breaking the writing habit

i've known for some time that i'm a certain kind of a perfectionist when it comes to my writing. i don't write in drafts---i've always written in such a way that by the time i write something down, it's my final (or close to final) draft. this worked well during my days as a student when meeting deadlines and getting good grades were my priority. often, it was an acutely exhausting process... but it always worked. i think i had this unacknowledged snobbism that drafts are for whimps (LOL).

according to my advisor, there are two extremes in approaches to writing: editing as you write and free-writing. 

the first approach means that you're already editing as you write. this is what i do. i think of a sentence, may even type it out, but quickly start modifying it in my mind or on the page before moving on. the benefit of this approach is that you don't have to do too much major editing later. the drawback is that it takes a long time to produce the first draft. this is also what i'm facing right now as i try to produce the first draft of my prospectus. it's taking much longer than it should and it's because i can't write the next sentence, even though the idea is already in my head. very annoying.

free-writing is basically thinking in writing. you don't hit backspace, you keep typing as thoughts pop up in your head. the benefit of this approach is that you get something out and you can write a lot in a short amount of time. the drawback is that you have to edit quite heavily, often making major structural changes.

i'm learning to how to edit less and free-write more. it's really tough. to make this learning curve a little less steep, i'm going to take advantages of a habit that i already have. when i'm stuck while writing, i take a shower and talk to myself outloud. i'm going to try audio-recording this process. maybe not in the shower, though! pace around the apartment perhaps? my MA advisor told me she would walk in her garden with a recorder and speak into it. sounds nice to me! i'm going to try this. i have a fairly good feeling about it, too! wish me luck!