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THE GIBRALTAR WRITING METHOD


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THE GIBRALTAR WRITING STYLE

ashes_2_ashes_blog-300x194.jpegTHE WRITER’S EDGE

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PRELUDE 2 WRITING

 

Let’s take a moment to deal with what I call “the blank page syndrome”. Just what is this syndrome, you ask? Well, it is the transition your book takes from being an actual mental byproduct into becoming an actual physical product, but before you jot down a single, solitary word on paper, you must understand how to bridge this gap between the mental and the physical; this yawning chasm where you will be compelled to make bricks without straw.

What process do you employ to fling open the floodgates of your inner creativity? More importantly, how do you defeat the writing demons that lurk outside the gateways of your ongoing originality? Even more important, how do you maximize your writing potential?

One word pops up: DISCIPLINE. You must be disciplined to get the best out of your writing potential. In addition to being disciplined mentally, there are “externals” that must be put into perspective, and though they may vary from individual to individual, they exist.

  1. You must select the ideal workspace. Seems simple enough, but the truth is that certain environments possess a better ambiance for writing than others. Find your nest.
  2. You must choose a best time to write.
  3. You must learn how to develop ideas as they come even if it is not your best time to write.
  4. Above all else, you must enjoy your own company. Only then can you hear your true inner voice.

So, let’s say that you’ve done all this, then what? You then move for the conscious to the subconscious, that ever-lasting fountainhead of ideas and inspiration which brings us to a thing called  “COGNITIVE FITNESS”. Just how important is cognitive fitness? Well, cognitive fitness is to the writer what physical fitness is to the marathon runner because it is via your cognitive fitness factor that you will develop your writing strategy.

Can I let you in on a little secret? You can develop a winning writing strategy by tapping into either one of two sources. Well, actually only one is a source. The other is a resource. And there is a difference. Remember that in the literary world, a source has limits whereas a resource has none.

Okay, but how does this apply to writing? Here’s how. When you write, you do so by  tapping into a writing foundation that is either a source or a resource. Now, about these foundations. One is what I call “Train of Thought” writing. The second I call “Stream of Consciousness” writing. One provides ideas. One provides inspiration.

Also keep in mind that ideas and inspiration are as different as the sources from which they are drawn and no matter how tedious it may appear, you must decide which one will better suit your literary aspirations. Odds are, you’re in this for the long term so I dare you to disturb the writing universe. However, if you are content to write beneath your potential, then be patient, failure will soon come.

What I would like to do right now is to have you examine what I call a “writing event”. In a short term writing event such as FaceBook, Twitter, texting, and personal letter writing, it would be your best bet to tap into your Train Of Thought “TOT”. Why? Because the psychic costs are low.  Always remember that TOT writing is discount writing where your greatest investment will be emotional, and that is exactly how most writers approach short-term writing events—with their emotions. This is great for FaceBook and the other above-mentioned venues because it can be done without a lot of mental sacrifice.

Don’t get me wrong because even with TOT writing, you have a lot of info at your disposal and it may even provide you with a sense of literary  control and power, but the truth is that it is not sustainable as a long-term writing tool. Why? Because of its superficiality. It is due to this superficiality that TOT writing is invested or possibly infested with what I call “universal literary fatalism”. This is because the ideas come and go. They don’t gather much mental dust. Basically, the ideas don’t belong to you.

Now, let me expound briefly on the merits of SOC writing because this is the key to your long-term writing strategy. In fact, you will extend your writing career by employing the SOC method. Trust me, the SOC is the sweet spot for writers. Why? Because SOC provides you with a certain literary leverage, but even with this new-found leverage, you still must think outside the box and to take certain calculated literary risks.

Let me offer a quick word about SOC writing which I also call “Alpha writing”. When you become an expert at this type of writing, what you will discover to your utter delight is that you acquire a definite mastery and control over the reader. SOC writing will allow you to get into a reader’s head to disrupt his/her plans. The reader may have every intention of going to bed at ten, but your book is so  good, that he/she can’t put it down until two in the morning. Now, that’s power. That’s control. And this may be the only time during the course of your entire existence that you deliberately set out to control another person’s life, so you have to ask yourself: Am I ready for this? Am I big enough and bad enough? Can I handle this? I say you can!

But for the sake of argument, let’s say that you’re not cut out to be the quintessential SOC writer and for whatever reason, you find the domination of another human’s senses unappealing, then I’m here to tell you that another option exists. It is also Alpha writing ,but it is where you write with such exquisite lyricism that your every word is savored for its immense beauty. It is where you write with the velvet glove rather than the iron fist, where you fuse each word with such vivid charisma that the words virtually jump off the pages.

Understand that in Alpha writing, there are only two styles: Impulse writing and compulsion writing. In impulse writing, you go for the reader’s mind. In compulsion writing, you go for the reader’s soul!

If you would like to read more of to study my “Gibraltar Method” of writing, please follow my blog for more.

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