Write while the heat is in you
“Write while the heat is in you. The writer who postpones the recording of his thoughts uses an iron which has cooled to burn a hole with. He cannot inflame the minds of his audience.” Henry David Thoreau.
I have found that it is important to always carry a small notebook. There have been times when I have had a brilliant thought (or so it seemed at the time) only to forget it because I had not written it down immediately.
I usually carry a small notebook in my shirt pocket. This serves a number of general purposes as well as a help with my writing. Some of these uses include:
- To record a list of the birds I see (so I can write about them on my blog called Trevor’s Birding).
- To list any shopping I need to do.
- To list places I want to go.
- To write down story ideas.
- To list ideas for blog articles.
- To write short poems or haiku.
- To record the names and contact details of people I meet.
- To record feelings, ideas, experiences so I don’t forget those first impressions.
- To list things to do.
- To list things to remember.
When you have a good idea, write it down. Don’t trust it to memory.
Good writing.
Be more productive – write quickly
I regularly receive newsletters about writing both in the mail and electronically. Keeping up with all that reading can be time consuming and sometimes a little distracting. Managing all this incoming information is crucial for a writer. I must admit that I haven’t mastered that art just yet – but I’m working on it.
One electronic newsletter editor wrote about being productive as a writer. She suggested that effective writers write quickly and therefore are more productive. Rather than slaving over a sentence or a paragraph for hours, she suggests trying to just get it all down – and worry about editing out the rubbish later during a rewrite. I have to agree with her up to a point.
I often find that writing quickly keeps the creative juices flowing. The momentum created by writing rapidly is self generating. The more you write the more you are able to write. Writing quickly can free up the editor inside your head wanting to stop and polish, rewrite, edit, change and improve your writing. Switch off that editor and just keep writing. Let all the good stuff come mixed up with the rubbish. Later, during the rewriting and editing stages, is the time to refine, correct, polish and delete.
Her theory is that the more you write the more the good bits will shine above the bad parts.
(Now I have to go back and edit this piece.)
Good writing.
Further reading:
- Writing hints – more articles giving hints for writers.
A new group writing project – the BLOGAPALOOZA
Listen up everyone.
Christmas is over. The New Year has well and truly started (is it REALLY a week old already???).
Time to get on with another Group writing Project.
Robert over at Middle Zone Musings is launching the new year with a special group writing project called BLOGAPALOOZA. It promises to be a fantastic way of getting your writing going for the year of 2008 – by looking back at 2007. That’s the way Robert operates – by going backwards in order to go forwards.
Have a look here for all the details.
Note to self:
Get cracking and get your own entry finished. There’s only a week to go.
Good writing.
Life is just not smooth sailing
Life is not just smooth sailing.
The road of life can twist and turn and get a little bumpy at times.
Life is not easy – there are often hurdles in the way and mazes to negotiate.
Sometimes life jumps off the tracks and you head in the wrong direction.
And then at times life just sucks.
Have you got the point I am trying to make? The journey of life can throw up some interesting and challenging obstacles from time to time. These challenges can distract us seriously from our prime activity, whether that is writing or blogging or a combination. How to deal with it and still keep the momentum of your blog is the challenge.
Emergency posts
A very valuable strategy for bloggers is to write emergency posts. These are articles you have written but not yet published. They are not time sensitive articles so that they can be published at any time. If you have three or four of this type of post written, you can use them when the family dog takes ill, or Grandma dies, or you need a short rest or whatever the emergency is in your life. If you have such posts ready to publish you can relax and deal with that curve ball and later come back to blogging afresh when the trauma is over.
Writing ahead:
A variation on the emergency posts is to write articles ahead of when they will be published. I set the timestamp to the date and time I want the post to be published – set and forget (except I do keep a chart listing the dates they are to appear). I do this all the time but note that all three of my blogs are not time sensitive. When I know I will be away from the computer for a length of time – such as on holiday or travelling – I can relax knowing I have articles all lined up ready to appear on my blogs each day for the duration. This strategy is particularly useful when writing a series of articles on the same theme. When I get into the groove writing a series I can churn out five to ten articles in a day, sometimes more.
Holidays
With Christmas and New Year just around the corner, using the methods outlined above can help you to really relax over the holiday period. You can take a break from blogging every day and give yourself a few days to recharge the batteries. You can then come back to writing and blogging with new enthusiasm in the New Year.
Further reading:
- Emergency posting of blog articles – for those times when life gets too hectic
A sensible approach to blogging
I have written quite a few Haiku poems over the years. I’ve even published a few of them here on my blog. That reminds me – I must post a few more in the coming weeks – it’s been a while since the last one.
Today I read an interesting post written by Leo Babauta, a guest blogger this week on ProBlogger. His article is called Haiku Blogging. Leo makes some very interesting and helpful suggestions on using the principles of writing haiku poetry on one’s blogging. His is certainly a sensible approach to blogging.
If you are struggling to keep up with the demands of writing on your blog, then his post is a must-read article. If the blogging life is getting you down then read the post. Haiku poems distill the bare essentials of the subject and convey those essentials succinctly and precisely. Leo explains how to use these principles in writing your blog.