Up at night?

 

What to do?

Stare at the ceiling?

Worry?

Go online?

Or try something new . . .

 

A stream of consciousness writing exercise

called Writing Practice.

 

Created by a writing teacher

for those who love to write

but don’t know what to write about.

 

Here’s how it works for me.

 

The method challenges me to write for 30 minutes without pause.

I begin with a smooth writing pen

A good one

that allows me to write really fast.

 

If my pen stops

I am to say

“I remember”

after which

I fill in two word sentence

and off I go again.

 

If that doesn’t work

then I write

“I am keeping my pen moving”

or

“I don’t know what to write….but I remember the last time that happened . . . (once again…writing!)

 

 

 

It can look something like this . . .

Can’t sleep for the third time this week. Such a bummer. I’m tossing and turning and I know where this goes next….into worry. I think about all of my missteps, or mistakes, or the big decisions of which I am afraid to make a mistake. Then my mind turns to missing you, honey, and the tears begin. I know it is okay to cry, but I am so tired. What I really want is to sleep soundly. And now I am just keeping my pen moving until the 30 minute timer goes off . . . I remember . . .when this happened last month and I pulled out an old notebook and started doodling. I doodled the dog, the big sage plant in the backyard, the car (that one turned out sort of wonky….even for a doodle). But tonight, I am remembering some things that upset me earlier in the day and . . . (off we go!)

 

Some say this practice

is quite

therapeutic.

 

Stream of consciousness

writing

gets out

what’s inside;

it brings things to the light

and

sometimes,

it makes you so sleepy.

 

Another option: doodling