Writing Productivity – Marie Alice Writes & Reads

And… The Single Most Extra Ultra Super Duper Productivity Tool is…

I was revising a chapter on a new writing project and I got bored.

It happens.

Unfortunately, I started to feel guilty about it.
Daycare was closed due to the pandemic conditions we’ve all come to know too well. Therefore, every minute of the little writing time I could secure every day was as precious as my wonderful kiddo’s laughter.
I had to make the most of it, no matter what.

I had to be productive. Had to. Had to. HAD TO.

« But hooow », I whined. « Oh, I know, I’ll Pinterest it! »

*cricket sounds*

Moving on.

About five minutes later, I fell back on my little writing corner chair, flabbergasted by the amount of writing productivity advice, tips, hacks and tools out there. I was even more « wowed » by the fact that every single one of the advice, tips, etcetera seemed to be the best one ever created by humankind.

There’s no doubt in my mind, dear fellow writers, that you are very well aware of it.

Why do we need the best this or that, I asked myself.
Why do we seek the ultimate best productivity tips?
Shouldn’t we look for the productivity tool that works for us and our writing life/lifestyle?
To summarize: why do we seek advice in the first place?

Continuer la lecture

New Year’s New Writing Goals : Why Do We Do It?

Writing goals. Daily word counts. Writing productivity hacks.

A well-known feeling, as a New Year’s Eve rises, yet again, upon this dear wide wild world, emerge.
This year, oh this year…

All those writing projects will come flying out of our imagination onto the page.
This year, oh this year…

All those books will touch the hearts of literary agents or publishers if, like me, you’re from Quebec, you are writing in French and you’re trying to make despite a real thought market.
This year, oh this year…

Why does the feeling of a new start seem ever stronger when a new year awaits around the corner?

Why do feel the urge to make new goals, to put pressure on ourselves the minute the clock dings midnight?

I wished I was a professional writer or journalist when those kinds of questions fluttered around and around in my mind.

But, circumstances being, let’s dive in with the information we can gather.

Why do most of us writers feel more motivated upon New Year’s Eve?

Continuer la lecture

Semantic Satiation, or What Might Lurk Behind the Proverbial Writer’s Block

lt all began with a writer.

In order to make the audience of tv show « Ted Lasso » laugh, that said writer taught it would be fun to explore the well-researched psychological phenomenon that is semantic satiation.

One thing led to another, and there I was on a very quiet Tuesday, listening to the host of a francophone late-morning radio show I almost enjoy, repeating the word « chapeau » for 15 seconds.

After a while, you don’t understand a word anymore. It’s just random, almost annoying sounds.

And apparently, the same phenomenon can be applied to writers.

Sometimes, we’re puzzled by how bad our writing appears to be. Or by how impossible it seems some days to write a decent 500 words in less than an hour.

The answer might just be this: Semantic Satiation.

Writer’s Block and Semantic Satiation: Same Battle?

Well, it’s not exactly the same thing.

Semantic satiation have to do with the repetition of one word leading to the feeling the word has become meaningless, or sound darn weird.

Although writers may suffer from a sort of word saturation, if, for example, they write continuously without a break for a prolonged period of time.

After a while, the act of writing in itself, no matter if it’s fiction or technical writing, if it’s writing business letters or legal contracts, may lose its sense for some writers.

Suddenly, no words are good anymore.

They are the same words as the day before. It’s always the same words. However, they sound weird, they seem stupid, meaningless.

I’ve always called it writer’s block. Now that I heard about semantic satiation and how a similar phenomenon can affect writers, it shed new light on the said writer block.

When every word I write is bad, it’s a signal I need to step away from the page and go do something else!

Dear fellow writers, I hope this helped… and made you smile a bit.

Until next time!

Sources:

APA PsycNet

Mental Floss