These quotes are so blinking inspiring! Any of you having a bad writing day, check these out. If you’re on top of the world, read them and feel even better. I hope you love them as much as I did.
Tag: creative writing
How to Outline a Scene like a Pro
Hello, lovely people, I hope you are well? You are? Great! I know I am, it’s Friday after all! The last few days I have been outlining my scenes so that I am ready for Camp NaNoWriMo in July.
I’m reading an amazing book by CS Lakin called The 12 Key Pillars of Novel Construction which I have found invaluable. Lakin gives a scene checklist which I recommend you get your hands on.
I have used this to ask myself set questions per scene, and they are helping me so much I thought I would share them with you. Let me know what you think!
What is the action or revelation that is the high impact crux of this scene?
What new information will this scene tell the reader?
What is the purpose of the scene?
What do I want the reader to know by reading this scene?
What is the protagonist reacting to here?
What added extra sparkle does the scene have?
Where does the scene begin?
What action is taking place when the scene starts?
How is it different to the opening of the scene before?
What is the POV?
How will I show this POV in the first few sentences?
How will I show the passing of time from the last scene?
What is my hook that grabs the reader at the start of the scene?
Imagine I’m in the scene, note down the first five things my senses notice.
List all the conflict that will take place in the scene.
How will the high moment stand out?
What juicy revelations that come further along in the book do I hint to?
How will I end in a way that excites the reader?
By the end what has been resolved or left hanging?
What do I want the reader to feel by the end of this scene?
What is the beginning middle and end of this scene?
Do you use a similar list of questions, or are you more of a pantser? As always I’d love your comments and any wisdom you have to share.
5 Things Killing Your Writing Productivity
This post is a well-timed reminder for me; I hope you find it useful also.
How do you become a more productive writer? That’s a loaded question. Productivity, as you hopefully already know, requires a few major attributes in terms of writing well, often, with purpose. One reason many self-proclaimed aspiring writers can’t get any writing done is because they can’t get past common roadblocks to writing productivity … or rather, they don’t even know what these potential roadblocks are.
There are habits and circumstances killing your writing productivity. Here are the most common ones, and how to extinguish them.
1. Self-editing
Self-editing, while you’re writing, is destructive and time-consuming. It’s tempting; I know. I still do it way more often than I should, too. If you’re always stopping to fix what you just wrote five seconds ago, your piece isn’t going to move forward very quickly, if at all. As tempting as it may be, save editing for later. Always finish writing first…
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One Simple Way to Increase Writing Productivity (but you probably won’t like it)
If I told you there was a magic pill that increased your concentration, sparked the imagine and improved perseverance, would you take it? I bet you’d do it, I certainly would!
What if I told you that exercise could do all those things for you? I can hear your groans, and feel your annoyance. Irritating isn’t it?
Most of us would rather not need to exercise. We’d rather eat what we want and have the perfect, slender, magazine ready body, without having to slip on our trainers. What a wonderful world that would be. The sad fact is that to keep our bodies healthy we need to exercise. It’s a non-negotiable (trust me I tried to negotiate my way out of it for years).
I never loved exercise, couldn’t catch without shutting my eyes and was hopeless at running. I hid in the shower room during PE. However, after avoiding exercise until the age of twenty-four, I was diagnosed with a chronic illness where the primary treatment was exercise. Every time I stood up the room span, and I almost fainted. The only option for me was to start exercising lying down until I grew strong enough to stand and exercise without fatigue. It was hellish, to begin with, but now I am the fittest I have ever been and have found whole hosts of benefits I would like to share with you. (Also my condition is completely managed, and I can live normally again – Hooray!)
Exercise increases your energy levels – It’s counter-intuitive isn’t it? I previously assumed that since you expend energy during exercise, that you are tired out from it. While that is true in the short-term, in the long run, you are more energetic. Early mornings are easier (potentially late nights for others). Finding time to write gets easier if you have more energy.
Exercise improves your sleep quality – Perhaps one of the reasons you have more energy is that you sleep better. Tiring out the body helps sleep and sleep produces a clearer mind. Hello clarity, nice to meet you, please come and assist me in my writing.
Exercise allows imagination to flow – When you are peddling away on an exercise bike or stomping your way on the treadmill your body is occupied, but your brain can wander. You are a captive audience. You can’t remember that urgent chore and go away and do it. You can’t phone that friend you’ve forgotten to contact. Your mind can soar into the realms of creativity and imagination, and your practical body is occupied – it can’t drag you away.
Exercise gives you confidence – I’m actually not talking about body confidence here, but confidence in your own mental strength. There is something incredibly satisfying in achieving something you never thought you could. It takes dedication, commitment, and, let’s be honest, pain to get physically fit. We need all those things in writing, and the skills learnt in exercise do translate over.
Exercise prevents “Writers Neck” – Is it writers neck or back for you? I get neck pain when I type for too long. Exercise keeps our backs healthy (especially pilates) which is a real bonus for those of us who write for extended periods of time. The pain may be manageable now, but we want to write long-term, don’t we? Exercise is one way to secure our future as writers.
The most important thing I would like to say is that this post is not meant to guilt trip anyone. I would hate for anyone to read this and leave feeling condemned because they don’t want to exercise. You be you, and what works for me may not work for you. There may be some out there, however, who are missing something and may want to give exercise a try.
I would love to hear from you in the comments section whether you agree or disagree. I love a good discussion!
Creative Writing Secrets from Professional Writers
This post is brilliant, funny, knowledgeable and welll worth a read!
Blissful Scribbles 