Archive for September, 2007

A few days ago I read an article about writing suggesting that any first draft should be written quickly. The author encouraged a very rough first draft with no concerns for editing, spelling or punctuation.

The main idea was the get the ideas out of your head and on to the paper (or screen). Just write with no internal editors allowed. Writers were encouraged to avoid being perfect – just get the words written.

Now this technique may work for many writers. As far as I’m concerned I do not think I will try this idea too much, for several reasons:

1. My inbuilt editor has been finely tuned from 35 years of correcting the writing of students. It’s a habit that is hard to break.
2. I like to make my first draft as good as I can because that is the cutting edge of the way I write. Too much editing and fussing later on just breeds boredom which leads to procrastination.
3. When I write for my three blogs I rarely have the luxury of time to rewrite too much. I try hard to get it right the first time.

Anyway, despite my reservations about this method it probably would work for some writers.

Just find a method that you are comfortable with and develop it for all its worth.

Good writing.

Everyone can get into a rut with their writing.

One solution is to change your writing environment. Here is a list of some possible places where you can do your writing:

1. In the garden.
2. At the beach.
3. Sitting by a lake.
4. On the grass on a river bank.
5. In your local library.
6. In your local coffee shop.
7. In your local hotel.
8. In a national park.
9. In a forest.
10. In a friend’s house while they are at work or shopping.
11. In a church (but not during a service – though I’ve had some great writing ideas while listening to a sermon).
12. In a swimming pool (not recommended if you are using a laptop).
13. In the bath (forget the laptop here too).
14. In bed.

I think I’ll take number 14 right now – it’s a few minutes before midnight.

Good night and good writing.

Further reading:

• Writing hints – an archive of ideas and hints to help you with your writing.

I quite often use a warm up writing exercise before I begin the main writing tasks or projects for the day. Sometimes I write in my journal and sometimes I write a new short fiction story.

Writing exercises:

Another good writing exercise is to write character sketches. Here are some suggestions:

1. Choose a person you know well: write a character sketch about that person.
2. Sit on a bench in a park: observe the other people there and choose one person to write about.
3. Go to your favourite coffee shop: observe the other people having coffee and write about one of them.
4. Watch the first ten minutes of a movie you’ve never seen before with the sound turned off: write a character sketch of one of the characters in the film.
5. Choose a photo of a person from a magazine, someone you know nothing about: write a character sketch about that person.
6. Read through the death notices in your local newspaper, choosing one person you have never heard of before: write a character sketch about that person.
7. Choose a name at random from the telephone directory: write about that person.

What to include:

• Describe the appearance of the person, both body features and clothing.
• Outline about four or five major events in the person’s life.
• Describe the person’s personality.
• Write down three or four sayings the person loves to use in everyday life.
• List the preferred food, drinks and recreational activities of your character.

Follow up activity:

If the character sketch becomes so interesting and powerful as you write, how about letting the character take over and tell his or her own story? There might well be a short story lurking there waiting to be released. Perhaps even a novel?

Good writing.

Further reading:

• Writing hints – an archive of articles full of writing hints and ideas.
• Short fiction – a listing of short stories I’ve written as writing exercises.
• Short story starters – a series of articles listing many ideas to start you off with writing stories. (Very popular)