A- Z OF WRITING
To start the new year - 2019 - I thought I would share my A - Z of Writing.
ACCOUNTABILITY
Yep, there is no one else to blame. No matter what is happening around you or to you...if you want to write you will. Whether it's a few minutes here, ten minutes there...there is always some precious minutes you can use. It all depends on you. So before you blame anyone else for having NO TIME, look at yourself first. Too much phone, internet, television...put that time into your words.
BALANCE
Follows on from the above. There has to be a balance between family, friends, work and what life throws at us. But once again, we can moan and groan about it all..or do something about it. At times we will want to write, at other times we won't...accept it without the guilt and move on.
CRITIQUE
Find that perfect reader (or readers). Someone you trust to tell you the truth. It's lovely if family/ friends tell you that 'it's the best thing I've ever read'. Great ego boost. But it doesn't help you improve. You need someone to tell you when you wander off track, when the big picture is too hazy, the plot too cliched, characters too cardboard. Positive feedback is vital to improve.
DETERMINATION
It's so easy to write. You simply sit at a computer, or pick up pen and paper...and tadaa...you have written. But to go further you have to be determined...and pigheaded...and foolish....and...
EVERY DAY
Or so they say. I don't go by that...in fact there have been days/ weeks/ months when I haven't written a thing. (except for the blog, which when you get down to it, is definitely writing...with a few piccies put in). I write when I can, not that I write when the muse strikes (as I'd still be sitting, looking out the window) but not every day.
FAMILY
You can't live without them, can't live with them, and highly illegal to remove them. So you have to work around them. Whether it's between their naps, their working habits, their after school activities, the school run, the request for another cuppa, the question of what's for dinner. Yep, it's up to us to find the way that works with this familial obstacle....good luck.
GOALS
Not that you have to have a neat list of GOALS for the year (although I do tend to have a few) it's always nice to have an idea of what you are aiming for. It can fall by the wayside, you can be side tracked, you can be blind sided, in fact you can totally lose the plot and end up basket weaving...but I do believe it's necessary to have some kind of idea, no matter how ethereal, of what you would like to achieve.
HABITS
We all have them, the good, the bad and the down right ugly. It's time to embrace the good, work on those bad habits and ignore the hell the ugly ones. Or at least make them work for you. Could be a way for notoriety...
INTERNET
Yes it is there, yes it is highly addictive. Hands up those that have never gone on 'for just a few moments'...perhaps for a bit of research...to answer that email that we didn't get around to yesterday. And then been sucked down the rabbit hole, to find ourselves emerging two hours later with a dazed expression on our face and unable to say what we've been doing with all that time.
JUMPING JACKS
A tad over the top, but yes, anything that gets us moving is not only good for us physically, but emotionally and spiritually as well. Sitting hunched over a laptop or keyboard is not beneficial by any means. So whether it's a stand up and stretch, a walk around the house, wander out to the garden, time to hang another load of washing out, take the dog for a walk...we need to do something to keep the old body ticking over as well as the mind.
KILL YOUR DARLINGS
Sounds threatening and alarming yet it is one of the best pieces of advice I've been given over the years. You may be in love with the writing, the characters, the plot...but not for the piece you are working on. Face up to it, and take them away. Not necessarily kill them, they can always be rekindled to live afterwards, on a new project. A prose zombie.
LAPTOP
I was late coming to the laptop but boy, the freedom. To write anywhere, any time. So liberating. Take it away on a writing retreat...write at a cafe/ library .....out on the deck....at the kitchen table. Better yet if you don't connect it to the internet!
MUSE
Frankly I don't believe in her. Imagine waiting day in, day out, for the muse to strike. If you want to write you will, if you don't, you won't. Ideas are always percolating, some need a longer time to brew than others. Even when you don't realise you are still thinking about the idea/ concept/ characters and then when you write, the story appears. Sometimes as though by magic. No Abracadabra involved...merely time to compost away.
NO TO NEGATIVITY
It is so easy to doubt ourselves. Our abilities, our talents, our ideas. Turning ourselves into negative Nancies, that delete passage after passage. That throw down pens in disgust. Make this the year to focus on the positivity...to think 'what if this was a published piece, what would I think then?"
OUTPUT
Some folks with a deadline of so many words per day..others with a goal of x amount per week. Others measure it by chapter or time spent at the computer. Whichever way works for you, that's the one to concentrate on. You can only edit work you have done...so no matter which system, it comes down to words on the page.
PROCRASTINATION
Ah, my old friend. We go back so many years. Every now and then we decide it's time to part, to head our separate ways, but then we meet again (often by chance) and before you know it, we are once again inseparable. Some things need to be expected and embraced.
