Tag Archives: writer

Confidence

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Writing can be a very lonely profession. I am not for one moment suggesting that writers are friendless or that we live a hermit-like existence on coffee and cheese sandwiches, but much of our working day is of necessity spent inside our own heads. The trouble with spending a great deal of time with ourselves is that we think. We are our nation’s thinkers after all.

What happens if you give a world class thinker nothing but themselves to think about? Self-reflection, insecurity, and boozy Monday mornings, that’s what!

So, how do we avoid the negativity trap? Well, it has a great deal to do with the difference between Egotism and Confidence. Egotism can be defined as the drive to maintain and enhance favourable views of oneself, and generally features an inflated sense of self importance. Confidence on the other hand is the feeling or belief that one can rely on someone or something; firm trust.

Egotism is emotional toddlerhood – Confidence is emotional adulthood

Egotism always seeks the I and the me. Confidence is always certain of the I and the me and is looking out for the you. We all walk this emotional tightrope. Some days the toddler wins but it helps if you are aware that it is there throwing the mother of all tantrums and you learn not to listen to the ‘I can’t’, ‘They didn’t’, ‘I don’t want to’.

Confidence comes with knowing what you can do for other people. Perhaps you excel at magazine articles, technical papers or short stories. Perhaps you write copy for a website or advertising. Every small success working for the pleasure of other  people will bring you increased confidence.

No amount of success working solely for your own benefit will silence the toddler. You need to learn to grow up and walk away.

And so do I.

 

 

 

Pointless

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The first two rules of writing are

1) Have a point

2) Make it

It really doesn’t matter what you are writing and the writing style can be high literary or journalistic but a reader should always leave your words knowing what you meant to say. 

A short piece such as a blog post might only have one main point or “argument “.

A longer piece of writing, an essay or a review might have several but each should be clear, complete and come together in a final paragraph or conclusion. 

You see, people need to be able to follow your train of thought in order to decide whether they agree with you or not and that requires clarity. So part of every edit should be a review of your argument. What are you trying to say? Did you say it?

Don’t let people ever decide that you are pointless.

When All is Said and Done

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Why do I write?

It’s a question that I’ve been giving a lot of thought over the last few days. People write for different reasons. For some it’s catharsis. For others it’s communication. Some people have a clear audience in mind and others have no audience in mind, they simply have words which need to be said. Some writers want to explore complex ideas and emotions and some have no idea what they are going to explore when they sit down. I don’t think there is a right way or a wrong way to approach a writing project with the possible proviso that finishing is always better than not.

I have come to the conclusion that I write because I love it. I write because there are stories. When all is said and done and on the page, I am finished and I move on. I don’t hunt readers because it isn’t about the readers. In a sense it’s a very selfish joy. I try to put each story on the page to the best of my ability. I consciously try to improve with each one I write. I complete it and I check it and then I let it out into the world to sink or swim on its own merits.

The joy is all in the writing, and it’s this joy that keeps me coming back time and time again to put more words on the page. Even in the difficult times, the wordless days. The moments when I have to pull my ideas kicking and screaming from my imagination or seek them out in the darkest corners of my mind.

It isn’t an easy job and it isn’t often a well paid job. It’s mostly a very heavily criticised job where everyone you meet feels qualified to give you a performance review, but it’s my job and I love it.

And Readers, before you leave feeling unappreciated, you should know that even after all this time I am still amazed, surprised and gratified by every single reader who takes the time and the trouble to read my work. It’s a gift I don’t demand and I never expect.

Thank you

 

 

Fear

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Exactly what is it that holds you back from pursuing your dreams?

If it’s your moral compass then, good! 

If however like many writers you’re worried that people will hate what you do then I can make you a promise right here and now. Yes, yes they will. It doesn’t matter what you write or how you write it people will hate what you do, and you are not alone in this. Consider the company you keep:

Salmaan Rushdie – Perhaps the most extreme example 

JK Rowling – Not everyone loves a wizard

Anne Rice – Every time she writes someone tells her she can’t write

Ray Bradbury – Too colourful for some

Stephen King – Is told than he can write but shouldn’t

 Terry Pratchett – Doesn’t he know how to make chapters?

