Category: For Writers

An Overheard Comment

Jot down a snippet of a conversation that grabs your attention while going about your daily activities. You may hear it as you pass a group of people chatting in the street, while waiting in the bank or in the queue at a ticket office, or on a crowded bus or train… or anywhere…

Just a few words can be enough, though longer will work just as well. Whatever the length of what you hear, it will surely be something that intrigues you or takes you to a memory or sets your imagination on fire.

You are not necessarily going to write about what you heard. Instead, your task is to write something that is stimulated by what you have heard or the experience of overhearing it. What you write may not be directly related to the words you caught, but it will be something that comes directly from within you.

Begin writing whatever comes to you and see where it leads. It may take any form… poetry, prose, 1^st 2^nd or 3^rd person, past or present tense…

Whatever it is, keep writing until you feel satisfied you have captured a gem that otherwise may not have begged to be written.

In writing courses, I ask students for a maximum of three hundred words to allow time for processing at the following class session. However, there is no word limit here.

This exercise is related to Writing Tip #3 and Writing Tip #11.

Reflect On Your Writing Year

An important part of goal-setting is to reflect on what has been before. Recognition of what has been achieved and identifying what hasn’t, gives a foundation for new direction.

Take some time to explore your writing year by thoughtfully answering the following questions:

• Did you achieve all the writing activities you wanted to during 2016?
• Or are there writing projects unattempted, partly-finished and put aside, or relegated to the bin?
• Are the projects you wanted to complete, but didn’t, still relevant?
• Does your passion still burn for these projects?

If your achievements fell short of your dreams, consider why this may be…

• Why were some hopes fulfilled and not others?
• What made these more achievable?
• Were your hopes too big for your circumstances?
• Did other commitments overshadow your writing endeavours?
• Are there strategies that could have been implemented to assist your attempts to meet your goals?

Your journey through these questions will give you insight into your writing life, which will be invaluable when you move on to set achievable goals for your writing in 2017 – per my next blog.

This exercise is related to my blog ~ Preparing To Set Writing Goals That Can Succeed and Writing Tip #10.

Why Write?  

Write a one-page outline of your reasons for writing…

Over the years, I’ve asked many beginning writers why they want to write and established writers what drives them to write.

The answers are many and varied, because writing is such a personal journey. However, most responses fit under the following headings:

• For myself
• For family and friends
• For others
• To be famous
• Because I have something to say
• I have specific messages for others
• For money/career
• I feel the need/compulsion to write

Identifying with one of these reasons does not necessarily exclude all the others, and you may have several reasons for writing. Likewise, your reasons may change over time.

The notion behind this exercise is that it is important for you to know what is driving you to write at any given time.

(Related to Writing Tip #9 – here)

What Kind Of Writer Are You?

There are no right or wrong answers to the question ‘What kind of writer are you?’ However, knowing the answer yourself will help you to work with the writer in you and make the most of your attributes and skills.

Get to know the writer in you by answering the following questions – and any others you would like to add for yourself. Further questions can be asked over time if you find this helpful.

The idea is to provoke thought and to assist you to understand the way you approach your writing.

There are not always definitive answers to these questions, but asking them of yourself will remind you of your most likely way of working as a writer. There will be grey areas and your focus may shift over time.

Begin with these questions…

Are you a spontaneous writer, who writes when the mood takes you?

Or, a structured writer, who sets aside specific times for writing?

Do you write to a plan, or go with the flow of how your work evolves?

Do you take notes, or trust your memory?

Do you carry notebooks, or jot ideas on scraps of paper, old receipts or anything else you can lay your hands on in the moment?

Do you only write when you’re alone, or can you write anywhere, anytime?

Are you a night writer, or a morning writer?

Do you write one piece of work at a time, or have several projects on the go at once?

What stimulates your creative juices?

Finding The Writer In You

Part A:

Take a piece of paper and brainstorm your history as a writer – regardless of how small you think that history is. We all had experiences of words and writing at school – spelling, reading, compositions, school magazines and so on. For various reasons, some of us struggled more than others with these, but we all have our own story to tell (see my recent blog posts on my childhood experiences – here).

Begin by listing your school experiences, then add other writing endeavours… letters (to family, friends, pen-friends…), poetry, stories, university essays, work reports, letters to the editor, competitions… whatever it is for you. Keep digging deeper and deeper – you may be surprised what you remember.

Part B:

Read through your list and then set it aside.

Part C:

Write the words, ‘I know I am a writer because…’ and then keep writing without censoring what flows onto the paper. Continue until you feel you’ve exhausted the subject.

You may end up with a dot-point paragraph, a page, or several pages. Everyone’s result will be different, but this doesn’t matter – what you are looking for, and what you will find, is your own unique experience.

This is the foundation on which to build your writing future.