Thursday 13 #8 - Writing

13 writerly things - things I’ve found useful/helpful/inspirational. Bearing in mind this 13 is written by someone who still feels like they’re running around not really sure what’s going on.

1. My Collins dictionary. Probably the book I would save in a fire. It’s I don’t know how many years old, could double as a door stop and I love it because it has both US and UK spellings. And if I had time I’d save my Roget’s Thesaurus as well.

2. http://dictionary.reference.com/ - for when I can’t get to my trusty Collin’s dictionary.

3. Wordle - I first read about this on Lynn Viehl’s Paperback Writer blog. A great way to see if you’re overusing words in your WIP.

4. On Writing by Stephen King. If I had to recommend one book about writing, this would probably be it.

5. Crit Groups. Not for everyone, but I’ve found them invaluable. You need to find one that fits you. Not only will it give you an opportunity to share your work with others, it will also expose you to the habits and styles of other writers. And if you’re lucky you’ll be able to follow a book through from first draft to final copy.

6. Beta reader - slightly different to a crit group. Someone who’ll read your polished work and give you an honest opinion before you submit it.

7. Wikipedia - Very good as a jumping off point for research. Bearing in mind you may have to double check your facts.

8. A plotting state of mind. LOL - does anyone know what I’m talking about. There’s a certain state of mind where plotting seems to come really easily - just before you go to sleep, just before you wake up. Certain activities are more conducive to achieving this state. If I’m driving and listening to music I often find it easy to sort out plot problems. Ironing! LOL. Anything that clears your mind of extraneous bumpf.

9. Reading - In your own genre, in other genres. Expand your horizons and keep your finger on the pulse of what’s going on. Main problem is finding the time to read once you’re writing seriously.

10. NaNoWriMo - National Novel Writing Month. A phrase I will probably be quoting more and more often the closer we get to November. The challenge - write 50,000 words in a month. Once you know you can do it, you know you can do it again.

11. Don’t quit. This is a toughie. But the fact is even if you’ve got a brilliant story if you don’t complete it no one will ever read it. That book you read that you knew you could write better? The difference between you and the author is that the author didn’t quit. There is an oft quoted statistic which I wish I could remember which states that the vast majority of writers fail because they don’t stick at it.

12. Always have a notebook to hand. (I suck at this one and am forever writing plot ideas on random bits of paper.) The point is, you never know when inspiration might strike and you may not always be able to remember that fantastic idea.

13. Write! At the end of the day, you need to put your bum in the seat, at your typewriter / notepad / computer and get those words down. There are always a million other things that need doing. And boy am I the queen of procrastination, so I should really take my own advice here. So I’m off to get some of my own words down on paper.