Tag Archives: writing tools

Notebook find of 2014: Field Notes

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As a writer, I constantly need to have a pen and some paper handy to capture ideas when they come to me. Honestly, my memory is absolutely terrible for things like that. Which is fine – I have a system so I can write things down and stop worrying about them, rather than trying to keep a gazillion things in my head at the same time.

This year on my travels I discovered Field Notes. I liked the idea of them at first, but was a bit uncertain as to whether they would actually work for me. So I’ve given a few a go…

fieldnotes

I think they are the kind of brand that you either love, or really don’t get what all the fuss is about. I love the appearance of them, but I had a few reservations about the practicality. At only 48 pages long, I get through one in about a month, sometimes a few weeks. It makes going back to find something you may have only written last Thursday tricky if it is in a separate notebook. But they are slim enough to fit in a back pocket or pretty much any bag without being too bulky. In my opinion, they look better too once they’ve got used and a bit battered.

I’ve found that working with the grid layout (available in the standard  books and some of the colors editions) is great for using with the bullet journal system. I have to share my personal/writing schedule with one other person and my work schedule with at least three others, so I’ve come to terms with the fact I won’t use the calendar element of the system anyway.

If you can get your hands on one, then I’d give them a go. They don’t sit nicely in the corporate world (with the possible exception of the latest Ambition Edition) but they are fun. Sometimes, having a tool that you want to use and try out is just the encouragement you need to get writing and thinking again after a dry spell.

They won’t be my only pocket notebook of choice for 2015, but they will be a nice break from a Moleskine or Leuchtturm in between.

A mini travel break…

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So, I have added up the numbers and I spent more time outside the country than I did inside it this year. That is quite the achievement. It also means that this year was the first one in a long time where my life has had such a huge impact on my writing, rather than the other way round.

I would love to say I have managed to achieve some kind of balance and that everything has been nice and simple. The reality, no matter what you read or how much you prepare, is that when you are on the road or anywhere outside the predictability of your own environment, then the world will most likely throw you a curveball. People who seem switched on all the time seldom really are. I certainly have never met anyone who is doing it all, all the time.

Now the holiday decorations are up and I have nearly a month of no travel. Even though it is a busy time of year with friends and family, it does mean I will be able – in theory – to establish some kind of routine again. I find myself disproportionately excited about this. I hope it will be a time of consistency and progress; something I sorely need if I am to start 2015 correctly on all fronts. Paying gigs have all been delivered on time and sometimes that has been at the cost of my own work that matters to me most.

This is a time for dreaming. Dream big and start small. I have a day booked for reviewing my business plan, setting my writing goals and looking forward to see how I can make the travel work better for me in 2015. I will lock myself away with a coffee and be brutally honest with how the year has been, its successes and failures. Then the tough work really begins.

After all, if you aren’t happy about something, change it.

NanoWrimo – Is The End In Sight?

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One week left of November, which means a week left of NanoWrimo. Some people will be sitting back now, either finished or safe in the knowledge they’ll be able to make it. But what about those people who aren’t so sure?

If you’re reading this post I’m assuming you’re interested enough in NanoWrimo to still be doing it. If you decided early on that it wasn’t for you, then that’s fine too. It doesn’t mean you can’t write every day, just because you know you can’t hit 50k right now. See these next few days as practice and then think about signing up again next year. Write again anyway.

So, for those of you with bleeding fingers, new found coffee addictions and a fledgling daily writing habit, this is the hard part. If you are behind in your word count it can seem as though there is little point in going on. The moments of self-doubt are almost part of the writer’s code, so know that you are not alone. Now is the time to keep tapping away, not give up. Remember, NanoWrimo is as much about giving yourself permission to write every day as it is to hit the 50k bang on the stroke of midnight as we roll into December. It may not have started out that way, but I firmly believe it is now.

Of course, for a lot of people, 50k will be in sight but the words will start to dry up. This is more likely to happen if you were a free writer than a pre writer, but all is not lost. Look around you. Take an object, a scene, a phrase you overhear and give it to your character. Go with it. You might be surprised where it takes you….

Good luck everyone, keep going and remember – have fun!

Understanding Your Inner Writer

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This is a sabbatical post while I am away on my mini writing retreat

As I am currently focussing inward, I thought I would draw your attention to this post on how we can get closer to our true selves. I know that I usually stick to the topic of writing rather than over-arching personal development stuff, but given that I feel this is part of informing who we are, and therefore what and how we write, I thought it was appropriate.

I travel a lot. There is something unsettling, on some level, about so much time on the road. It stops you from getting comfortable and complacent. It is hard to be motivated and inspired to write every day when your life is routine and comfortable. Perhaps that is why so many great books come from people who were going through a bad spell? As much as the experience itself informs what they write, that sense of urgency which comes from not knowing what life will be one day to the next is a powerful tool. It is there to all of us, to some degree, if we choose to use it. Travel doesn’t automatically have to be to some far flung part of the globe (although that is always nice). It can be a bus ticket to somewhere, anywhere, that you haven’t been before and looking at this new place with new eyes.

