Dr. Wicked this Way Comes!

Most of us who blog, sooner or later, run smack dab into writer's block. That wall, white washed of its graffiti, is blank, dreamless and uninspired. Well, no more. Meet Dr. Wicked! I recently had the pleasure. Well, really it's more like having a rectal thermometer placed between your double-lobed, butt-cracked glutes than a pleasure. But, all the same, he's good for your writing health.

The esteemed doctor's practice is located at the cyber-streets of Write or Die. It is here that he puts the 'Prod' in your productivity. Dr. Wicked gets you flossing out the creative bits that get trapped between the teeth of your over thinking, procrastinating head.

You write in a text box which is not a word processor. There are no editing tools in the on-line version, which is free. This exercise is designed to separate the writing and the editing processes. The only way to save your work is to copy and paste it into your own text editing program.

These are the available functions:

Grace Period:
Forgiving
Strict
Evil

Consequences:
Gentle Mode
Normal Mode
Kamikaze Mode
Electric Shock Mode

First, select a specific time frame, or a word count, as your goal for the session. Next, start typing. In Kamikaze Mode, if you quit typing for too long, you lose all your words. I'm not sure what happens in Electric Shock Mode. I tried to select it but the function was not available. Maybe it comes with the down loadable, desktop version that has more capabilities, including editing and blog posting, for $10.

This web application is about instilling in the writer the fear of not writing by using the principles of Operant Conditioning and Negative Reinforcement. In Negative Reinforcement, a behavior becomes stronger because a negative condition is avoided or discontinued because of the behavior. So, as long as you continue writing, you will not be punished.

In my first attempt, I didn't even have a subject in mind. I just started typing a flow of consciousness. What ever words popped into my mind, I recorded. I produced nearly 700 words in 20 minutes and, yes, I can use much of it for at least one completed piece.

In my second attempt, I needed an ending to a story I am writing for contest submission. My story is done but the ending is weak. I could not get the conclusion to read with the impact of my internalized version. I set the timer for 10 minutes and, bingo, I had over 300 words and the meat of my new ending. As far as writing and creativity are concerned, it is the best 30 minutes I've ever spent.

Go see the doctor, he's got the prescription for what ails ya!