A Wolf with Feathers

Well it's the first day of the new year and the first proper post here in my writing journal. So before I get to the meat of the post, I'll introduce myself.

My name is Joe and I'm an aspiring writer. I write mainly for fun, but also because for me writing is something like breathing - if you stop it probably means you're dead. I've had times when I've stopped for a while, but eventually I turn blue and start grasping for words.

What else is there that you might want to know about me that I'm willing to tell you? I read and write science fiction, fantasy, historical fiction, and erotica (although my intention is not to post adult material on this blog). I'm not ashamed or embarrassed by any of those things so if you want to look down on 'genre' fiction, you're wasting your time. I love history and will happily research the hell out of anything even tangentially related to my writing, oh yes, and I am an inveterate procrastinator. If you told me I absolutely had to eat that delicious chocolate cake over there by midday, at 11:55am it would still be intact and I'd be gorging myself on spinach... For this reason what I'm writing and what I'm supposed to be writing are rarely the same thing.

And so we come onto the first 'Tips and Tricks' post.





Getting started when you really don't want to.

While I don't generally like to write to a deadline I can't deny that the looming presence of one can sometimes be a pretty good motivator. For this reason I like timers and other gadgets that force you to pay attention to the fact that you should be writing not cleaning the kitchen, walking the cat, frantically refreshing your friends' page in the hope that someone will post something, anything, that will interest you enough to put off writing for another few minutes.

How many of you have heard of the Pomodoro Technique? Those of you who have can skip ahead to the link.

Basically it's a time management technique that involves setting a timer for 25 minutes and working on a certain activity (whatever it is you're trying to get accomplished). When the buzzer goes off to signal the end of the session, stop and take a five minute break. Then set the timer again and so on. After four 25 minute sessions, take a longer break. I use it whenever I really need to get something done and I find it works.

Focus Booster Timer This is the timer I like to use with it. You can download it or use it on-line in a browser and it looks good (as anyone who knows me will tell you how pretty/shiny/cool something looks is a major part of selling me on it, because I'm shallow). You can of course use any timer, even a cheap kitchen timer, but I like having this running at the top of my computer screen to keep me focussed.

For those of you who want something even simpler and, if you choose the kamikaze setting, a whole heck of a lot more evil, there's always Write or Die. It's a simple on-line gadget where you have to write or else... In kamikaze mode the 'or else' is that it will actually start deleting the words you've already written if you stop!

However, I think it's also necessary to remember that 'procrastination' isn't always a bad thing.

• It's okay to give yourself a day off from writing and do something else entirely, because everyone needs down time to refresh themselves and clear their heads.
• It's okay to spend the day talking about your writing instead of actually writing, because sometimes you need to get it clear in your head before you put pen to paper.
• It's okay to play around with note cards and character bios and researching little things that might come in useful in your story (or might not), because those things get you thinking about what you really want to do with your story.

The trick is simply to know when you're just using those things as an excuse not to write and when a day spent doing something different will make you all the more productive tomorrow. If you get too caught up in your deadline and your word count and oh my God I absolutely have to write 856 words today or I'll be behind and then I'll need to write 1712 words tomorrow and I won't manage that and then I'll get even further behind, the you'll be far too stressed to do anything. If you do get to that point, try and recognise it. There's no point keeping going when you know that all you're doing is getting more stressed without producing anything helpful. Get up, walk the dog, make a cup of coffee, do the washing up, whatever you need to do for ten minutes to clear your head and then come back and try again later.

And most importantly, remember that you don't have to be perfect. It doesn't matter if 70% of your first draft is crap and only 30% is worth keeping. That's 30% you wouldn't have had if you'd spent all your time worrying it was going to be rubbish and never put pen to paper at all because of it. Give yourself permission to be bad. The worst first draft you write will always be better than the best first draft you never got around to.