Dickens – Too descriptive

All of these writers have been told that they shouldn’t have bothered, their work is not good. All of them suffered multiple, multiple, multiple rejections.

Should they have let that stop them?

Should you?

I can promise you that every piece of work you write will be disliked by someone, but if you like it and it’s well written then out there in the world there are people who think, feel and believe the same as you who will LOVE it.

Write for yourself and write for them.

Keep putting work out there until they find you.

Um…

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In this brave new world of Social media we are all learning the skills we need to succeed online. There is no rule book. Some people Tweet, some Blog, some Tumblr, some Facebook and some do all of those. There are very few people in the privileged position to have someone take care of everything for them and to be honest I think those people are missing out on the fun of it all. Of course they are also missing out on the nail biting stare at a blank Blog page as the clock ticks ever louder and your eyes start to burn.

We are living in a world of content. Content and context are king, and while it is true that the bewildering variety of options can make your head spin the optimist in me cries out

” Something for everyone.Yay! “

And even though I currently Blog and Twitter about writing, I could dabble in any of the other platforms available. I could even paddle in Pinterest. I haven’t, but I could.

Every social media platform needs a slightly different approach and style. They all need a different word length and some have photos some don’t but they all have one important thing in common, they need regular content.

What is the secret to regular content?

Back it up Baby!

If you are a writer then you can produce the words. Sometimes they flow easily sometimes they don’t. The muse is a capricious beast and this social media thing is most likely not your day job. You know, some of us have books to write but when you are in the flow and you have time and opportunity 

Write more than one blog entry and save them up!

You don’t have to be able to write regularly to use Social media effectively but you can make more of an impact if you release your writing regularly and it is of reasonable quality. Become a reliable read and people will start to pay attention. Oh…and you can edit out the Um.

 

Wiser words than Mine

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Following on from my difficult day yesterday (see previous post) I decided to take a look at what other writers say about being in the writing mood. There are some excellent quotes out there and I realise that many of them are trotted out on a regular basis,you’ve probably even got the T-shirt!

Well I have dug deepish and found a few that resonated with me and I don’t think are quite so mainstream. Bear with me while I dig them out.

Hear we are:

” Inspiration is wonderful when it happens but the writer must develop an approach for the rest of the time. ” – Leonard Bernstein

” Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration, the rest of us just get up and go to work.” – Stephen King

” Start before you are ready ” – Stephen Pressfield

” Don’t wait for moods. You’ll accomplish nothing if you do that. Your mind must know it has got to   get down to work. ” – Pearl S Buck

Alright, we’ve all heard the Stephen King quote but then he makes so much sense. It is sometimes difficult to keep the momentum going when you are writing.It is even harder to get the momentum started. An honest truth, ask any passing physicist. The important thing is to do it and start. Start every day. Put your mind to the matter and get words on the page. No one said they had to be good words. You don’t need to produce instant genius. You just need to produce and the genius will emerge. It can’t help it. They are kind of nosy.

So I am off now to do my bit and turn up and if inspiration strikes hallelujah! If it doesn’t I will work all the same. The more words I put down the bigger a landing strip I give it. Happy writing today and enjoy the words.

In the write mood

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Today has been a tricky day. Most of my days toddle along quietly and simply enough. I have my routines and I know them. I have my children’s schedule and I follow it. With a slim margin for error I get most people to most places most of the time. Today was different. Today I slept in.

Now most of my family are alarm clock enabled, some of them have several alarms on several electronic devices, and yet I was running from room to room this morning throwing bananas (read breakfast) at moving targets to the war cry

” You can finish dressing in the car! “

To cut a long story short everyone arrived and a frazzled me sat down at my laptop and stared at a screen as blank as my imagination. I really wasn’t in the mood. I could have just walked away and considered the day a non-starter, but I didn’t. Instead I wrote about my awful morning and how frustrated I was getting everyone to the right place. I wrote about my less than stellar waitressing ability and my lack of imagination. In fact I wrote to you.

