Writing Tips & Tricks
Writing Tip and Trick that work for me
Drafting-
Draft in a quiet familiar space.
I like to draft at home when I am alone. Now this is not always possible I underhand and yes when your children or husband has been sent home to do remote learning / work being alone is about as easy as pushing an elephant though the eye of a needle. So if home is not the place find a different quiet familiar place. The car in the garage, maybe the bathroom, you see what I’m getting at.
2. Don’t write your story in timeline order.
Now, I am a discovery writer (pantser) and so this isn’t a hard one for me, I rarely have a timeline. But if you do have an outline don’t use it strictly. What I mean is every time you sit down to write don’t simply pick the next scene on the list, pick the one that speaks to you. The one that inspires you, lights you up. I swear this will chase away write’s block so fast you’ll find it hard to relate to those who do.
-After you write all those “out of order” scene you can now put them in order. Organize them with the help of your trusty outline. And now you get to do the “work” of filling in the gaps. Making the chapters flow into each other. But in my opinion I would rather do a little work at the end and enjoy the process instead of hitting my head against the wall every writing session trying to stay within my timeline. Food for thought.
3. Don’t stop to “look something up”
I get it, you have used the word “excited” a thousand times and you really should find a valuable synonym to express the blood pausing through your characters vines. But for the sake of flow, just don’t.
-Do this instead. Write whatever stupid, horrible, no good, very bad word your lame brain comes up with on the spot, highlight it, and move on. Then later when you have dug your editors hat out of the truck and are looking at your work with the critical eye of over used words, take pleasure in scratching a violent red line though that pitifully excuse of an adjective and bust out your trusty Thesaurus.
4. Listen to your favorite narrator
Find a narrator that sounds the way you want your character to sound. For me it’s Sarah Drew. Her voice and inflections are the exact representation of how I imagine my main character sounding. During the drafting process of my first book if I found myself waining I would bring out Sarah Drew and listen to her narrate, quick and easy fix to finding your tone. Trust me, this is a Hack you will love. Give it a try.
Revising-
Revise in a busy public space.
Unlike drafting I like to revise in an environment that has lots going on. People I don’t know things that catch my attention. Coffee houses, bookstores, public libraries, places like that.
-This help keep me from getting to heavy in my revisions. It allows me to stay on the surface only touch the quick and obvious fixes. Keeping my brain from getting to excited and rewriting everything. This is a time of revision not writing.
2. The first way is usually the best way
It is hard I know not to come in with a massive red pen and endless amounts of red ink. But that manuscript is precious and you as the editor need to treat it with respect. How, you ask? Well, for starters, leave most of it in tact. You will have things that need fixed or changed but to revise the life out of your writing.
-My rule is that the first way I wrote it is probably the best and defiantly the most authentic. Trust how you said it in the moment.
3. Reading it out loud
You know this, but for the Pete’s sake read it out loud. Your mouth is always a better judge of what you have written than your brain.
4. Read it to someone else
The nice thing about reading your writing to someone else is that you will see the things the need correcting without giving you time to think to hard about why or how you will correct. Especially if you read to a child. They will call you out if you stop to make a correction.
-Have that red pen ready to circle and slash and maybe make a one or two word note because this red marking party train doesn’t stop for anyone.
5. Read it with an accent
You read that right, mate. Pick an accent that is a little unusual for you and read away. When we read our brains fill in the gaps, correct mistakes and deliver the correction to our mouths. So when you read in an accent it makes your brain work harder, therefor seeing mistakes like missing words, misused words, strange word placement, things like that.
Extra tips-
1. Don’t get mad at yourself for taking breaks.
-creativity ebbs and flows and with that comes the need to rest. There will be times when the fire is hot and times when you need time to forage for more fuel.
2. Take the time to learn what you are capable of
-Sit down and write, write non-stop until you run out of steam or things to say. Do this for a few days then take a look at what you have accomplished, are you happy or do you wish you could have done more? If you are happy, look to see if you had time after writing to do the “life” things like pick the kids up.
-If you wish you could have had more time then you can reassess when to start or prioritize the other thing that need done in the day. Give yourself more time, do a give-and -take of non-stop writing and real life until you find that happy spot where you are satisfied with the amount of writing you get done and the completion of “real life”
3. Give yourself time to stare
-This is the time a writer needs to think. This is not for the internet or the TV it is for your imagination to dream. I know sitting quietly and not having a million things going at once is not the most popular idea but trust me it is a great skill, hone it and your writing will be better for it.
Happy writing and make sure above all else you enjoy yourself.
