Tag: amwriting

Writing Sprints and the progress they bring.

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Hello everyone,

I hope you’re having a good week so far.

I attempted NaNoWriMo 2022 with varying degrees of success. On the one hand, I didn’t reach the 50,000 word target but I did find my way to a method of writing which, at one point, made me think I could reach the glory of 50,000 in a month. That was:

The Writing Sprint.

This method involves setting a timer, which is usually between 15 and 60 minutes, and writing non-stop until the time is up.

I did sprints of either 15 or 20 minutes and set the timer on my phone. As the timer was on my phone this meant that I could NOT use my phone for all the procrastinating goodness/badness it brings. I had to wait until the alarm rang to say I was done. And I learned to love and hate the alarm sound in equal measure. It didn’t sound too lovely at first but I’m now conditioned..sorry..prepared for the relief the alarm gives me. I wonder why?

If I received an important call or message I would stop but other than that I would keep writing. I would also try to eliminate all other distractions so I could focus on the writing alone. As my phone was and is my main distraction the fact that it was now my method of telling the time meant I could write with not many interruptions. The point as well for a writing sprint is to not stop even though you may feel like you want to do some editing or you feel some dialogue or description or anything has fallen flat. The main thing is to get as many words down during the time frame you have given yourself.

I have also found that making a small plan before each sprint helps me a lot to make use of the time well. If I know what I’m going to write about or roughly know, the time gets used more effectively than if I go in blind or with a wisp of a idea.

Here are a few Pros and Cons that I’ve found while using Writing Sprints:

Pro’s

  • Knowing that I only need to put aside 15 minutes and I will make progress with my WIP.
  • WIP progresses at a steady pace.
  • Increased focus when writing outside of doing the Sprints.
  • Can be done multiple times a day and does not necessarily have to be all at once.
  • No time for editing as you go.

Con’s

  • No time for editing as you go.
  • Can feel like a bit of a chore.
  • If your writing is not flowing you can be tempted to clock watch.
  • Can feel like the time is hanging over you instead of helping you move your WIP along.

Overall, discovering Writing Sprints has been a game changer for me.

This all leads me to a question, if you already use Writing Sprints, how did you first find out about them?

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Romance Webinar and What I took from it.

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Hello everyone,

I hope you’ve had a good week so far.

On Wednesday, 22/02, I (virtually) attended a webinar entitled ‘How to write Romance that Stands Out’ via Reedsy and hosted by Michelle Hazen (https://michellehazenbooks.com/). This was a really useful and informative webinar about how to approach writing a romance story and some tips about how to make it all pop off the page.

I’ve been thinking about writing a romance story for a while now, and this webinar has put me on the right track.

The webinar discussed providing three things to clarify a story; Make it Specific. Make it Personal. Make it Visual.

Following these main tips as you write your story can help it become more unique. And in a genre that has regularly been a top many a best-selling list, this could be crucial. The webinar also detailed 7 principles to follow as you are writing. These are:

  1. Meet Cute – How your characters meet and make it unique.
  2. Demonstration of Value – Show, don’t tell something about the love interest that makes them more attractive to the other.
  3. What are your readers expecting? – Give them what they want. Which, amongst other things, is that the two love interests get together at the end of the story.
  4. Flipping Stereotypes and Genre shortcuts – How to do things that don’t conform to usual stereotypes of shortcuts for the Romance genre.
  5. Time for date night – Think outside the box for what the character’s first date will be and how it happens.
  6. Mid-Book Reversal – Big change mid-way through the story that keeps things interesting. For example, the couple breaks up when one decides to make the decision thinking it’s best for the other.
  7. Grand Gesture – Make it personal, show time and effort, and something symbolic of the relationship.

For the entire webinar, please visit the following link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2D_DjKSLdFc&t=7s.

The main thing I took away from this was that to make your story stand out, it should be as unique and specific as possible. Say, instead of having the two main love interests meet on a date in a coffee shop or bar, how about they meet another way? By accident or on a rock-climbing holiday or when you, and they, least expect it?

