Catching (and Riding) a Writing Wave

Ever watched a surfer?  They paddle out into the water, judging where the waves are starting to break.  Once in position, they wait for the next wave, then paddle as fast as they can to catch up with it, finally popping up into a standing position at just the right moment, sometimes struggling to keep their balance, while the wave pushes them back toward shore.

There’s a lot more to this whole surfing thing.  Skill and tricks, strength and endurance.  For example, did you know that, paddling out to the precise spot to catch the wave takes a lot of upper body strength? And a surfer has to avoid the waves that are trying to shove him back to shore prematurely, which he does by diving under them and letting them wash over him.  I can only imagine that takes a lot of practice.

But this isn’t a post about surfing.  It’s a post about writing.  Which, I’ve discovered is a lot like surfing.

Catching the Writing Wave

The last few weeks have been seriously great for me, writing-wise.  I’ve written nearly every day (a miracle!), but more importantly, I’ve WANTED to write. I’ve rearranged my schedule to write. I’ve been disappointed (instead of grateful for the excuse) when I haven’t been able to get any writing in on a given day due to those pesky waves pushing me to shore things in life that derail my writing time.

Why has writing been going so well lately?  I caught the wave.

For much of the last couple months, I let myself off the hook writing fiction.  There were the holidays, family stuff, getting caught up on my household chores, trying to get my life organized to the point where I had time to write.

I think this was my version of paddling out into the water.  I had to work at seeing that point on the horizon where I could catch the writing wave.  I knew what I needed to have done in my life to quit having excuses not to write…I just had to paddle hard to get there.

I had to duck a few waves, too.  Cleaning and organizing my house was necessary, but I could do that endlessly.  I had to submerge myself momentarily a few times to keep from drowning in all the ways I could avoid writing forever.

The moment I was in the right place, though, I knew it.  I sensed the time was right. The writing had been percolating in my head the whole time. It was time to maneuver into position.

I’ve never surfed before, but I can imagine, as a fairly new surfer, that just because you can see where the waves are breaking, doesn’t mean it will be easy to catch one of them.

It wasn’t easy with writing, either.  That first day, I sat down and stared at my computer and thought…now what?  Remember that FEELING I’m going for this year?  I soooo wasn’t having fun.

After a week of not catching anything resembling a wave, I decided to try a different location.  If a surfer has difficulty catching a wave, perhaps they are not in just the right spot.  Maybe it’s an area too difficult for them, beyond their skill level, for instance.

I discovered that catching a writing wave from my kitchen table is far more difficult than catching one, say, at Starbucks.  So, I paddled to Starbucks to try and catch a wave.  And it worked!

For a couple weeks, I wrote at my satellite office, surrounded by the smell of coffee and the temptation of delicious pastries (only succumbing to the Chonga bagels and the Roasted Tomato and Mozzarella Paninis). And, as I wrote, I felt the wave surging beneath my fingers as they floated over the keyboard.  Each day, I paddled back to the same spot, caught a new wave, and wrote.

Writing Physics

Bet you didn’t know that surfing utilizes the laws of physics.  An object in motion tends to stay in motion.  An object at rest tends to stay at rest.  Makes a lot of sense when you’re talking waves and water and moving physically from one spot to another while balanced on a floating board.

Well, guess what? Writing applies the laws of physics, too.  A writer in motion tends to stay in motion.  A writer writing feels propelled to keep writing.  Whether it’s the good feeling of accomplishment or because they keep the story fresh in their mind, it is so much easier to keep writing when you’ve been writing than it is to start writing after not writing. Ask any writer. This is God’s truth.

Which means that you need to catch the wave.  You need to make yourself paddle out to wherever you need to be to catch it.  Decide what it will take (and I don’t mean making excuses as to why it won’t work due to family or your job or your kids or what TV shows you just cannot miss).  I mean, make a plan to catch the wave and then do it.

Paddle out to the spot and then wait.  I will reiterate…paddle to the spot.  You can’t catch a wave until you are in position.  Sit in front of the computer or with you notebook or however you write and wait.   This may mean staring at a blank screen for a while. It may mean scribbling a few tentative words or making a mind map of your character arcs or making lists of story possibilities.  But you have to show up and do the work to catch the wave.

Sitting in the sand watching other surfers isn’t going to get you a wave.

Again, back to the law of physics in writing…once I caught the wave, I felt my momentum building.  Each time I paddled out to the waves, it got a little easier.  This past week I discovered I’d could surf  write in advanced areas. I could stay home and still write without wiping out.  I was on such a high from riding the writing wave that nothing was going to distract me. Not laundry, not kids, not pets (though they tried their hardest to knock me off my board!).

After the past few weeks, I feel capable of anything.  The writing is going better than it has in years, I see good waves ahead.  If you haven’t experienced riding the writing wave, I highly recommend it.  It takes work, but once in that zone, it’s glorious!

I know I have to avoid the rocks as I get close to shore.  I know I have to stay alert and keep an eye on the goal. I know I need to pay attention to balance and speed and all those other things that can knock me off my board.   But I also know that if I do get knocked off, there’s always another wave to catch, as long as I’m willing to paddle.

Have you ever ridden a writing wave? What does it take to get you there?

Image Credit:  mikebaird

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