OMG! There's a word for what I do! There's a joke I heard of two people who are neighbors, one of whom is a writer. The Writer's neighbor comes over one day and see him staring off into space "Ah, taking a day off today I see." says the neighbor to which the writer says "No today I'm working." The next day the neighbor comes buy and sees the writer typing away on his typewriter (tells you how long ago I heard this joke) "Oh I see you're working today." To which the writer replies "No, I'm taking today off."
Wow! It's not daydreaming, it's work! Thank you. I love to go for a walk and listen to music while I softwrite. I mean I LOVE to do that. I have to do that sometimes for a whole week before I write it down. Thank you for making me not beat myself up for it.
OMG yes!!! Mentally massaging the plot bunnies, mapping and editing in my head while I'm driving is one of my favourite things! I also act out and edit dialogue in my head in the car too. I even use character voices lol.
The other trick that's related to movement is to make yourself a playlist of songs that always make you want to get up and move to them. I read an article about a study a couple months ago about how listening to music that rhythmically hits the sweet spot between simple and complex activates the same areas of the brain as if you were engaged in movement. I got really excited, because it explained why I wrote much more efficiently listening to this one band that has somewhat infectious dance beats. It's a decent substitute for when the weather isn't cooperating, or if you're injured and and can't write.
Yet another cool thing to learn about myself and how my midnight pacing through the house like a cat doing 1:00 o’clock zoomies isn’t so weird. I’ve been writing this story series in my head and on “paper” for about six years. Only in the recent two have I discovered how much outlining is important for me. At first I didn’t like it, but then I saw that it was actually gleaning better results. I’m very close to finishing the 3 act structure for book one, soon as I fine tune the subplots. After that I can FINALLY go on to actually writing the more detailed outline so I have all my ducks in a row for the first draft. Thank you so much for this video! I’m glad my daydreaming isn’t just procrastination!
I get the best daydreaming/soft writing done on walks! I’ve truly gotten some of my best ideas from just getting outside and wandering around my neighbourhood. Also, love love your videos 🤍
a couple years ago, my best friend and i discovered that we're both maladaptive daydreamers (we slip into daydreaming about fictional worlds and characters when we're in uncomfortable or boring situations, to escape reality), and we talked about it so often that we just started calling it 'm.d.'. because of this, we also both happen to be writers, and so when we daydream scenes from our stories we say we are 'm.d.-ing' them ("i always need to m.d. a scene before writing it" "omg, i m.d.-ed this scene so often, you have no idea") ... so it's funny to hear you call it 'soft writing'...
This makes a lot of sense! I find that writing comes naturally for me when i don't try to force myself to follow a process that works for someone else, but not necessarily for me. Also your dog is really cute. 😁
5:10 I actually write on my phone most of the time, so that I can soft write while on walks and if I come up with a super good line I can just write it right away
Thank you so much for validating the importance and usefulness of running through scenes in your head before putting pen to paper. I'll try embracing every part of the process, like you said.
I do a lot of "soft writing" myself. It kind of started as a strategy to cope with being by myself a lot. As an only child, this is a sizable chunk of time that I can just be thinking through aspects of character arcs, worldbuilding elements, and plot points. Some of the ideas that have become my favorites are those that I came up with through this method; I thought I had a good story, but decided to just take a few minutes to go over it again and think it through. A few minutes turned into half an hour, and my characters rose anew; slightly different, but ultimately more themself. It was so cool.
Aw this video was refreshing. I haven't quite figured out the best method for myself. I do both I guess. Some outlining and some discovery writing. I find if I stick to just outlining/soft writing - then I get stuck for too long. I don't have a lot of free time and head space for creativity so the ideas come very randomly and sometimes at awkward moments haha.
Great video, thanks. I really enjoy my 'soft writing time.' When an idea hits, I dictate a short Note on my phone. Every few days I consolidate those notes into my planning apps and docs. Works great!
Amen, author girl. I have been waffling about in my writing for weeks now. Starting. Scorning. Restarting. Rescorning. Perhaps I just need to stop starting and do a bit of Soft Writing to find the story I am failing to write... before I write.