These types of things happen all the time in real life. For example, you decide to do something slightly different on your lunch break from work and suddenly discover a new place to eat or a new route to walk. It’s a small example, but you get the point. Why not have your characters do something different to what you might do in their shoes and see what happens?  

Currently, my love interests meet in a coffee shop and bond over a common interest. Not until later do they realise they work in the same company and are not particularly fond of each other from a work perspective. I have already written a short story for this, and I’m excited to flesh out the details and see where it takes me. The webinar has helped me in that respect and will guide me until it’s done.

I’ll end with a question, how do you try and make your Romance Story unique?


The Desk or the Lap?

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Hello everyone,

I hope you’re well.

Recently my weeks have been filled with trying to get into a new writing routine. Or at least back into my old one. I attempted NaNoWriMo 2022 and finished on 36k words. I’m happy with that. More than happy. And although I missed the target (50k words) along the way, I’ve found that writing on my laptop while on my actual lap is my favoured way to get things done.

I work from home 2-3 days a week, and the thought of finishing and returning to the same desk to write on my personal laptop doesn’t fill me with much joy. It makes writing a chore, which I definitely don’t want AT ALL. Writing is in my heart. Forever. So, just the act of writing directly to the laptop, either on my lap or on a different part of my desk or in my house, has helped a lot. Seems simple, but it’s a game-changer for me.

And I’m looking to start writing using a pen and paper as well.

I have plenty of notepads and got a nice new fancy pen for Christmas, so writing a story entirely on a notepad looks to be the logical choice. Though, I’m not sure my hands can handle it. At work, when I make any notes that go over a few sentences, I can feel my hand begin to cramp up. Which is a bit scary but understandable. I do mainly type at work, and notes are few and far between. Having said that, I have begun to write in my new notepad, and my hand is holding up well.

I completed a short story writing course last year, and one of the assignments was to write a story in a genre different from my usual (soft sci-fi). I decided to write a romance and loved it. I didn’t think I would, but putting the thing together, about a man meeting a woman in a coffee shop and bonding and later falling for each other over their shared love of a particular author was brilliant. So, I’ve started to write the whole thing on one of my notepads. This one, in fact:

(Also, The Dark Crystal rules, by the way)

I’ve noticed I’ve had to slow down my writing pace, as when I try to write as quickly as I’m thinking, the words turn to scribbles. On a laptop, it’s not a problem, but handwriting is another animal. I’ll get there.

This all leads to me ask a question to finish the post. It would be great to hear what you think.  

Do you like to write on your laptop, or do you prefer via a keyboard linked to a monitor?

My Favourite Film and Its Influence on My Writing.

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Favourite Film: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.

Influence: Well, where do I begin?

I don’t remember the exact time I first watched The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly but I do remember only realising it was over 90 minutes long, which was the time I’d allocated to watch a film before bed. So I had to watch it in two parts. I was loving it but my eyes told me sleep was needed.

When I did watch the rest of it, and then it all at once, I knew I’d found my favourite film. Acting, score, story, direction and all the things in between, in my opinion it is a masterpiece of cinema.

The characters The Good, The Bad and The Ugly all have cool moments and also not so cool moments but throughout you know who they are and what they’re about. None of them steer from Good to Bad to Ugly or any of the variations. Although I like stories where characters grow and change, with this, they are already fully made. You don’t necessarily need to know how they became that way, you accept them for who they are and follow their story.

I am a fan in my own writing of character progression but I am also a fan of supporting characters just being who they are and accompanying the protagonist on their journey. I think when I consider my protagonists I have The Good (Blondie) in mind for his calmness, intelligence, and ruthlessness. I don’t want a cheap knockoff of Blondie in my stories but I think he’s always there in some way, shape, or form.

As for my antagonist(s), The Bad (Angel Eyes) and The Ugly (Tuco) are always floating around in my mind. They both know who they are and don’t apologise for it.

This is one of my starting points when creating a villain for my piece. I consider the villains position and motivation and come to why they are classed as the villain. As I’ve formed their identity I can consider how they go about their day. Usually, this involves a steely determination to get their job/plan/goal complete. Much like Angel Eyes in a sense. He knew how to survive and this gave him determination.

