One piece of advice you get a lot from courses, or writing books is keep a journal. It’s right up there with, “show, don’t tell” as one of those creative writing mantras that gets flogged to death. But I’ve never understood what makes a good journal, or even what might be an appropriate journal for me.
One aspect of writing I really enjoy is note-taking.
In the early stages of a project it feels really creative to get some ideas down and start shaping the thing that’s lurking in your mind. And it’s most joyous when it is as instant as possible. It allows me space to think, generate more ideas and importantly, not forget any! (How many times have you been writing a paragraph where an idea to include in the next paragraph comes to you, only for you to forget it by the time you’re ready to write it?)
One fantastic piece of software I use for this is Freemind. Read more…
Time is one of my biggest enemies when it comes to writing. I would guess that this is probably true of most people struggling to getting in to writing. I dare say that I will return to this topic a few times.
I have a full-time job, and commute to work, which means that I am usually home around eight in the evening, and very brain-tired by that time (I couldn’t profess to being physically tired as I sit at a desk all day). I have a wife who likes to see as much of me as possible (and who could blame her?), so getting to close the door for a time and write can be problematic. Read more…
Okay, so if you want to make something happen, you’ve got to have a plan. Right?