And now my page is no longer blank and my imagination is no longer empty. I am going to sit and produce my daily word count with a happy heart. So Thank you!

I wonder if there are any bananas left.

 

 

Social Media

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Today I have been pondering the vagaries of Twitter, Facebook and social media in general.

I have come to the conclusion that targeted advertising can be a very good thing if it is targeted well. We receive so much information on a daily basis. I for one receive a huge number of requests and suggestions about what to read. I would love to read everything but I have to be honest here and say that I am very unlikely to read most of it. Heck, I’m a writer. I haven’t even managed to read all my own work.

So, why do we writers advertise to other writers? Why do we collect them?

 The answer to that question is that “Bird’s of a feather flock together” we really do. We like to see how things are going in the writing world. We like to glean ideas and to be able to judge ourselves against some imagined chart of success. We are nosy. We also want to feel part of a gang. That is a perfectly normal and wonderful thing and balm to the soul when you are sitting in a darkened room with your fifth coffee and another first draft. We simply need to remember that these are our people and not our audience. Of course we are all pretty happy to bump up each others Twitter “followship” that goes without saying.

Successful PR is targeted PR. Every so often we should check our strategy to see whether we are putting our work in front of the right people; the people before you who will buy and not just the people behind you, who will back you all the way.

Change is a good thing

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I have never been gifted with telling the future but there is one certainty that confronts each of us, things change. The changes that have been happening in the world of publishing over the last five years have thrown hopes and expectations into the air and we are all still waiting for them to land. We are coming to terms with new technology. Any advance has positive and negative implications for those working in the industry but the movement towards digital self-publishing has changed things in a way no-one anticipated. There is a great deal of discussion around the relevance of publishing houses in this new brave world. Things change.

Insecurity often makes people feel that they have to make a decision, take a stand, have a firm opinion. We like to know what we know, you know. 

Well, I know one thing. I fully support any and all means of championing the written word. We need more writing of a good quality. Traditional publishers have always been driven by the bottom line to produce work which will sell to the masses. Often the sale of such works supports the development of more literary projects. I doubt this will change. Self publishing will produce a vast quantity of lower quality work it is true but it will also give an opportunity to the gifted to produce breathtaking work of literary beauty without having to rely on a publisher’s previous sales of Diary of the Stig part 2.

Low or lower quality work is no threat to the publishing industry and those authors who produce excellent work will earn their stripes before submitting to publishing houses. Editors will include the banner headline ” Why aren’t you selling? ” on their websites and the world will continue to turn. Wordsmiths will continue to produce the words. We monkeys will make magic.

Sometimes it’s good to remember that no matter how big the change the important things stay the same.

Lie to me

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Isn’t that the basic premise of fiction? I spend all of my days writing about people who don’t do the things I say and certainly aren’t in the places I mention. Usually they aren’t even real people. In fact I am a great big “Liar liar pants on fire” most of the time.

The funny thing is that amongst all the fibs, of which there are many, the thing I am searching for is the truth. The truth of what it means to be human. The truth and mechanics of relationships. To engage a reader in a story you have to find the spark of recognition, the place where a reader realises yes I know this, I have lived this, this man is like me.

In order to get to that place your writing has to remain true to your character.  Are you trying to make a person behave in a way they simply wouldn’t? Does it ring true? You see people really don’t step outside their normal range of behaviour unless they are placed in extreme circumstances and even then it is unusual.

So figure out what your character’s usual reactions would be and then you will know if you step outside them. If you are going there, do it with purpose and conviction. There are times when you can use this fact to advantage but it must be with a character your audience knows very well and I think possibly several books into a series just to shake up the pace. Part of the truth behind people is that we do things for certain reasons; sometimes we don’t know the reason, sometimes we have some insight. We are complicated and understanding and using complicated characters to get to the truth is just about the highest goal of literary fiction.

So Lie to me, I want to know the truth.