QUITTING
So easy to do. That's it, I've had a bad year. Twenty six rejections and I only sent out five items...I"m giving up. You can if you want, no one will stop you. No one will demand that you once more put pen to paper...that they NEED to see your words. It's entirely up to you. But if you do give up, quit, acknowledge why you are.
RESEARCH
One of those places where you lose days/ months/ years. You begin by merely looking up the name of a garment worn by women in 1765 and before you know it you have travelled continents. Seen wars and horrors...disease and pestilence...you have met characters who lived then, who died then...you search deeper and deeper...never to return.
SUBMIT
This often takes place when you least expect it. Someone mentions a publisher is open, that a short story comp is about to close, that a magazine is looking for the exact kind of story you have just written. You frantically check font and word count, create title pages and author bios, you twist and turn and finally, after nearly a day spent on this one small piece of work..you hit the send button. Often to never ever hear a word in return.
TOUCH TYPING
OMG...one of the best things I learnt in school. Yes I'm of the era where we had the keys covered and had to type THE QUICK BROWN FOX JUMPED OVER THE LAZY DOG....over and over and over again.
UNDERSTANDING
I think you should always know why you want to write and more importantly, what you want to write. Some fall into writing, try their hand at this and that, have a bit of success here, some there. But understanding what exactly you are trying to say and why, will only strengthen your work.
VOCABULARY
Another great piece of advice I picked up, was to never use a $50 word when a dollar word will do just as well. Yes you may have a great range of wordage at your fingertips, but apart from showing off, where does it leave you? Imagine the struggling reader, poring through your book, the dictionary by their side. Stopping every second paragraph to try and decipher exactly what you mean. Most readers would give up. Keep your cleverness to yourself.
WRITERS BLOCK
Bit like the Muse, I don't believe in Writers Block. I think it's a case of having nothing to say, or too much and can't decide which way to go. Or perhaps you are exhausted...mentally, physically or emotionally....even spiritually. Take a break. Read. Relax. Before you know it a poem will occur, or a character will come to life.
X MARKS THE SPOT
Each person has their own spot to write. Whether they have the luxury of their own writing room, or perhaps a desk tucked away in a corner. Whether they have to commandeer the dining table each night after the kids have done their homework. Sometimes this spot will work for us, at other times it's good to try something new. Never say never.
YOU CAN DO IT
Yep, let's embrace the positivity. You can do it. If you want to.
ZEST
If you want to write, let it be with energy and enthusiasm. Otherwise why do it?
Vicki
ACCOUNTABILITY
Yep, there is no one else to blame. No matter what is happening around you or to you...if you want to write you will. Whether it's a few minutes here, ten minutes there...there is always some precious minutes you can use. It all depends on you. So before you blame anyone else for having NO TIME, look at yourself first. Too much phone, internet, television...put that time into your words.
BALANCE
Follows on from the above. There has to be a balance between family, friends, work and what life throws at us. But once again, we can moan and groan about it all..or do something about it. At times we will want to write, at other times we won't...accept it without the guilt and move on.
CRITIQUE
Find that perfect reader (or readers). Someone you trust to tell you the truth. It's lovely if family/ friends tell you that 'it's the best thing I've ever read'. Great ego boost. But it doesn't help you improve. You need someone to tell you when you wander off track, when the big picture is too hazy, the plot too cliched, characters too cardboard. Positive feedback is vital to improve.
DETERMINATION
It's so easy to write. You simply sit at a computer, or pick up pen and paper...and tadaa...you have written. But to go further you have to be determined...and pigheaded...and foolish....and...
EVERY DAY
Or so they say. I don't go by that...in fact there have been days/ weeks/ months when I haven't written a thing. (except for the blog, which when you get down to it, is definitely writing...with a few piccies put in). I write when I can, not that I write when the muse strikes (as I'd still be sitting, looking out the window) but not every day.
FAMILY
You can't live without them, can't live with them, and highly illegal to remove them. So you have to work around them. Whether it's between their naps, their working habits, their after school activities, the school run, the request for another cuppa, the question of what's for dinner. Yep, it's up to us to find the way that works with this familial obstacle....good luck.
GOALS
Not that you have to have a neat list of GOALS for the year (although I do tend to have a few) it's always nice to have an idea of what you are aiming for. It can fall by the wayside, you can be side tracked, you can be blind sided, in fact you can totally lose the plot and end up basket weaving...but I do believe it's necessary to have some kind of idea, no matter how ethereal, of what you would like to achieve.
HABITS
We all have them, the good, the bad and the down right ugly. It's time to embrace the good, work on those bad habits and ignore the hell the ugly ones. Or at least make them work for you. Could be a way for notoriety...
