The other day, I was playing with oobleck.
Oobleck is this wacky substance that flows like liquidy slime… until you press it. Then it becomes solid. Until you stop. At which point it flows again.
Say you want to dye it. If you add food coloring to liquid oobleck, the color will sit on top of it. If you keep kneading like with clay, the color will stay on the outside.
To dye all the oobleck, you have to do both: Knead and let go. Structure and flow.
I was doing just this when the penny dropped.
When I write, my brain is like oobleck.
Too much structure, too many expectations of what I plan to accomplish, and I freeze. My defenses go up, even when I’m the only one with expectations.
Too much flow, and I get meandering journal entries of no use to anyone.
What works best is a combination.
An objective, a reminder to focus on the interesting bits, and then letting my brain loose.
— or —
A constraint like a time limit or a prompt, and, within that, free rein.
Structure and flow.
What conditions do you need to produce your best work? Leave a comment below and let us know.
This Glass Has Water 