The thought of creating a character and taking them on an adventure, throwing in some bad guys and a twist or two gets me up in the morning. Some people may prefer a mentor. Writing is a journey, a hugely personal experience.
Why write?
There are plenty of theories as to writing is good for you. Personal clarity of an issue, frees your imagination and even as a stress relief. For me, I just love it, it feels like my purpose.
What’s the best way to write?
There are a lot of theories, but I say, go with whatever works for you. My personal approach is to start with a rough outline, then just type as I feel to get draft 1 complete. I don’t stress about a specific word or grammar too much. If I think I’ve reached an inconsistency, then I make a note to deal with it during draft 2.
Draft 2 then becomes a review, where I can address issues and usually add some other things I’ve thought of. And usually find more issues.
How do you find time?
Writing is my hobby, so I make time. The same way as if I played golf, I would make the time to play golf.
In summer, I got up an hour earlier to write. I would also write in my lunch hour at the office. One of the plus points of lockdown is that now I work from home a few days a week, so the time I would be commuting is now writing time.
Some people like to self motivate by setting targets. I try to do at least one thing a day that contributes to my story, even if it’s just thinking about the lead character.
Getting stuck
Every writer gets stuck at some point. The important thing to do is not to stress about it. Here are some ways I get around it:
1. Write a later chapter first. Who says writing has to be linear?
2. Write an outline in bullet points. Then I can go and fill in the detail later.
3. Write something random, nothing to do with the plot. Most of the time I end up deleting it, but it can be a good way to kick start the creativity
4. Try and make notes whenever something pops in your head.
At Beyond The Vale Publishing, we offer a mentoring service, where we help aspiring writers nurture their ideas and grow the script as the first part of the self-publishing journey. Contact Richard at info@beyondthevalepublishing.com or whatsapp +27 (0)78 646 7904
