Everyone else seems to do this so I thought I’d better do it
too. I wonder, though whether this changes from day to day and I’d imagine it certainly
would over a period of time. I wonder also whether one or two items are
actually constants. Here’s today’s list of ten, anyway.
1. Write every day
Yes, write absolutely every day. To me writing is like
cleaning your teeth – I feel uncomfortable if I don’t do it. I actually have a
two hour rule – write at least two hours a day. It used to be one hour and / or
1,000 words. I upped it to two hours and 2,000 words when I got a contract for
a non-fiction book.
I started the one hour / 1,000 words when I still had a
demanding day job and two teenage children. I managed it somehow. I’d say to
those even busier – start really small. Maybe ten minutes a day. You’re less
likely to talk yourself out of it as you’re more likely to find the ten
minutes. More often than not you’ll manage more.
And every day means every day. Today is Sunday and I’m on
holiday in Scotland.
2. Don’t beat yourself up because you can’t manage it one day
Life happens. I have a day job – one that is very apt for a
writer and keeps me in contact with writing. Sometimes, however, the demands of
that day job are such that I don’t get time for my writing. I don’t fret if
there is day on which I really cannot write. I know I’ll be able to again
soon. There is no question of not being
able to.
3. Don’t wait for inspiration
Because it probably won’t come. It doesn’t usually come,
anyway, when I’m sat at my desk. That is really an info dump. I’ve done all of the thinking elsewhere and
else when. It’s surprising, though, what does start happening as you hit the
keys. Other ideas creep in round the edges.
And even on days when I think I’ve got absolutely nothing to
say, I just start typing and out comes the story.
4. Writing is mainly rewriting
Such a cliché but it’s so true. What takes me three months
to write takes me up to eighteen months to edit.
5. Write what you know
Yet I write fantasy, science fiction and historical fiction.
However, I would still say I am writing what I know. I submerge myself into the
scenes I am creating. I become at one with them. It almost becomes a form of
method acting. I am writing from what I know, from what I am when I confront
the monster, when I visit another world and when I’m in Nazi Germany.
6. You never finish, you just abandon
There comes a time when you have to meet the deadline, when
you have to send your work out into the world, when it has to become public. If
you had more time you would write it even better. We are perfectionist and we
never achieve perfection. Thankfully we continue to improve. Be pleased that
all of your work leads to your best work. Treat earlier works kindly.
7. Write what you love
Write what you are passionate about. Take care not to become
a disillusioned jobbing writer. If you don’t like the compromise the market
forces on you, then earn your daily bread another way. Don’t compromise,
anyway. Find a third way that suits both you and the market.
8. Don’t ever give up
You can make it as a writer if you really want to. It’s a
big “if”, however. You’ll have to face rejection, self-doubt and even
disappointing reviews once you are published. Keep faith with yourself.
9. Take the time to do nothing
You can’t give and give and give. You need to nourish your
own soul. You need some experiences to feed your writing. Take a stroll in the
park, walk through a colourful market or sip a hot drink in crowded café.
10. Read, read, read
You’ve probably picked up most of your writing skills by a
form of osmosis from reading. Now that your inner editor has developed you’ll
probably not enjoy reading quite the same way you used to. You’ll notice the misplaced apostrophe, the
clunky sentence and the strained dialogue but you’ll also notice the well-drawn
character, the strong sense of time and place and the tightly written prose. Whether
you label what you read as good or as bad writing you will still learn from it.
