Tag / tips

by Gerald Hornsby

DAY 2 – #MonthOfBlogging #June2024 #MonthOfWriting

HAVE A PLAN

The second tip I have for you this month is regarding planning. Some writers don’t want to plan – they want to freestyle their writing, see where it takes them, let the words drive the narrative.

Which is all well and good.

But the danger is that an inexperienced writer will sit at their desk (or dining table, or rickety old stool from the garage) and wait for the ideas to come. Lady Muse may, or may not, visit the writer when they’re at this stage.

If she doesn’t, it’s incredibly FRUSTRATING! You’ve found your writing space, you’ve created that magic half hour or more where you can be undisturbed, and then… nothing. “What shall I write about?”

Oh dear. That isn’t the right way. The right way is to have an idea before you sit down. You have a germ of an idea, a character or two, some way in which at least one character gets into a ‘situation’ where conflict can happen. Because conflict, undesirable in real life, is ESSENTIAL in a story. 

A famous author (I don’t know who) was once asked “How do you create conflict?”

“I force my character up a tree. And then I throw rocks at him.”

But whether you’re writing a novel, a memoir, a short story, or poetry – before you sit down, you must have an idea. If you’re short of ideas, look online for “writing prompts” or something similar. I have often found the pages of a local newspaper a rich source of ideas for a story, e.g.

“Lawnmower stolen from shed.” Who stole it? And, more importantly, why did they steal it? Did they steal it from a specific person who they didn’t like, or was it an opportunistic robbery? What’s the history of the owner of the lawnmower. What’s the history of the thief? Is there a bigger story?

“Elsie Baggett celebrates her 100th birthday.” Nice story. Who is she? Where does she live? Why does she live there? Does she have any family? Did she work? As what? Where was she born? And what sort of area was it she lived in?

“Local town council elects new mayor.” Why did they elect a new mayor? Did they need to? What happened to the old one? What qualities does the new mayor have which qualifies him for the role? Does he have any dark secrets? Was it an open and fair election, or he he ‘twist arms’ to get votes?

You see? Delve into backstories. Don’t just read the headline. Read the article. And ask the questions that the article doesn’t answer – who, what, where, how and why.

But always… HAVE A PLAN.

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by Gerald Hornsby

DAY 1 – #MonthOfBlogging #June2024 #MonthOfWriting

FIND TIME AND SPACE

I’m going to start of this month of blogging with my first tip – and it’s the most common thing non-writers will say to me: “Oh, I wish I had time to write.” Or, even worse: “I’m sure I could write a novel, if only I had time.”

Now, I get it. Some years ago, before I became a full-time author, I too thought I didn’t have time to write. But now I understand that it wasn’t anything to do with time – it was that I didn’t have the HEADSPACE to write. Sure, there was physical time during the day when I could have written, but most of my head was filled with information about my work, which left little time to think of anything creative. But you might be different. I hope you are.

Now, for the moment, forget about a writing study with a view over the mountains, or a comfortable nook with hot and cold running gin and tonics – we need to be practical. But, on the other hand, don’t think you’ll be able to write sitting on the sofa next to family members whilst they watch Eastenders or The Price is Right (or whatever’s on the telly these days). You’ll need a space for a notepad, a tablet, or a laptop. And some way of ‘cutting yourself off’ – a door to the box room, or headphones to cut out extraneous sounds and interferences. Don’t worry – those around you will soon get used to your ‘special half hour’. Don’t demand more than that. It will create friction (instead of fiction, geddit?) and you’ll come under pressure to “stop messing around with that writing thing.”

Personally, I’ve found a spare bedroom and a pair of over-the-ear headphones works wonders. Or a dining table. Or maybe sit with the kids whilst they do their homework?

If you’re seriously struggling, time-wise, why not try setting the alarm half an hour early? Your house should be very quiet (tiny children notwithstanding) and your sleep partner will appreciate waking up to a fresh cup of tea!

But it’s all about carving out time and space, for something like half an hour initially. Don’t be too greedy. Just half an hour – for you, and your writing, exclusively.

So, in conclusion: do you think you’d be able to find time to write a page of a paperback during a day? Doesn’t sound too difficult, does it? Well… if you’d started that a year ago, you’d have written a complete novel by now! Something to think about. Start today!

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