Day 120: How is your writing going?

My Project: 365 Creative Writing Prompts

Day 120: How is your writing going?

Someone posted the question the other day “How is your writing going?” Some people said it was going great, that they wrote like the wind, others admitted that it wasn’t going well or not at all. I find myself in the latter category. Which is strange, because, up until now, I never really experienced writer’s block.

Take ‘Waiting for Silverbird’ for instance ...

I worked for a military company at the time, typing up a maintenance manual for a tank, when the sentence ‘The audience rose to their feet in a standing ovation’ drifted into my head. I didn’t pay much attention to it, but a few minutes later that same sentence came back to me, so I wrote it down. After that, another sentence came, and another one and by the end of the day I had the first chapter.

Unfortunately, about a year later my muse took a leave of absence and the manuscript was gathering dust. When someone asked me what Waiting for Silverbird was about I told her the storyline. She said “This is good. You have to finish this.” So, I did. I worked evenings and weekends and eventually brought the story to an end.

Two more novels and two children’s books followed. All written within a reasonable time frame. After two years of writing nothing (except articles and emails), I started a new story and this time my inspiration is like a faucet … that drips. I don’t know what the problem is but it’s just not working.

Perhaps it’s because I’ve seen too much bad writing and started doubting myself. Perhaps it’s because this time I’m writing a fantasy story, which is a first for me. Actually, it’s a ghost story (based on true events) mixed with fantasy.

So maybe that’s what the problem is. Some of the things in the story really happened, but for the sake of entertainment, I’m going to stretch the truth a little (or a lot).

It also doesn’t help that a number of things get in the way of writing the story. As a freelance writer, being part of a team, I have to write two 500-word articles per day. Since that work is paid and writing the manuscript isn’t, freelance work takes precedence.

When I do get to work on the manuscript, I sit there … staring at a blank page, my fingers resting on the keyboard, or a pen hovering over the paper.

So, to cut a long story short, how is my writing going … it’s going nowhere.

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Day 26: Writing - Easy ways to make time to write

My Project: 365 Creative Writing Prompts

Day 26: Writing – Give advice to writers

Easy ways to make time to write

Writers are notorious procrastinators.  Those with a full-time job might argue that they don’t have much time to write, while those who stay at home might find that there are too many distractions. Productive writers have one thing in common, they make time to write.

One of the first things to do is to know what keeps you from writing.  It could be that you would like to spend more time writing but that you, in the name of research, get easily distracted by everything that’s available on the Net.  Maybe you prefer reading over writing.  It could be that you watch too much television or that you are a notorious napper.

If you get easily distracted, you need to set goals for yourself. If you can write one or two articles per day, great, that’s thirty-one or sixty-two articles per month and that’s nothing to sneeze at. By setting goals for yourself that you can actually achieve, you encourage yourself to do more, rather than facing disappointment by setting your goals too high.

Keep a notebook and pen handy.  Inspiration can come anytime, any place, but unless you can jot something down, an idea, phrase or impression might quickly disappear. Preference should be given to a book over scraps of paper as those might easily get lost.

A fast and easy way to help you in your writing is a Dictaphone. This tiny tape recorder can be used in the car, in a coffee shop, in the park, or any other place where you might find inspiration.  While dictating you don’t have to worry about typos or correct grammar, you can just talk and type up your ideas later.  Someone else can even do the typing for you. Your spouse or children might welcome such a project to practice their typing speed and accuracy.

You will know best whether you are a morning or an evening person. If you are at your most productive in the wee hours of the morning, try to get up an hour early to write.  If you’re more of a night owl, wait until everyone has gone to bed and the house is quiet to devote some time to write. If you have a full-time job, use your lunchtime to write. 

You can use your laptop and run off battery power; your iPad loaded with a writing programme such as ‘Pages’ or use pen and paper. Writing longhand may actually be beneficial to your writing.  Many writers claim that typing influences their creativity and they write better using a pen. 

Leo Tolstoy used to write sitting in the market square. If it worked for him it might work for you.

Feel free to comment. I'd love to hear from you.

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