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Trouble with getting my thoughts out

I'm just starting to write and a thing I've noticed is that I can't seem to be able to just 'go with the flow' when writing the first draft. Like I often imagine stories in my head and how they would go line by line, problem is when I sit down to write all of that my brain kind of stops doing that and instead tries to recall what I've come up with before, which doesn't really work (or at least makes the process much longer). I know it will probably get better the more I write, but do you have any tips on how to overcome that?

3 comments

sloppy_diffuser

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I'm the same. Have some great thoughts then go blank trying to recall. Pretty sure I just have shit recall without the right "key" to unlock the memory. I find trying to write it down inhibits my flow, so its a damned if I do, damned if I don't scenerio. Two things I do:

Think out loud and record myself. Takes practice as I'm very much an internal thinker.
Only jot down bullet points during creative time in hopes its enough of a "key" to recall later. Sometimes I'll toss the bullets at GPT as I find it easier to edit when I'm blocked.

frankenswine

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For me the first draft is mostly a help to get me sorting my thoughts. I usually don't use any text I produce first, but keep going until I feel ready for the real deal. After having ordered my thoughts I address questions like: who will I address, what theme/topic/message do I want to stress most, how do I want to guide the reader, etc. After sorting that out I start with the "real" writing process

naught101

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Write intentionally badly. Don't care about quality, only care about getting the content finished. Once it's done, you can edit for quality, or re-write some parts, but you'll also probably find that you are happier with it than you expected.