The easiest one, I suppose, is embracing time alone. Most writers work in a solitary fashion, but more often than not, we do so whilst surfing the net claiming to be writing. Yes, you know what I’m talking about. I’m not talking about that time alone. I’m talking about the truly quiet time, when we think about not only writing itself, but where it fits in our lives. Is it a hobby, something secret that you want to keep just for yourself? Or do you have dreams of being published some day? Would you like to be traditionally published, or self-published? Take the time to truly visualise your dream.

I suspect that although I have scheduled this post, that is what I will be doing right now. I don’t feel guilty or selfish about it. I do it because it needs to be done, because it will not only make me a better writer, but also a better person.

And who doesn’t want that for themselves, really?

Why do NanoWrimo?

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So, this is the last weekend before NaNoWriMo begins. I will be signing up for it again this year (or rather, my alter ego will be, but when it comes to being the one getting words down onto the screen, that pretty much accounts for the same thing). November is, for me, my busiest month of the year, so why do I do it in the first place?

The challenge. This has to be the biggest driver for me. I love the competition, trying to get in as many words as possible. I try to keep up with the leaders of whatever regional lounge I’m in, which has varied over the years depending on where I’m living at the time. There is always a handful of power writers in each forum and I like to put myself right up there with them.

Despite the competition, there is also the camaraderie. Writing is a lonely sport – or can be if you let it – so November is that one time of year when it is easy to find a kindred spirit. Many of them in fact, all handily grouped in one place. As more and more people have signed up, often just to be part of it with no real intention of actually writing a damn word, this has been harder and harder to do, but it is still very much possible. Just be wary of the people talking on the forums too much if their word counts aren’t moving. NaNoWriMo can be a really useful tool for the beginning writer, but only if you get the words down.

Finally, it moves my next project along. In everything I write, there is a point between about 30,00 and 40,000 words where I get disheartened. That bit right there is where I tend to just think ‘this is all crap’ and want to consign it to the great trash bin in the sky. With Nano I don’t have time for such self indulgence. It doesn’t matter if I think it is crap or not, by that point I am close enough to 50,000 words to just keep ploughing on regardless. Just keep putting words down. In reality, when I go back over the finished piece, there will be no real difference in quality between what I wrote during and after. There may be more spelling mistakes – a natural consequence of me trying to move my fingers faster than the human body was designed to do – but that is hardly an issue in the world post-typewriter. An extra twenty minutes using spellcheck is nothing compared to the extra 20 hours of doing it more carefully.

nanowrimo-logo

I use Scrivener as my main writing tool, because it allows me to do as much pre-writing as I need to make the whole process as speedy as possible. I think a lot of people run out of steam because they haven’t actually worked through their idea and done the groundwork prior to November 1st, so either write themselves into a corner or have no idea what happens next. That can be challenging and if you don’t have the mental tools to get out of it, you’ll grind to a halt. So that would be my final comment on why do it: if nothing else, it will force you to think like a writer as well.

So, if you’re a beginner or a newbie, I think NaNoWriMo is a fun but challenging way to kick start your writing. Don’t delay, sign up today!

The Value Of Writing Groups

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Writing groups can fall into a couple of categories.

Sometimes there are ones that are too large, which means in order for everyone to get a turn they can only read 500 words and get 2 minutes of feedback. Not exactly useful.

There are ones that are too friendly, where all feedback is positive and no one actually grows as a writer. It gives you the warm and fuzzies, but it’s no more beneficial than the one above.

writing group

Of course, the counter side to that is the writing group that is full of pretentious arseholes who think that scathing literary critiques are required because they’ve been sitting in that chair – usually going nowhere – for the past twenty years so they must be qualified to do so. This is my least favourite kind of writing group. It kills any joy you have in creating, undermines your self-confidence and when you leave all you want to do is have a stiff drink.

Given that most writing groups seem to fall into one of the above categories, it seems pertinent to question whether it is worth being part of one at all. To which I would answer, yes it is.

The key is to find the right balance and right group of people. Just because you have this one thing you like to do in common, doesn’t mean you automatically fit as a group. You don’t have to have anything else in common, but you do need to all get on well enough to allow the barriers to come down. Sharing your WIP is an intimate experience, one which needs to be built on trust. If you fear getting shot down, or being given meaningless praise, then the group will fizzle and die. You need people who will give encouragement, whilst still offering suggestions and let you know when something isn’t quite working for them. That trust will grow over time, but the personalities involved count for a lot.

You also need to have a mix of experience. Five writers locked in a room who have never networked, never sent anything off, never been published, will by design have a limited perspective. A writing group with people at all stages of the journey helps everyone get a perspective that is not (or may no longer be) their own. This is beyond a doubt the most useful element there is.

My final ingredient would be to make sure you’re not all writing in the same genre. Not because of the competition – just because one person succeeds doesn’t mean someone else doesn’t – but again because of the limitations of your perspective. If you write in the fantasy genre, being able to persuade someone who writes YA or literary fiction will force you to write better and more thoughtfully than if you are already preaching to the converted.

The benefits of getting these factors correct are endless. I would urge anyone who is seriously considering becoming an author to find a group that works for them. It stops writing from being a solitary experience, where your only friends are the keyboard and your drink of choice. But it is more than that. It will open doorways to new worlds and perspectives more than anything you can do yourself or even as part of a writing community online.

Are you part of a writing group? Let me know if there are any additional elements you think are necessary so I can make this post more useful to those starting out.