Angela Booth's Writing Blog

Write about your life's experiences

This week in Fab Freelance Writing Ezine we talk about mining your life and experiences for your writing.

Here's an excerpt from the Editorial:

Recently I was chatting with a writer who wanted to create a blog about writing. She was just starting out as a freelancer, but had written a book.

"Why a writing blog in particular?" I asked.

She'd sent me some information about herself, so I knew she was retired from teaching, ran a bed and breakfast, and had just written a book about surviving cancer. She'd led an enormously varied life, with endless material she could use.

I considered that with her life experience, she had a huge range of topics to blog about, and choosing "writing" seemed a little timid to me.

It turns out she'd never thought of blogging about kids and teaching, or about running a bed and breakfast (which would present a huge opportunity for advertising her own B & B) or cancer-survival.

She was interested in writing, read many writing blogs, and her mind naturally tended in that direction when she considered blogging.

Yes, she could certainly blog about writing, but if she did that, chances are she'd run out of material. On the other hand, if she wrote about her other life experiences, and there was little likelihood she'd be stumped for things to write about.

Subscribe now, and don't miss tomorrow's issue.

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Writing - Become a Magnet for Juicy Ideas

Writers thrive on ideas. I hope you've got more ideas than you could write in a lifetime. If you struggle to find ideas, this article will help. Over 30 years of writing, I've found that some ideas are made for you, while many other ideas are not.

Let's see how you can become a magnet for juicy ideas which are custom-made for you.

However, before we start, let's get one important, non-negotiable point out of  the way: you need to decide WHY you're writing a project. Everything starts with your intention. You can combine your goals for a specific piece of writing, but you must have goals.

For example, let's say you want some ideas for a novel. What are your goals? Your goal may simply be to get published. That's an excellent goal. Or perhaps your goal's to have fun with it - it's a hobby. Also excellent.

With that out of the way, let's find some ideas.

Writing challenges 1: writing in your head

A few days ago I asked What are YOUR writing challenges?

Ski replied:

I have difficulty with organizing and writing down notes regarding my writing ideas. I have these ideas floating around in my head for a long time, but when they've congealed to the point that I finally feel that I should write them down, I can't seem to figure out how to do that without losing or missing some part of the idea. It's severely aggravating, and when I hit that wall I lose my motivation.

Write it ALL down

Ski, writing in your head is a waste, as you've discovered. The problem is that ideas which seem wonderful as we think about them are almost impossible to get from the brain to the keyboard in one step.

When we're thinking about something, our brain makes rich connections - it flips from idea to idea, and all those ideas resonate with us, because of our personal experiences. That's the reason these ideas seem "good"...

However, when you're writing, you need to write all those resonances down, and even using stream of consciousness writing, this is impossible.

The best way to write is just to write: write down whatever's in your head. It's a process of discovery. Once you've written it down, you can work with it.

Let's say you get an idea: "childhood bullying".

OK, write down "childhood bullying". You immediately think about three or four things related to the topic. Write it down in a list, or make a mind map. Or you can write each additional idea on an index card.

If nothing else comes to mind, leave the topic for today.

Tomorrow, you look at your "childhood bullying" idea again, and get some more ideas. You write them down. You look up some references, and make a note to talk to a schoolteacher to see what's happening about bullying in the schools. Your remember your mother talking about bullying when she was young, so you write down that anecdote too.

As long as you write EVERYTHING down, as you think of it, you'll maintain your motivation, and your idea will grow, until you have enough to write an article or book. Just with the work above, on "childhood bullying" you'd have enough to write an article.

Hope this helps. Happy writing. :-)

Got a writing challenge? Please leave a comment.

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Around my blogs this week

Here's a roundup of interesting stuff you may have missed on my writing blogs this week:

* Article Writing: Write and Sell Powerful and Useful How-to Articles

* Writing - The Truth about Making Money with your Writer’s Web Site

* Freelance Writing - Top Blog Jobs and How to Get Them

* Your Blog as a Home Business: Making it Happen

* Blog - Five Easy Ways to Get Readers for Your Blog

* Your Copywriting Business - What Services will YOU Offer?

* Article Marketing: Create your own Home Business Writing Articles for Others

Enjoy. :-)

BTW, the special offer of charter subscriptions to Sell Your Writing Online NOW ends this weekend.