It sounds like that could be helpful! That's usually the case when I find myself at a total dead end: my temptation is always to push through and ignore the little voice in my head that says I need to do some serious rethinking. 😅 But if I do take a step back and focus on soft writing for a while, it often makes a huge difference! Also, don't rest too long in the "scorning" phase. :) The feelings are REAL (and so valid) but you can do this!!!! I'm excited for you and your project. :D
BEAUTIFUL!!! i do this ALL the time when im "not writing" !!! guess i now know it really is writing. i also feel like soft writing is super important to my process because if i don't think it through, i don't actually have any good material to put down on the page. loved this video xoxo
I think I do a lot of soft rewriting. Beyond a pretty loose outline I can’t do a lot of thinking until I actually get some words down. Then I’m thinking about it all the time.
Hey, this is so cool that I found this video! I'm a fellow Christian writer/youtuber!! I'm in the process of writing a short romance story after a while of burnout, and it's been AMAZING. Writing 1k words per day, soft writing, and planning is my favorite part of my day. I love that I found you! Just subscribed! ❤
Congratulations @nikiflorica8783 on getting over 2k views on this video! You really deserve it. You come to writing with a wonderful perspective, and it's so encouraging to see you bring your faith into it, especially for me as a fellow Christian writer (hello from South Africa by the way). I also love how you always include a Bible Verse at the end. I just wanted to say that I love your videos, and I look forward to seeing more in the future. God bless you, have a lovely day in the clouds!
Thank you so much! I just saw that number and it honestly scares me a little 😅so the encouragement is much appreciated! And all the way from South Africa-WOW. May the Lord bless and keep you, today and always. Thank you again for reaching out!
I've been procrastinating watching this video because I have been more than 90% "soft writing" for years, and beating myself up about it, and I was prepared to hear some tough love in this video. But to hear you say that soft writing is a vital part of the process was such a relief. I know I need to get the words on paper in order to share this story in my mind, but I also know that if I had pushed myself into hard writing years ago, the story I captured would've been so much less special than what it's grown to be by letting it gestate and grow with me in my mind for all these years. Hard writing is just a muscle I haven't worked as much as soft writing, and I just need to learn to balance the two. This is helping me shift my mindset and be kinder to myself about what my process looks like. Thank you!
Fellow housekeeper, and YESSS! All of this. I get a lot of reading and writing done at work because I'm able to alternate between listening to audiobooks and working through story tangles in my head while I work.
Sounds a lot like my writing process 😂 but I’m glad you posted this video. It’s really helpful and inspiring for noob writers who have daydreams all the time. Thanks 🙏
The lack of historical study in the creative writing community saddens me. None less than Gustave Flaubert wrote, at most, 2 pages a day, whilst writing _Madame Bovary,_ because he already edited the text. A celebrated, well-established, canonical author. But the community reads nothing, studies nothing. It could learn a ton from literary studies, literary theory, and literary criticism. Even philology and translation studies would help.
I loved marks because if I am writing conversations I mouth the words and look insane. I wear headphones now so people assume I'm mouthing along with a song.
Me who does a mix of both hard and soft writing but can't explain the planing out stage I struggle putting ALL of the ideas on a page as a set of notes and actively go with the flow type methods
My version of soft writing includes people watching while I listen to music. And making journaling like I’m the character. Then I just read it/dictate it so it’s on the computer. Side-note: What camera do you use? This video is aesthetically pleasing!
People-watching is a great idea! Do you live in the city? I've always thought I'd find a lot of inspiration if I moved to a more urban area, but there's something to be said for the beauty of nature, too. Both are great. :) I am using my brother's Canon...something. LOL! I'd have to check. I do know that it is on the higher end (and that I have a FANTASTIC brother 😅). I will confirm the exact model for you.