As for Tuco, he got things done in anyway he could. Even sacrificing his own friends and pushing away his family. None of this mattered if it meant him getting what he wanted. I use this within my villains at the start and usually they stay the same. Sometimes they grow but not drastically.

Having analysed my process against my favourite film, I’m pleasantly surprised how much of an influence it has on my writing.

Which leads me to a question and I’d like know your thoughts, Is there a film, favorite or otherwise, that influences your writing?

My Morning Journal and How It Makes Me Feel.

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Hello everyone,


I hope you’re well.

If you write a journal, for whatever reason, how has it helped you and/oryour writing?


Since the turn of the year, I’ve been writing at least one page in my journal. I’d heard of the theory that writing down whatever is in your head in the morning can help you focus and prepare for the day ahead. I also heard it can help bring about some ideas and be a kind of therapy.

In practice, I’ve found these two theory’s to be true.

I started by writing whatever it was that was in my head. Sometimes it made sense and sometimes it did not. This then morphed over the course of a few days into making sense. I then used it to get out any frustrations or insecurities I had in my working and personal life.

Once I’ve written some grievance down I then tend to keep writing until working out why I’m annoyed and come to a resolution about the whole thing. Although this can take a few days of writing to do, it has been very helpful indeed.

It has and continues to help me overcome any negativity and anger I have about the particular situation I’m in. This has also allowed me to tackle similar circumstances from a different and more productive angle. I’m much calmer for it as well.

As a writer this has assisted my growth and development. I’ve been writing for years and this is a dimension I didn’t know I needed.

And it makes me realise how bad my handwriting has become. It was never exquisite to say the least but it has gotten worse. I do work on a computer in my day job but hopefully journalling will help sort this out. And build the strength back up in my hand.

If you write a journal, for whatever reason, how has it helped you and your writing as a whole?

Thanks for reading and (maybe) contributing. Have a good day!

To Draw and to Write

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How many notepads do you have on the go at any one time? And what do you use them for?

Hello,

I hope you’re well.

I have been trying to get into the routine of carrying two notepads with me around the house for general, WIP related notes and for drawing pictures linked to my WIP and everything else.

My wonderful fiancé bought me a notepad with the Van Gogh picture ‘Starry Night’ on the front and back. As it has a strong link to a famous artist, I decided to use this as my drawing notepad. Although I can’t draw, I’m hoping it will spark more ideas in relation to my writing.

I’d taken a few pictures previously during the second lockdown (in the UK) whilst taking my morning walks. These were of my surroundings and I’ve since written stories linked to them. To take this further, I’ve decided to draw the pictures myself and add to them to enhance my story.

A most recent drawing started out as an attempt to draw a street with houses either side. This was to practice my perspective drawing. But, as I got into it, the picture morphed into the town where a western, which I first drafted in July 2017 and have started to re-write as of November 2020, is set. I drew those buildings I knew were part of the town and it led me to add a small church next to the huge barn where the town’s horses reside from time to time.

I wondered ‘Why a church?’

Then, it occurred to me.

At the beginning of my Western, our hero is greeted by a vicar trying to give him a bible. The vicar is enthusiastic but our hero is not religious so he declines the offer. The crestfallen vicar walks away. I’ve decided, all from just a drawing, that the hero, as he becomes more accustomed to the town, starts to go to church to find some calm. He gets to know the vicar as he does so. Through all of this, I have found a more prominent character and one that I will use to delve into the hero’s background and to shine a light on an unsung patron of the town. All this from one drawing. How I love the creative process!

As well as keeping my drawing notepad to hand as often as possible it comes with a friend…the writing notepad!

I began to use this particular notepad to map out my current WIP, which I had partially written on my phone in the mornings, on my way to, from, and during work, as well as at home. I realised I needed to map out the story in its entirety as I was getting confused as to what was going on.

Once I had mapped out what I had already written, I went full steam ahead and mapped out the whole thing. This allowed me to sort out the plot holes I had become aware of as I was writing the story on my phone.

With all of this, I managed to write 500 words. 500! That was more than I had managed towards any of my WIPs in the last six months combined on my laptop.

