Writing equipment

With Christmas almost here it means the new year and the traditional time for making resolutions is not far away. I’m not a fan of new year resolutions because I believe it adds too much pressure and you are more likely to achieve the outcome if you set well developed goals at a time appropriate to you and not necessarily defined by a calendar.

However, having said that, this year I have a desire to set some resolutions. As I’ve been doing my Christmas shopping I’ve been reminded of things I’d like to do and have developed a list of things I’d like to achieve by the end of 2012.

Complete weekend novelist – I was progressing well through this book until I wrote a post about it and I haven’t used it since! Therefore I would like to complete the remaining chapters.

Write journal at least once a week – although I have written a journal for many years I tend to go through phases of not writing, sometimes it is days, but sometimes it can be months. I would like to have some continuity in my records and think once a week will provide this without being too difficult to keep.

Write things I’m grateful for every day – I think it is good to finish the day thinking about the good things that have happened or things I’m grateful for, and I sometimes list them in my journal. However this is fairly erratic and I would like to do it more regularly. I’ve dropped some hints and hope I will be given a five year journal for Christmas and this will provide a small space to write each day, but will also enable me to review them easily each year.  ... Read more 543 words

Do you want to write a novel and either can’t find the time or don’t make much progress each time you sit down? If so you may benefit from a writing programme that provides ideas and structure for each writing session.

My husband knew I was not finding much time to write and although I made some progress each time I sat down I got frustrate because I didn’t feel my writing was cohesive. So he kindly bought me The weekend novelist as a birthday present. My birthday is in December, so once we had finished preparing and celebrating Christmas the first weekend happened to be 1st and 2nd January. This means it has become an inadvertent new year’s resolution that I will write a novel in 2011.

My review

I have to say that so far (weekend 5-6) I love the book; the style really works for me. It is structured by weekend or group of weekends but it does not tell you which exercise to do which day, so if you want to write all day Saturday and not on Sunday there is nothing to suggest that is unsuitable. It has also meant I’ve been able to write on Wednesday when I don’t go to work without feeling I’m ruining the structure.

I’ve hand written about 5 sides of A4 in my new notebook and the exercises have got me working out my plot. With my novel I’ve had images in my head of very specific scenes, but no idea how they link together, this programme has helped solves this by making me think of my plot structure in different ways.  ... Read more 661 words, 1 image

Journals started off as a private record, think of Samuel Pepys, one of the earliest known journals written in code so other people could not read it. With the establishment of mass communications came the opportunity to share journals e.g. newspaper social diaries, television, video diaries. However it is only with the internet that there is an opportunity to share writing in real time.

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Picture taken by vanhookc

It is so easy to share your writing using the web, with blogging sites e.g. WordPress, Blogger, article sites e.g. Ezine, Squidoo and fiction sites e.g. FanFiction, Fictionpress. In 2005, it was said a new blog was created every second, so people obviously like this method of sharing their writing. But can you write the same online, knowing it will be public as you can in a personal notebook or computer?

I’m sure some people can, but I can’t.

My online writing

My first blog was on Livejournal and I never worked out why I should write there as well as in a journal so it became a strange collection of updates and notifications from other sites. This may explain why I didn’t keep it for much longer than a year. I started a blog on productivity and goals in 2007 and most of the posts are on topics that I would not think about including in my journal. Last summer I kept a log of our summer holiday so my family could read how my 1.5 year old daughter found her first sailing trip, but kept a journal at the same time.

So I’ve had several years when I’ve kept a blog and a journal on similar topics, what does it tell me?

Comparison of online and personal writing

I’ve collected extracts from my blogs and journals which were written on the same day and the same topic.  ... Read more 1312 words, 1 image

Its the first of November and that means two things; it’s time to grow a mustache and to write a novel in a month. As I’m challenged in the facial hair area, I concentrate on Nanowrimo.

At first it sounds daunting, writing 50,000 words in a month, but after thinking a bit harder the enthusiasm kicks in and you think yes I can write 1600 words a day, so you sign up and then reality hits. However, the great thing about Nanowrimo is, it is about quantity and not quality. It can be difficult at first to accept it, but it means the target for the month is to get as many words written as possible and it doesn’t matter if it is not your best writing, or whether you’ve missed out all the difficult scenes because you have a first draft you can revise over the next 11 months.