I have a lot of time to think about my story but I think of myself as a Macgyver writer my plain is not as detailed and leaves room to changed as i go and i do edit as a go sometimes it is quicker for me to go back and work it out while it's fresh in my mind
not sure if this was on purpose, but having that line be at 45 secs was great and probably very frustrating to time if it was (as someone who edits too) lol nice job
Lol, fair. 😅 The book is called Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott. Really fun read, though it's less about the actual craft than about the writer life-how to stay sane/motivated/inspired, etc. She has such a disarming, self-deprecating voice and so much wisdom to share!
this was my first video of yours, it ended up on my feed and I am so happy it did, I love your vibes and mindset towards writing!! I am a newbie to writing, but have been daydreaming two stories. every time I do try to go all in on plotting, I feel like I don’t know my story well enough and I lose the sense of the story. I get discouraged that I am not able figure out my whole story to get writing, nor do I know where to begin to discovery write. the more I daydream about my book though, the more organic ideas come to me. always thinking about my story while doing the dishes, then scribbling notes. embracing the soft writing season!☕️🧺📖
I’m a maladaptive daydreamer, so I’m constantly soft writing 😂
Love it!
OMG! There's a word for what I do! There's a joke I heard of two people who are neighbors, one of whom is a writer. The Writer's neighbor comes over one day and see him staring off into space "Ah, taking a day off today I see." says the neighbor to which the writer says "No today I'm working." The next day the neighbor comes buy and sees the writer typing away on his typewriter (tells you how long ago I heard this joke) "Oh I see you're working today." To which the writer replies "No, I'm taking today off."
Hahahahaha!! I love that! I might borrow it. :)
Wow! It's not daydreaming, it's work! Thank you. I love to go for a walk and listen to music while I softwrite. I mean I LOVE to do that. I have to do that sometimes for a whole week before I write it down. Thank you for making me not beat myself up for it.
Me too! I can't just do it in a day: I need to set aside some serious time for that kind of work. :)
OMG yes!!! Mentally massaging the plot bunnies, mapping and editing in my head while I'm driving is one of my favourite things! I also act out and edit dialogue in my head in the car too. I even use character voices lol.
The voices!! Me too! My steering wheel is very impressed with my British accent. :)
Yes!! My soft writing time is folding laundry and cleaning! 😂 Nice to know it has a specific name! Thanks!
Yes! Housekeeping is the perfect time for softwriting.
The other trick that's related to movement is to make yourself a playlist of songs that always make you want to get up and move to them. I read an article about a study a couple months ago about how listening to music that rhythmically hits the sweet spot between simple and complex activates the same areas of the brain as if you were engaged in movement.
I got really excited, because it explained why I wrote much more efficiently listening to this one band that has somewhat infectious dance beats. It's a decent substitute for when the weather isn't cooperating, or if you're injured and and can't write.
Yet another cool thing to learn about myself and how my midnight pacing through the house like a cat doing 1:00 o’clock zoomies isn’t so weird. I’ve been writing this story series in my head and on “paper” for about six years. Only in the recent two have I discovered how much outlining is important for me. At first I didn’t like it, but then I saw that it was actually gleaning better results. I’m very close to finishing the 3 act structure for book one, soon as I fine tune the subplots. After that I can FINALLY go on to actually writing the more detailed outline so I have all my ducks in a row for the first draft. Thank you so much for this video! I’m glad my daydreaming isn’t just procrastination!
I love this! And it's so exciting that you're seeing results as your story comes together! WIll it be a trilogy?
I get the best daydreaming/soft writing done on walks! I’ve truly gotten some of my best ideas from just getting outside and wandering around my neighbourhood. Also, love love your videos 🤍
a couple years ago, my best friend and i discovered that we're both maladaptive daydreamers (we slip into daydreaming about fictional worlds and characters when we're in uncomfortable or boring situations, to escape reality), and we talked about it so often that we just started calling it 'm.d.'. because of this, we also both happen to be writers, and so when we daydream scenes from our stories we say we are 'm.d.-ing' them ("i always need to m.d. a scene before writing it" "omg, i m.d.-ed this scene so often, you have no idea") ... so it's funny to hear you call it 'soft writing'...
I needed to hear this.
This makes a lot of sense! I find that writing comes naturally for me when i don't try to force myself to follow a process that works for someone else, but not necessarily for me. Also your dog is really cute. 😁
It's so true! There really isn't one right process. And thank you!! I think she's pretty cute too. 😂
5:10 I actually write on my phone most of the time, so that I can soft write while on walks and if I come up with a super good line I can just write it right away
I use a voice recorder app on my phone to record ideas whenever they occur. Otherwise I'll lose 90% of them.
