Tag: routine

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On a Writing Kick

Last Tuesday, just as my scheduled post was ready to go, I received an email saying that someone had recommended my blog. So a big shout-out to to The Threaded Shillelaugeh for doing so.

I must confess that I rarely venture onto my Reading feed, although I do receive email notifications when certain accounts create a new post. I’ve now saved my Reading and Subscriptions pages prominently on my Favourites bar. I first need to weed out the inactive profiles, and I”ve already jettisoned an overactive account that posted every few hours and dominated the feed.

But there’s another reason I haven’t been reading as much lately, and that’s because I’m currently going through the most productive period of writing I’ve experienced in a long time. I’ve reached the point where I’ve been writing deep into the night, which is highly unusual for me. Thursday was my longest session; I was up until 3am, and I only canned it because I was exhausted and needed to work the following morning. I was nowhere near finished the text.

To find the last time the words flowed so freely, I need to go back to my earlier attempts at the now-defunct National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo, where the challenge was to write 50,000 words in a month. That said, I’ve discovered I write best when I do it episodically because my natural concluding point is in the region of 2,000 words.

I was already penning my fourth story in a nine-part series, and then an idea struck for an extra chapter of an existing 25-part series. The first in the series was intended as a one-off, then I thought it wouldn’t have more than four parts, and then I declared it would wrap up around 20 parts, and I’ve shot past that.

Because it features an ensemble cast, it’s proving easy to think of new plot points related to the central premise. So easy, in fact, that I’ve around 3,500 words, which is already double my normal stopping point – and there’s much more to follow. Fortunately, there’s a natural cliffhanger in the plot to keep readers gripped until the 27th chapter, which I fully expect to contain another 3,500 words.

With that series, I’ve had to make up a retrospective notes document to keep the main action consistent.

A few days ago, for instance, I thought one character was four years older than another, when she’s actually six years older. In another case, I forgot whether two other characters had been given a surname. This is published on a writing website, so I’ve now asked my fellow writers whether they recall one being given.

With the newer series, I’ve made a point of creating that notes document early, which has been a terrific move.

I don’t know exactly how I’ll feel once this writing kick is over, but I expect I’ll start going to bed at a reasonable hour again.

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A Time for Writing

When I started this blog over a decade ago, the first dozen entries or so were posted at seemingly arbitrary intervals. It was an experimental venture that took a few months to settle into a regular cycle, initially every Monday at 5pm.

It made sense, considering my schedule at the time. I could write the blog over the weekend and then make any tweaks during the day on Monday. These are now posted around 8pm every Tuesday, which coincides with the end of my writing group, so I can use that time to make amendments.

The purpose of this schedule is to keep me producing at least one piece of prose per week. I don’t always manage a full entry, but I always post some text, even if it’s to explain I haven’t managed to write that full entry. Additionally, my Wyverns group membership encourages me to produce at least one piece of poetry every month.

I hear about too many writers – especially beginners – who feel they aren’t real writers unless they set aside a certain length of time every day. Of those, there is a sizeable subset who feel the well-known writing routine of Steven King is the One and Only True Way.

I find this frustrating to hear. One man’s method is not everyone’s method, and it shouldn’t be treated as such.

Some authors swear by keeping a notepad and pen by the bed, or writing in the morning, whereas neither of these work for me. There are a few who consider the activity seasonal, doing the bulk of their work in the summer or winter months.

There are also environmental factors. Bizarrely, one of my favourite places to write used to be in a certain branch of McDonald’s, and I can’t explain why. Maybe I should go back there and see whether it still works.

Once you experiment with your times and figure out what schedule works for you personally, the process will probably become easier.

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That’s the place, uh-huh uh-huh, I write it.

I know you shouldn’t pay too much attention to those pictures that circulate around Facebook, but I recently saw one that deserves a response:

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It strikes me that the solution is hidden within the problem: why stare at a blank page if that doesn’t help you produce work? Go and lie down in bed, or have a shower, or drive around town. But be sure to have a safe way of recording your ideas as they occur.

The perfect spot for a writer is as individual as his or her work. I recently attended a workshop in a library. One of the organisers asked us to pick a spot in the building where we each felt comfortable, then to complete a writing exercise. Some participants preferred an open area, others preferred a little niche; one person lay on the floor while another nipped upstairs.

For my own part, I found a shelf at chest height and placed my work on top of it. When I’m using my computer at home, I prefer to stand up with my back to my bedroom window; I’ve experimented with other places in the house but they simply don’t have the same vibe.

It’s also timeworn advice to keep a notepad and pen by your bedside table in case a great idea occurs during the night. This has rarely worked for me; I find going for a walk for a walk, especially in the cold, is much more effective.

Consider also the sounds around you. I was writing a play a few years ago that had a rather dark theme, and I found the only music that helped me write this way was Radiohead. Any other time, I listen to the soundtrack from the film The Assassination of Jesse James, written by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis.

So be sure to experiment with your particular writing place. A lot of people believe that to be a writer you have to sit a mahogany desk for a set time each day in silence and write a certain number of words. That works for some people, but if it doesn’t do anything for you, find a method that does.

Think of it this way: if you weren’t receiving your milk delivery, you wouldn’t complain to the postman. Similarly, if your current actions aren’t helping you to place words on paper, it’s time to take new actions.