Archive for the 'The Writer’s Life' Category

The writer’s jig

Please excuse me for a few moments of indulgence.

Does the “Writer’s Jig” around the room.

Yells a few “Yipees!”

Ah – that’s good.

A cheque in the mail for a short story recently published.

Now back to work.

Writing Hint #7 Use words correctly

One of my greatest fears with blogging and writing is that one day I will use a word incorrectly. I taught young children for most of the 35 years of my teaching career, mostly those aged 7 to 10. In order to communicate effectively I needed, of necessity, to use words understandable to children of this age. Although I think that I have a good vocabulary and a good grasp of word meanings, there are times when I feel very unsure of myself and somewhat inadequate.

In this context I was amused by this quote, which I read recently in a magazine for writers:

“Use words correctly, irregardless of how others use them.”

Why do you write?

I recently came across this great quote:

“I write for the same reason I breathe –
because if I didn’t, I would die.”

~ Isaac Asimov

Why do I write?

    1. I am a communicator. After 35 years of teaching young children I am convinced that this is the real me.
    2. I am a storyteller. I love relating stories – usually jokes – to others.
    3. I am a creative person. I love the process of taking a scene, a character or an idea and running with it to see what happens. My characters sometimes hijack my stories and the ending even surprises me!
    4. I am an escapist. I prefer to live in a fantasy world. Reality is too harsh, too disappointing, too REAL. In the words of Ashleigh Brilliant: “I have abandoned my search for the truth and am now looking for a good fantasy.”
    5. I am a visionary. I dream dreams. I can see the big picture. And sometimes these dreams and visions seep out of my being on to the page and I just have to share them with others. If the others think I’m a little unhinged, a little strange, a little whacky with a few kangaroos loose in the top paddock, so be it. I cling to the words of King Solomon who said: “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” (Proverbs 29:18)

    Why do you write?

    Share your thoughts in the comments section.

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Where do you do your writing?

In the pre-computer days I used notebooks and a portable typewriter for my writing needs. It was slow and laborious and, not being a good typist, I made many mistakes. Because the typewriter was portable it meant I was not tied to a desk.

In the early 1990s I bought my clunky old Commodore Amiga computer. It was bulky and slow and took up a large area on a desk. What it did, however, was give my writing a huge boost. I could easily edit, correct, reprint and rewrite with ease. I fired the old computer up recently – and it still works like a charm. It was very advanced at the time.

Next came a series of desktop PCs. I was off and running with my writing, but I was stuck to a desk. While it was rather restricting as far as movement was concerned, that was a small price to pay for the power of a PC to assist my writing endeavours.

Early 2004 saw a new development. I bought my first laptop. I can now write on the move. I can write in the sun room if that takes my fancy. I still use to office quite a deal, but during the colder months I set up a table in the lounge room in front of the slow combustion fire. It gives lovely warmth – with the added bonus of having the television on to watch the football. In the summer months I can keep an eye on the cricket while I write. And when I visit my son in Sydney or my daughter in Clare, the laptop comes with me so I can keep writing whenever I want.

Where don’t I write?

  1. I haven’t been tempted to take the laptop into the bath with me.
  2. I certainly don’t take it into the toilet – though I sometimes have great inspirational ideas while meditating therein.
  3. I have taken the laptop into bed with me – but only once – and my wife was away at the time.
  4. I have taken my laptop into the garden but I don’t make a habit of it. I’d be too tempted to watch the birds, or snooze in the sunshine, or worst of all, see some job that needs my attention.
  5. I do not write while driving; it is not recommended.

This last one reminds me of a cartoon in the Weekend Australian Newspaper last Saturday. The drawing shows a writer tapping away on a laptop while his car is plunging over the edge of a cliff. An arrow from the caption points at the screen. The caption says:

“…and as I plummeted to my death, I wondered if perhaps I should have been concentrating on the road rather than typing this autobiography.

THE END

So – where do you do your writing?

Share your writing habits in the comments section below.

Why I don’t do mornings

I am not a morning person.

Never have been.

Well, actually, that’s not strictly true. I have had my moments, a few occasions when I arose early and went for a walk, or went birding (see my birding blog here). Often those occasions were when we were out camping in the Australian bush and the birds woke me up at dawn – or a stronger call urged me to commune with nature in the early rays of the day’s sunshine.

I did have a great few months of early rising in the latter part of last year. I was in training for a trek in the Himalayas in Nepal last January (read my Travel Blog here). I would rise daily at dawn and go for a 2 to 3 hour training walk. It felt great. It also helped my attempt on the approach to Everest (we got to within five days walk of base camp).

I am a great admirer of those who regularly rise very early and go for a walk, or do some gardening or write several thousand words before breakfast. (Yawn – just the thought makes me tired.)

Here is a short list of reasons excuses Why I Don’t Do Mornings:

  1. I am inclined towards laziness.
  2. I am a procrastinator.
  3. The bed is too comfortable, warm, cosy (whatever).
  4. The air outside is too hot, too cold, too windy or too wet.
  5. I lack the discipline.

Now for a list of Reasons I Should Do Mornings:

  1. So I can go for a walk.
  2. So I can go birding.
  3. So can combine 1 and 2 above.
  4. So I will feel better.
  5. So I will get more writing done.
  6. For my health (I’m trying to manage my recently diagnosed diabetes).

In the recent group writing project on ProBlogger one of the lists included an entry called Five Reasons Why Mornings Rock submitted by Health Hacker. The article has five useful suggestions on getting more out of life and leading a healthier lifestyle – just by getting up earlier in the morning.

On this site I also found another great article on depression – something that I have struggled with over the years. The link to this article is below. The article also had links to very useful articles about sleep and rising early. These appear on Steve Pavlina’s blog.

Even getting up a half hour earlier each morning would be very beneficial. That is all I need to get in some essential exercise. With spring just a few days away and the hot summer is only months away, the early morning is the best time for walking anyway. In this way I should be able to get into the writing earlier each morning.

I think I’ll try it.
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