If a beginning ballet dancer just started dancing, without practice or instruction, saying “I’ll pick it up as I go along,” you’d shake your head back and forth at the dancer’s naiveté. Ballet requires long hours practicing, learning basic technique and mastering the moves, before performance becomes realistic. Yet many beginning writers have this attitude: “I’ll pick up the skills as I go along.”
Golfers spend years on the links perfecting their game. I shudder to think how many thousands of hours Tiger Woods has spent knocking his balls into various holes (get your mind out of the gutter, I’m talking golf here). Golf, along with every other sport I can think of, requires dedication and practice in order to excel. It is the same with writing, but so often practice is limited to the writer’s current project. The act of writing is the act of practicing the craft.
Pianists practice scales. Some daily. What’s the writerly equivalent? I believe it is the writing prompt.
Google “writing prompts” and you’ll receive over 3 million results. I checked out a few dozen and although most are excellent, I’m seeking a specific kind of writing prompt. I want a daily prompt that takes no longer than 5-10 minutes to complete. Any longer and I won’t do it consistently. My goal is daily writing exercise analogous to morning calisthenics–give those writing muscles a short workout and then get on with the day. I’ve designed my own writing prompts, The Daily 5. Go to http://ChuckHeintzelman.com/daily5 to see today’s prompt. Sign up for the RSS feed and daily you’ll have a new prompt in your RSS reader.
Each day I set my timer for 5 or 10 minutes (depends on how long I want to spend) and then start The Daily 5. If the buzzer goes off before I’m done, even in mid-sentence, I stop. I’m finished with The Daily 5 for the day. So far, the prompts have been a joy to complete and I expect to continue each day. Hey, what’s 5 minutes a day?
Years ago, I learned the four levels of human competence. They describe the psychological states of learning a skill, from the fledging attempts of the neophyte to the accomplished master. The levels are:
- Unconscious Incompetence – This is the bottom level. Here, you’re awful at something and don’t even realize it. If any aspect of your writing is at this level then you need outside eyes–a critique group.
- Conscious Incompetence – This is a major step up because even though you’re still unaccomplished at the skill, at least now you’re aware of it.
- Conscious Competence – At this level you’re gaining proficiency at the skill. You still have to think about it, to consciously direct your actions, to concentrate. For example, let’s say you know your characters tend to be flat. You decide to be vigilant; on the lookout for weak characters, analyzing what is lacking, and fleshing them out, adding depth.
- Unconscious Competence – At this level you excel without having to think about it. You are a master of the skill. In martial arts you block the blow automatically, your body moving of its own accord. As an artist or an athlete, you’re able to go into the flow state. All the practice at the conscious competence level has paid off because your actions are automatic, subconscious. They are second nature.
Writing is a many-skilled discipline. Each skill is somewhere in the four-level continuum. Practice, through writing prompts, is an excellent tool to help individual skills move up toward the goal: Unconscious Competence.
Until next month.
