I have a tendency to edit my thoughts on the fly. So whatever I write now, I will tap on backspace several times just to get it right, and then I might delete that whole paragraph altogether later. This process alone makes me want to stop writing. Even my simple workflow to start writing does not prevent me from falling into this trap of self-edits.
However, I’ve come up with a new hypothesis that might just help me.
Just like how what I teach comes from a prior source, I believe what I write comes from a universal source as well. There is a stream of words flowing all around us. Writing things down is basically taking a sip from this stream. It is a temporary connection with what’s going on around us, and provides me a glimpse into what could be.
A theory like this does not actually mean much in actual writing. For me, it makes a whole lot of difference understanding that when I’m writing, I’m not actually writing, but I’m trying to open up a wormhole into this other universe and allowing the words from there to flow through. If I were to interrupt it, like doing constant editing, this tap of words will probably drip to a stop, which is not what I want.
Let’s see where this new found knowledge will take me. I might end up just writing by hand. I wonder if anyone still does that on a regular basis.