Words of Advice

An up and down week this week. Snowed under at work, then on the road for a few days and visiting my parents – I’m a bit uprooted at the moment, so permit me to cheat this week’s article!

I have been tagged by The Ethical Palaeontologist (aka my wife!) with a writing meme. It is rare that her science blog crosses over with my blog, and I wondered why she would tag me with a writing meme.

Oh. Yeah. That. The whole writing thing. Gotcha…

The rules of the meme are:

1. List three writing tips
2. Tag 3 people whose writing style you would like to imitate

Now, I’m not about to tag anyone with this meme. Firstly, the three people I’d most like to emulate (Conan Doyle, Poe and Lovecraft) are all dead and therefore untaggable! Secondly, I’d like more than three people to play along.

I’m going to list three writing tips. And once I’m done, I’d like you to suggest some tips of your own. And hopefully, by the end of the day, we’ll have a pretty good tip sheet for anyone struggling with their writing, just starting out on writing, or becoming jaded with the whole process.

So, on with the game.

1. Just do it.

Don’t say you are a writer. Don’t talk about how much you want to write. Don’t spend time thinking about how stories you would like to write about. Sit down. And do it. Write. Pick up a pen. Scribble into a notepad. Tap the keys. Write. Just write. Do it. No excuses. You think Joe Montana won his Superbowl rings talking about being a great quarterback? Write. That is the number one tip. There are no secrets. There are no shortcuts. Letters form words, words form sentences, sentences form pages, pages form books!

(And yes, I’m extremely guilty of not following this one myself!)

2. Be messy

Name an author who had their first draft published. While you’re thinking, I’ll be over there, patiently waiting…

…

There are probably some, but they are incredibly rare. Is your first draft messy? Is the grammar and spelling a little sloppy? Are there plot holes? Good. It is a first draft. It is supposed to be like that. The messier the better. If you strive for perfection when you start out you will get hung up on all the little minutiae of form, language, grammar etc, and you will forget the story that you are trying to tell. Story first. Get that sorted out, then go back and tidy up the details.

3. Look around you

Now, I know that the first tip is “just write”, and that the second tip is “be messy”, but you aren’t going to get very far without something to writer about. Where does inspiration come from. Well, I hate to say it, but it isn’t from your mind. Not wholly. A writer never writes in isolation. You are a part of the world, the world is a part of you, and that is where your inspiration comes from. Because if your writing is not familiar, honest, authentic, then nobody will read it. Whether your story is a true to life family drama, or a science fiction fantasy set on another world, the emotions, the interactions between the characters have to be realistic or your story will fall flat.

Inspiration comes from anywhere, at any time. This morning whilst driving through some snow and listening to John Denver, I was struck by an idea for an opening to a story I’ve been working on. Keep an interest in real life, and you will have all the story inspiration you will ever need.

Those are my tips. What are yours?