am doing right now. I had no idea what I was going to write 5 minutes ago. I made this up and I practiced it and I am going to click the SAVE button now and head out to my next appointment. I'll clean it up later. FAST - Face, Act, Say, Terminate.

Tom Out!

I wrote and posted this 10 years ago. The next day I came back and had about 7 corrections to make - NO BIG DEAL! I made them and  said, "I will probably find more to make tomorrow."

 

 

I Had Been Writing about Writing, but Haven't Written Anything Since ...

 

 

I Had Been Writing about Writing, but Haven't Written Anything Since ...

... not since the last time I wrote.

I wonder how much I write is really just an exercise in getting my own attention on something.

How much of it is just a probe into my brain through the exercise of typing a few words to prime the pump?

How much of it is something that, somehow, needs to be communicated beyond my own awareness?

Sometimes I really have something to say. That is when it is exceptionally hard to say it. Perhaps it is because of the self-imposed pressure to 'say it just right" and get all my thoughts in some orderly arrangement.

But, now, for instance, there is no pressure because I don't have any particular axe to grind. I come to this moment with no idea about what to write or why.

I am not saying that this is not important. My not knowing is no criteria for insignificance. I am a tool in a Larger Hand and writing is a tool in my hand. I simply opened this "Compose" page to make myself available.

I have done so and I seem to be out of words.

That could, of course be remedied, but my 7:30 appointment just showed up 20 minutes early.

That happens and it someones works into the plan.

As I said the other  day, "write something."

Read more about 365 things at 365 Things to Write About .

Write Something

Writing will prove to be a great burden if you insist on maintaining your perfectionism.

If you must say it perfectly, you will find it difficult to say anything.

If you fear mistakes, you will be reluctant to tap the "publish" icon.

If typographical errors cause you to tremble with humiliation, blogging may not be your forte.

These phobias can be overcome and you can emerge as a carefree, candid, and fallible blogger just like me. in fact, you can emerge as a self-publishing machine with multiple "correctables" if you will take this simple advice:

WRITE SOMETHING!

You may not think you have anything about which to write. It doesn't matter. You may not have the right words. No one cares. (Make them up if you must as I just did.) You may not feel accomplished. Practice. You may doubt that anyone wants to read you. Don't worry about it.

Just write. The ideas will come. The words will come. The people will come to read.

Lose the perfectionism and get on with it. If you have the itchy urge, follow it.

you can fix your mistakes later.

Be bold; be vulnerable; be free.

Write something!

"Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest." - Eccleisastes 9:10

Words Matter

Words matter because, in some mysterious way, they are alive.

"Logos," is defined most often as "word," but it is also "principle," "idea," "truth," or "the things spoken of." It is also the act of speaking.

It is both in-transient and dynamic.

You speak a word, with our without intent, and the DNA of that word plants itself in the soul of the hearer. There, is is influenced by biases and that soul's own hunger. It takes root and bears fruit.

We ought to choose our words so that they are clear, compelling, compassionate, and consistent with what we truly want they to convey and accomplish.

We ought to choose them before we speak them. Choose them with intent and purpose. Choose them knowing that after we release them, we will no longer have control over how they are received or what they will do in the lives of others.

We need to remember that words matter and that they can build up or tear down.

Let us speak to edify.

"A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver." - Proverbs 25:11

Writing in the Public Square

The title could mean at least two different things.

To write in the public square might mean to write something that is meant to be widely read and discussed among the public. That is a good thing. However, success depends upon writing well, addressing timely topics, creating interest, and attracting attention.

I may or may not be doing that right now.

Yet, I am certain that I am writing in the public square because I am sitting in a public place and writing.

That is the other meaning.

And where I sit informs my writing because, as the world passes by my private seat, some of their questions, hurts, conversations, and energy get inside me and inform me and the questions I ask and answer.

I often need privacy to write, but at the moment, I am getting all I need in the public square.

Now, will anyone read it?

Say It

Here is a little formula for saying what you want to say: S.A.Y.- I.T.

 

S - Search your own heart and mind for what you really want to convey.

A - Assess your audience so that you can access their attention.

Y - Yell softly. Choose high impact words. Notice how the room gets quiet to hear a whisper.

 

I - Involve multiple senses and receptors.

T - Terminate before you lose attention. It is better to stop short and leave the door open for future interaction.

Saying More With Fewer Words

"When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise." - Proverbs 10:19 (New International Version (©1984))

I am working on using fewer words to say more.

At the very least, there is a hopeful suspicion that more might be read, understood, retained, and activated in choices.

Add the decreased possibilities of slipping into one of many snares of life that are labeled with my name (or so it seems).

There is much more that I could say, but there is wisdom in not saying too much.

That is our working assumption after all.