This has got me back into the groove of writing, which I had not realised I had fallen out of. I’ve been making plenty of notes, drawing, and thinking about it but not actually doing it outside of my short story course. Now to keep it going.

This leads me to (repeat) a question, how many notepads do you have on the go at any one time? And what do you use them for?

Thanks for reading and have a decent day!

Balancing Out Your Cast of Characters – by September Fawkes…

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It’s no secret that side characters can be amazing in their own right. Great side characters feel like real people–even if the focus isn’t on them. They have lives that exist beyond the scope of the protagonist. When they seem to exist only to help or exacerbate the protagonist, they lack authenticity. With that said, untamed […]

Balancing Out Your Cast of Characters – by September Fawkes…

Hello everyone,

This is a re-blog of an excellent post from http://www.septembercfawkes.com about supporting characters and their role within a story to balance or potentially unbalance things out.

Click the link above for access to the full thing.

Have a good day!

Where’s my routine gone?

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Hello,

Where has my writing routine gone?

I remember a time not so long ago when I used to sit down most days and write something. A few words or a lot of words or somewhere in between. I’d also make time to read in any gaps that were presented to me along the way.

Now, though, that seems to have disappeared. I am still writing but its ad-hoc and my motivation is all over the place. It does feel like its creeping its way back to the forefront of my mind and I think I just need to let it happen. But, that’s easier said than done.

It could be because I’m trying to focus on too many things at once. Writing my WIP, finishing my Short Story Course, reading a number of books at the same time, and drawing pictures to accompany said stories.

I’m thinking I need to bring in an actual, written down, schedule to try and keep to. Maybe I could buy a big wall chart or a computer screen the size of my office wall that I can change when….

Hold on. I’m getting ahead of myself now. Take a step back. I’ll just use one of my notepads. That’ll work just as well. The above would take up most of my house. And be slightly more expensive than a notepad one would assume.

This leads me to ask, how do you keep a writing routine?

Crafting Rich Characters (Part 1)

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Originally posted on Story Empire: Greetings to all the storytellers out there. Let me start out by first wishing you a peaceful Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Then by sharing how delighted I am to be part of the Story Empire crew. I never tire of chatting about the craft of writing and hope to…

Crafting Rich Characters (Part 1)

Hello everyone,

Interesting article about character creation. Some good points and things to consider.

Originally posted by storyempirecom.wordpress.com. This is via Chris the Story Reading Ape fine website.

Hope you enjoy it.

The Next Step in 2022

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Hello everyone,

Happy New Year!

As I move into another year, I wonder what my next step will be in my writing career.

It’s tricky trying to decide what to do next with your writing, isn’t it?

I’m coming to the end of my short story writing course, with the last area of study being In The Market, which focuses on how to approach becoming published. This, like the rest of the course, has provided me with a wealth of knowledge and tips going forward.

Now, it’s just a case of trying to putting my learnings into action.

That was easy enough to write. But planning and doing this is another thing.

I’ve read plenty of tweets and blog posts dedicated to the subject, and they have all helped me in some shape or form.

I’ll be honest, it’s nice to know others are going through the same thing I am, and for those who have already done this, their practical tips have been helpful. Such as providing a list of agents looking for submissions or how to write a query letter/email. It’s all information I’ve taken in, but I will go over it all again and again (and again) to prepare myself as much as possible.

My short story course has provided me with a questionnaire to use when researching potential markets for publication (with questions such as ‘what is the word count for the stories they publish?’, ‘what type of characters are in these stories?’, ‘who is the target audience?’ and so on.) This has helped me break down the subjects I’m looking into and shows if the subject is a viable option.

My research so far has found a lot of different competitions and online short story magazines. In particular, Neon Magazine, a small but long-running slipstream fiction, poetry, and word art online publication based in Edinburgh.

I’ve enjoyed researching and look forward to finding more magazines like this. Hopefully, closer to home (I’m based in Greater Manchester. Edinburgh is lovely, by the way)

This research has also shown me that it takes a lot of work, but I find it enjoyable. I did find it daunting initially, but I’m happy with it. Long may it continue.

So, this leads me to a question for you. How did you approach your research regarding potential markets you think you could get published in?

Thanks for reading and speak to you soon.