Same for me. I REALLY need to through my phone notes and send them to my Drive so I can free up space on le phone.
Thank you so much for validating the importance and usefulness of running through scenes in your head before putting pen to paper. I'll try embracing every part of the process, like you said.
I do a lot of "soft writing" myself. It kind of started as a strategy to cope with being by myself a lot. As an only child, this is a sizable chunk of time that I can just be thinking through aspects of character arcs, worldbuilding elements, and plot points. Some of the ideas that have become my favorites are those that I came up with through this method; I thought I had a good story, but decided to just take a few minutes to go over it again and think it through. A few minutes turned into half an hour, and my characters rose anew; slightly different, but ultimately more themself. It was so cool.
I love this concept! Thinking about writing is indeed part of the process. Thanks for sharing!
Aw this video was refreshing. I haven't quite figured out the best method for myself. I do both I guess. Some outlining and some discovery writing. I find if I stick to just outlining/soft writing - then I get stuck for too long. I don't have a lot of free time and head space for creativity so the ideas come very randomly and sometimes at awkward moments haha.
Great video, thanks. I really enjoy my 'soft writing time.' When an idea hits, I dictate a short Note on my phone. Every few days I consolidate those notes into my planning apps and docs. Works great!
Amen, author girl. I have been waffling about in my writing for weeks now. Starting. Scorning. Restarting. Rescorning.
Perhaps I just need to stop starting and do a bit of Soft Writing to find the story I am failing to write... before I write.
It sounds like that could be helpful! That's usually the case when I find myself at a total dead end: my temptation is always to push through and ignore the little voice in my head that says I need to do some serious rethinking. 😅 But if I do take a step back and focus on soft writing for a while, it often makes a huge difference!
Also, don't rest too long in the "scorning" phase. :) The feelings are REAL (and so valid) but you can do this!!!! I'm excited for you and your project. :D
That makes me an experienced “soft writer” 😁
Dear author, I wish you all the success with your writing!
BEAUTIFUL!!! i do this ALL the time when im "not writing" !!! guess i now know it really is writing. i also feel like soft writing is super important to my process because if i don't think it through, i don't actually have any good material to put down on the page. loved this video xoxo
I love the way that she pronounced every word clearly (my first language isn't eng)
I think I do a lot of soft rewriting. Beyond a pretty loose outline I can’t do a lot of thinking until I actually get some words down. Then I’m thinking about it all the time.
As a Night Auditor, I do a lot of soft writing as well. Shoutout to hospitality and service industry workers trying to make it as writers!
Hey, this is so cool that I found this video! I'm a fellow Christian writer/youtuber!! I'm in the process of writing a short romance story after a while of burnout, and it's been AMAZING. Writing 1k words per day, soft writing, and planning is my favorite part of my day. I love that I found you! Just subscribed! ❤
Thanks for putting a name and validating my book daydreaming time!
Congratulations @nikiflorica8783 on getting over 2k views on this video! You really deserve it.
You come to writing with a wonderful perspective, and it's so encouraging to see you bring your faith into it, especially for me as a fellow Christian writer (hello from South Africa by the way). I also love how you always include a Bible Verse at the end.
I just wanted to say that I love your videos, and I look forward to seeing more in the future. God bless you, have a lovely day in the clouds!
Thank you so much! I just saw that number and it honestly scares me a little 😅so the encouragement is much appreciated! And all the way from South Africa-WOW.
May the Lord bless and keep you, today and always. Thank you again for reaching out!
Love this term.
I've been procrastinating watching this video because I have been more than 90% "soft writing" for years, and beating myself up about it, and I was prepared to hear some tough love in this video. But to hear you say that soft writing is a vital part of the process was such a relief. I know I need to get the words on paper in order to share this story in my mind, but I also know that if I had pushed myself into hard writing years ago, the story I captured would've been so much less special than what it's grown to be by letting it gestate and grow with me in my mind for all these years. Hard writing is just a muscle I haven't worked as much as soft writing, and I just need to learn to balance the two. This is helping me shift my mindset and be kinder to myself about what my process looks like. Thank you!