I have completed Nanowrimo twice, but have not participated the last two years; in 2008 I gave birth to my daughter at the beginning of the month and 2009 I returned to work after a years absence. As I don’t have any major life changes this year, I’ve thought hard about whether to participate knowing it will encourage me get words on paper instead of them just going round my head.

However, I’ve decided not to participate because I just don’t know where I will find the time to write the words. It was tricky before, but now I am working longer hours and have my daughter to look after, so is likely to take most of my free time. I thought about signing up and seeing how far I got, but in the end I decided that it would become stressful and remove the fun. Plus I want to work on an idea I’ve already started and that is against the rules.  ... Read more 385 words, 1 image

Kate reading

Do reading and writing always go together? Many times I’ve read the advice that if you want to be a good writer you need to read a lot. But does it work the other way; can you get more pleasure from reading by writing lots?

I love reading; in fact my love of reading is greater than my love of writing. I like to read a variety of topics and formats. For instance I’m currently subscribed to 188 RSS feeds covering topics including blogging, writing, finance and uncluttering. Bookwise I’m currently reading a thriller Angel Flight, a book on career development, one on project management and one on using Premiere Elements, but my wishlist is much longer (approaching 500 books) and covers topics such as property development, crocheting and urban fantasy. I also enjoy reading about books and writing; in fact I have developed a large collection of books about writing, most still on my to be read list. If I worked through the exercises on this blog I probably wouldn’t run out of posts for several years! I also read in a variety of formats such as traditional hard copy, on the computer as well as my new  smart phone. Plus I’m hoping I may get a Kindle (or other ebook reader) for my birthday.

A lot of my desire to write fiction originates from reading. For instance outside of school, my first attempt at writing originated from books. When I wasn’t happy with the ending of book I would rewrite them (usually in some long convoluted adventure). I specifically remember doing this for the Magician’s nephew. More recently, after finishing a really good book I often can’t settle to a new book, so I turn my mind to developing my own stories (or I admit it a bit of fan fiction).  ... Read more 400 words, 1 image

Having a new notebook is a fantastic feeling, its so exciting to think of the potential of the notebook, the things you could right. That is until you open it to the first blank page. Of course, it is no different to any other page in the book, but for some reason the first page can feel daunting. If this happens to you, here are some ideas on what to do with the first page:

1. Copy in a headline from today’s news
2. Write a list of wishes
3. Leave it blank
4. Write a list of things you are grateful for
5. Stick in a photograph or picture of yourself
   

   Photograph by cone_dmn

6. Explain the notebook theme and why you chose it
7. Complete a questionnaire about yourself e.g. weight, height, where you live
8. Explain the people who you may mention in the book e.g. family tree, groups by association like work,  list any abbreviations you use to refer to people such as initials
9. Contact details (just in case you leave it somewhere)
10. Write a prayer, mediation or affirmation, something that describes your current spiritual outlook
11. Leave it blank so you can add a review or synopsis of the notebook once you’ve filled it
12. Stick in a year summary calendar (potentially useful if you use a blank notebook instead of a dated one)
13. Stick in a favourite picture
14. Keep a store of useful information e.g. frequently used telephone numbers
15. Write a summary of your goals or your mission statement
16. Explain how you got the notebook e.g. gift from friend, bought on holiday
17. Keep a list e.g. books read, countries visited
18. Write a greeting to the book, possibly including an agreement about when, where and how you’ll use it
 ... Read more 361 words, 1 image

Do you have a place where you’d like to write? Do you have a favourite place to write? How do they match to where you usually write?

My fantasy is writing in the middle of things going on around me; I’m so desperate to write I’ve just had to stop and get my pen out. When I see this in my head I’m sat on the stairs at school (I think this maybe an image from the film Heathers). My second fantasy location is sat curled up on a wide window sill, looking out on to a wonderful view when I’m thinking.

What I find interesting is both of these fantasies involve physical books when I actually do most of my writing direct on to my laptop; in fact I’m writing this on my new smart phone. The main writing I do in a book is my journal and the location for that is usually bed. I’ve tried previously to change when I write my journal; morning pages, when I get in from work or whenever the mood takes me (like my fantasy) but they don’t hold so just before sleep is best for me.

The first week of our summer holiday will be on a yacht sailing along the south coast of England. I’m hoping it will give me the opportunity to do lots of writing while sat on deck and looking at the view, combining both my fantasies.

Do you write in your fantasy location? Do you think it would make a difference to your writing if you did?