Saturday, February 04, 2006

On Being an Unconscious Writer

Here’s a gem from another of my course participants, Walter George, a manager for the New York City Administration for Children’s Services. When asked to introduce himself to his classmates and me by stating a goal for the writing course he was about to take, he replied, “I feel that I write well enough, but I want to be an unconscious writer. Right now I’m a conscious writer.”

Now there goes a moment that can take a teacher’s breath away. Mr. George succinctly said what many brilliant minds before him have asserted—that laboring slowly through a draft is not the way to go in a high-pressure work environment. Chapters 2 and 3 of The Art of On-the-Job Writing discuss in detail ways to achieve this unconsciousness by planning and drafting as a writer, not a worrier.

For more words of wisdom from my previous course participants, see what people from New York State Insurance Department, International Flavors & Fragrances, and Investors Savings Bank said in postings on this blog of June 17, October 15, and November 2.


To purchase your copy of The Art of On-the-Job Writing by Philip Vassallo, click here: http://firstbooks.com/shop/shopexd.asp?id=144