Fellow housekeeper, and YESSS! All of this. I get a lot of reading and writing done at work because I'm able to alternate between listening to audiobooks and working through story tangles in my head while I work.
The swingset advice is so true. Trying to figure out how I can install a swingset on my porch without annoying my neighbors lol
Yes! A swing is my ultimate fav place to do what I now know is called soft writing! Thanks for the video!
Wow! It turns out I've been working so much more than I thought with soft writing.
Sounds a lot like my writing process 😂 but I’m glad you posted this video. It’s really helpful and inspiring for noob writers who have daydreams all the time. Thanks 🙏
Your audio didn't bother me at all! Love seeing all your makes! I hope you get a full garment out of that one skein! :)
Spill the tea!
The lack of historical study in the creative writing community saddens me. None less than Gustave Flaubert wrote, at most, 2 pages a day, whilst writing _Madame Bovary,_ because he already edited the text. A celebrated, well-established, canonical author. But the community reads nothing, studies nothing. It could learn a ton from literary studies, literary theory, and literary criticism. Even philology and translation studies would help.
I loved marks because if I am writing conversations I mouth the words and look insane. I wear headphones now so people assume I'm mouthing along with a song.
Me who does a mix of both hard and soft writing but can't explain the planing out stage
I struggle putting ALL of the ideas on a page as a set of notes and actively go with the flow type methods
I write short scripts for fun and my latest one I thought about for around two weeks then wrote it in 2 days. Is that soft writing?😁
I am a Wordsmith Technician Engineer. It is a fancy way to call yourself a writer and I like the idea
Just discovered I do that a lot too, just didn't know the English term for that. I don't think we have a related term in Portuguese
My version of soft writing includes people watching while I listen to music. And making journaling like I’m the character. Then I just read it/dictate it so it’s on the computer.
Side-note: What camera do you use? This video is aesthetically pleasing!
People-watching is a great idea! Do you live in the city? I've always thought I'd find a lot of inspiration if I moved to a more urban area, but there's something to be said for the beauty of nature, too. Both are great. :)
I am using my brother's Canon...something. LOL! I'd have to check. I do know that it is on the higher end (and that I have a FANTASTIC brother 😅). I will confirm the exact model for you.
Scratch that-it's not a Canon at all. It's a Sony A7iii. Hope that helps!
@@nikiflorica8783 I’m just outside the city so I can go people watch in the city and then just go home lol.
And thank you!
@@nikiflorica8783 it does! Thank you!
I have a lot of time to think about my story but I think of myself as a Macgyver writer my plain is not as detailed and leaves room to changed as i go and i do edit as a go sometimes it is quicker for me to go back and work it out while it's fresh in my mind
not sure if this was on purpose, but having that line be at 45 secs was great and probably very frustrating to time if it was (as someone who edits too) lol nice job
Wait, people discovery write without imagining the scenes first?
I do this all the time, and it's fun!! HOWEVER, it's painfully slow and requires many, many revisions, so I do not recommend it. 😂
@@beagobuzz my stories are basically written down daydreams lol
I don't understand why so many UA-camrs feel they should be holding a mug.
Thank you for the info.....You're too fast in talking slow down😂. I didn't even hear the book you recommended about writing.
Lol, fair. 😅 The book is called Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott. Really fun read, though it's less about the actual craft than about the writer life-how to stay sane/motivated/inspired, etc. She has such a disarming, self-deprecating voice and so much wisdom to share!
Thank you😃
this was my first video of yours, it ended up on my feed and I am so happy it did, I love your vibes and mindset towards writing!!
I am a newbie to writing, but have been daydreaming two stories. every time I do try to go all in on plotting, I feel like I don’t know my story well enough and I lose the sense of the story. I get discouraged that I am not able figure out my whole story to get writing, nor do I know where to begin to discovery write.
the more I daydream about my book though, the more organic ideas come to me. always thinking about my story while doing the dishes, then scribbling notes. embracing the soft writing season!☕️🧺📖
This video is so beautiful. Thank you for posting it😘😘