INTERNET
Yes it is there, yes it is highly addictive. Hands up those that have never gone on 'for just a few moments'...perhaps for a bit of research...to answer that email that we didn't get around to yesterday. And then been sucked down the rabbit hole, to find ourselves emerging two hours later with a dazed expression on our face and unable to say what we've been doing with all that time.
JUMPING JACKS
A tad over the top, but yes, anything that gets us moving is not only good for us physically, but emotionally and spiritually as well. Sitting hunched over a laptop or keyboard is not beneficial by any means. So whether it's a stand up and stretch, a walk around the house, wander out to the garden, time to hang another load of washing out, take the dog for a walk...we need to do something to keep the old body ticking over as well as the mind.
KILL YOUR DARLINGS
Sounds threatening and alarming yet it is one of the best pieces of advice I've been given over the years. You may be in love with the writing, the characters, the plot...but not for the piece you are working on. Face up to it, and take them away. Not necessarily kill them, they can always be rekindled to live afterwards, on a new project. A prose zombie.
LAPTOP
I was late coming to the laptop but boy, the freedom. To write anywhere, any time. So liberating. Take it away on a writing retreat...write at a cafe/ library .....out on the deck....at the kitchen table. Better yet if you don't connect it to the internet!
MUSE
Frankly I don't believe in her. Imagine waiting day in, day out, for the muse to strike. If you want to write you will, if you don't, you won't. Ideas are always percolating, some need a longer time to brew than others. Even when you don't realise you are still thinking about the idea/ concept/ characters and then when you write, the story appears. Sometimes as though by magic. No Abracadabra involved...merely time to compost away.
NO TO NEGATIVITY
It is so easy to doubt ourselves. Our abilities, our talents, our ideas. Turning ourselves into negative Nancies, that delete passage after passage. That throw down pens in disgust. Make this the year to focus on the positivity...to think 'what if this was a published piece, what would I think then?"
OUTPUT
Some folks with a deadline of so many words per day..others with a goal of x amount per week. Others measure it by chapter or time spent at the computer. Whichever way works for you, that's the one to concentrate on. You can only edit work you have done...so no matter which system, it comes down to words on the page.
PROCRASTINATION
Ah, my old friend. We go back so many years. Every now and then we decide it's time to part, to head our separate ways, but then we meet again (often by chance) and before you know it, we are once again inseparable. Some things need to be expected and embraced.
QUITTING
So easy to do. That's it, I've had a bad year. Twenty six rejections and I only sent out five items...I"m giving up. You can if you want, no one will stop you. No one will demand that you once more put pen to paper...that they NEED to see your words. It's entirely up to you. But if you do give up, quit, acknowledge why you are.
RESEARCH
One of those places where you lose days/ months/ years. You begin by merely looking up the name of a garment worn by women in 1765 and before you know it you have travelled continents. Seen wars and horrors...disease and pestilence...you have met characters who lived then, who died then...you search deeper and deeper...never to return.
SUBMIT
This often takes place when you least expect it. Someone mentions a publisher is open, that a short story comp is about to close, that a magazine is looking for the exact kind of story you have just written. You frantically check font and word count, create title pages and author bios, you twist and turn and finally, after nearly a day spent on this one small piece of work..you hit the send button. Often to never ever hear a word in return.
TOUCH TYPING
OMG...one of the best things I learnt in school. Yes I'm of the era where we had the keys covered and had to type THE QUICK BROWN FOX JUMPED OVER THE LAZY DOG....over and over and over again.
UNDERSTANDING
I think you should always know why you want to write and more importantly, what you want to write. Some fall into writing, try their hand at this and that, have a bit of success here, some there. But understanding what exactly you are trying to say and why, will only strengthen your work.
VOCABULARY
Another great piece of advice I picked up, was to never use a $50 word when a dollar word will do just as well. Yes you may have a great range of wordage at your fingertips, but apart from showing off, where does it leave you? Imagine the struggling reader, poring through your book, the dictionary by their side. Stopping every second paragraph to try and decipher exactly what you mean. Most readers would give up. Keep your cleverness to yourself.
WRITERS BLOCK
Bit like the Muse, I don't believe in Writers Block. I think it's a case of having nothing to say, or too much and can't decide which way to go. Or perhaps you are exhausted...mentally, physically or emotionally....even spiritually. Take a break. Read. Relax. Before you know it a poem will occur, or a character will come to life.
X MARKS THE SPOT
Each person has their own spot to write. Whether they have the luxury of their own writing room, or perhaps a desk tucked away in a corner. Whether they have to commandeer the dining table each night after the kids have done their homework. Sometimes this spot will work for us, at other times it's good to try something new. Never say never.
YOU CAN DO IT
Yep, let's embrace the positivity. You can do it. If you want to.
ZEST
If you want to write, let it be with energy and enthusiasm. Otherwise why do it?
Vicki
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