The Necessary Mess: Turn Bad Writing into Good Writing Using Sheer Chaos
The artist confronts chaos.
The whole thing of art is, how do you organize chaos?
CHAOS AND THE CREATIVE PROCESS
Chaos is a necessary part of the creative process. It’s how we come up with new ideas and how we untangle our thoughts. It’s how we learn and grow, it’s how we challenge ourselves and figure out new ways of doing things. Chaos is supremely beneficial, and it can help you write better, faster, and more efficiently. Once you allow yourself to be vulnerable, let go of perfectionism and embrace the chaos, you’ll be surprised at how easily you can turn “bad” writing into “good” writing.
In this thought piece, we’ll discuss the benefits of chaos, the dangers of perfectionism and how to get over your fear of being vulnerable to excel in your writing.
EMBRACING THE CHAOS
When you treat writing like a creative puzzle, forcing order where there isn’t any, it becomes counterproductive. Instead, let go of preconceptions and allow the words to flow freely. Everyone’s version of chaos is different. Mine is a printed template of a blog post planner, a Google Doc for scraps and Ayoa Mind Map to tie it all-together.
We’ll get to that “all-together” part a little later.
The mess comes in various forms, but regardless of the format — the method is universal.
Think of it like “word vomit”. All your thoughts and ideas scrawled out into a notebook or Google Doc flowing as freely as the thoughts in your head. Don’t be afraid to experiment; throw out what doesn’t work and try something new. When you give yourself permission to play, no idea is too outrageous or impossible to consider.
Remember that every published piece started as a certified mess. You can’t compare someone else’s “highlight reel” to your “behind the scenes”.
Mistakes will be made, they’re encouraged. Mistakes grow your brain; you need to allow yourself to be human. Release your inner critic and be fearless in your writing. Once you let go of the perfectionist way of thinking and stop editing your first draft as you write it, you are there.
You are embracing the chaos.
GET COMFORTABLE WITH CHAOS
Chaos makes us uncomfortable because it forces us to be open-minded about our thoughts and ideas. To become a better writer, you must get comfortable with bad writing.
The best way to do this is to write without worrying about whether or not your words are perfect. In fact, chaos can actually help you improve your skills by forcing you to be more transparent and objective with your work. When you’re unsure of what’s going on, it means that you’re actively trying something new — which is always exciting!
Write Sloppy
Starting out as a writer can be daunting. After all, you have to produce quality content that will help your business or blog succeed. However, if you’re not prepared to write poorly at first, then you won’t improve as quickly. In fact, sloppy and rough drafts are essential to becoming a better writer.
Committing yourself to doing lots of sloppy, rough drafts will also force the osmosis between your brain and paper; in other words, the raw material that becomes good writing will start seeping in easily. This process won’t happen overnight, but eventually, chaos will lead to writing gold — polished prose that reflects your true voice and intellect.
So, next time you’re feeling a bit apprehensive about your work — welcome to the world of chaos! Pull up a cozy chair, cuddle up to your lap cat and get comfortable because it’s here to help you grow as a writer.
LET THE CREATIVE PROCESS TAKE OVER
You’re not going to publish the chaotic, necessary mess. It’s simply a tool to get you from the point of being overwhelmed with thoughts and ideas to the part where you’re creating your outline. This outline can be fuzzy, you’re not going to publish that either.
The first step is to become aware of all the ideas and thoughts that were previously swirling around inside your head and are now scribbled out into chaos. Once you have identified your key points, start sorting them into categories. This might be challenging at first, especially if you’re neurodivergent like myself, but I assure you that once you get beyond the first category’s obstacle, everything else will start to fall into place.
Sorting Through the Chaos
Creating an outline is a common strategy for reducing the amount of anxiety and stress that can be associated with writing. By creating an outline, you are able to systematically organize your thoughts and ideas into manageable sections. This will help you avoid becoming overwhelmed by all the potential content ideas, and focus on only those that would be appropriate for publication.
There are several different types of outlines available online, but the most basic one involves dividing your article or essay into headings and subheadings under each heading. Once you have created your outline, it is important to start writing based on the topic areas outlined in it. However, remember not to get stuck too much within the boundaries of your outline; instead, allow yourself to explore new territory while still keeping track of what has been established earlier in the process.
This is a great achievement. You should be proud of yourself and your work so far.
BE BRUTALLY HONEST WITH YOUR WRITING
Once you are certain of the message you want to convey, you should start by editing out any unclear passages that appear to be “bad” writing. This will help your content stand out and be more effective. It just flows effortlessly; the reader doesn’t have to use divination or put the content together on their own to understand it. By being brutally honest with your writing, you can take the guesswork out of creating good content.
How can one edit in a brutally honest manner?
The key to developing an honest relationship with ourselves and our writing is learning to see through the covert barriers we put up to shield ourselves from the aspects of ourselves we find repugnant. These systems prevent us from developing and growing.
Learning to be brutally honest with ourselves is the first step toward developing a healthy relationship with our writing. When we edit in a brutally honest manner, we are forced to face the flaws and deficiencies in our work. This process can help us improve our writing skills, as well as our overall understanding of ourselves. By facing these truths head on, we become more open and vulnerable. And that’s a good thing!
Steps for Brutally Honest Editing:
1. Be open to criticism: When you’re ready to start editing your work, be willing to receive feedback from others. This includes friends and family, as well as trusted colleagues or fellow writers. It can be difficult to hear negative feedback, but it is essential for growth and improvement.
2. Resist the urge to over-edit: Don’t try too hard not to make any mistakes when you’re editing your work. If something feels awkward or wrong, go with your gut instinct and fix it right away. Editing should feel natural rather than uncomfortable or laborious; otherwise, it will stop being productive sooner than necessary!
3. Embrace change: As much as we might want things to stay the same during editing, they never do (or at least they shouldn’t!). The more willingness we have to accept changes and adversity along the way, the easier editing will be overall — both for us and our work.
Editing Ruthlessly
By editing ruthlessly, we force ourselves to examine everything from grammar and punctuation mistakes to awkward phrasing and wandering thoughts. We also have the opportunity to find any inconsistencies or weaknesses in our arguments or ideas. Armed with this knowledge, we can begin working on improving both our writing skills and overall comprehension of what it means to write successfully. Editing with brutal honesty forces us into uncomfortable but necessary self-discovery — something that is sure to benefit both your wordsmithing arsenal and your inner confidence level alike!
BE PERSISTENT
…and don’t give up on your writing journey. You’re going to get frustrated, but that is simply a part of the process. The more you stick with it, the better you will become. Be persistent but don’t be afraid to experiment — different tones and styles can help spice up your content and make it more engaging for readers. And finally, remember that feedback is always useful — take any constructive criticism constructively so that you can continue to improve as a writer.
Writing is not easy. It requires a lot of patience and determination. However, if you’re persistent enough, writing can become your passion! Keeping these tips in mind can bring out your writing skills as well as a better sense of focus and clarity.
Are there any other techniques that have helped you overcome writer’s block or stay organized within your chaos? Share them in the comments section below!