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Write More - Five Easy Writing Productivity Tips Anyone Can Use

Do you wish you could write more? Use these five tips, and I promise that you'll at least double your writing productivity. In addition, your writing will be clear, concise and will flow effortlessly from your mind to your fingertips.

Try at least one of these tips. (I hope you'll try them all.)

1. What's your point? Write one sentence

The first of these tips is important. It took me years before I realized that I tend to wander off the topic when I write. I'd complete an article, then realize that I'd left out vital points. Or the logic didn't flow. Or I'd write half a book before I realized that the book wasn't worth writing.

Since writing tends to morph as you write (and the longer the project the more it will morph) commit to writing ONE sentence which summarizes the article, the book, the sales page, or whatever else you're writing.

Do this before you start writing, with every project, large or small.

2. Chunk it down to eliminate procrastination

You write word by word, and sentence by sentence. So, chunk everything you write down. This has a great psychological effect. Tell yourself that today, you're writing just 100 words of your article. Or five headlines for a sales page. Or making a list of topics you could include in your report.

Chunk projects into sections which will take you no longer than ten to 15 minutes to complete.

3. It doesn't have to be great, it just has to be done

You want everything you write to be good, if not great. However, these expectations will ensure that you put off writing because you have no time to write "properly"/ you're too tired/ you haven't done enough research... and whatever other excuse you can dream up.

Just tell yourself that great, good, mediocre or outright terrible, you don't care - you'll just get it done.

4. Sit down and write, NOW - develop routines which work for you

The more routines you create for your writing, the better. You could make it a routine that whenever you turn on your computer you write 50 words of your current project. Or that you write first drafts in longhand. Or - anything you choose. A romance novelist friend writes by candlelight.

Create your own routines to make writing easy and fun for you. The more pleasurable you can make writing, the more you're likely to write.

5. Be polite to yourself and overcome resistance

What do you do when someone tells you to do something?

That's right, you resist. This resistance applies even when you tell yourself to do something, so be careful with your self-talk.

It might seem silly to treat yourself like a difficult toddler, but being nice to yourself in your self-talk really works.

Try asking yourself: "Could you write (project X) now? Would you?"

You'll be surprised at how your resistance to writing - even longstanding resistance - melts when you're kind to yourself.

So there you have five tips which will help you to write more. Please try them. You may just shock yourself and become a writing dynamo.

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Stop thinking and keep writing

Many of the questions I get from novice writers are charmingly naive.

Novices imagine two things:

1. That someone, somewhere has the perfect answer to their writing challenges

and

2. That you can write and build a writing career without making "mistakes".

Let's deal with these two common misconceptions.

Only you know what you can write - the answer to all your writing challenges is in your writing

If the writing muse allowed me to choose, I'd love to write like PG Wodehouse and create another Bertie Wooster or Lord Emsworth. Unfortunately writing doesn't work that way.

I write what I write, you write what you write. And you only find out what you write when you write it, not by thinking about it, or talking about it. All writing is a process of discovery - I've written about working memory and the Magical Number Seven in the past.

Yes you can choose your genre when you're writing fiction, and yes you can vary your style when writing nonfiction. But ultimately everything you write comes from YOU - no one else.

This means that the answer to every writing challenge you face is in your writing. So write.

I know that this seems unhelpful, but thinking and talking about writing are not writing. Stop thinking and write. All your challenges will be resolved if you plant your rear end on a chair and tap the keyboard.

Your "mistakes" are the stepping stones to your success

Let's say you're writing a mystery novel. You complete the novel, and send a partial (chapters and outline) to 50 agents and publishers. Over the course of a year or two, the responses are... ZERO. Or along the lines of "not for us."

You made a mistake, didn't you? Shame on you, thinking that you could write a mystery novel...

Actually, in this particular scenario the only possible mistake you can make is to stop writing. If you submit your partials and sit back and wait for a publishing contract that's a huge error.

While your novel is doing the rounds, write another novel. And another novel after that. Submit them all. And keep writing and submitting.

Sooner or later, at Novel 3, or 9 or whatever, you will get an offer and you'll starting selling your mystery novels.

So, all the novels which didn't sell, your "mistakes", were the stepping stones to your success.

Without the mistakes, you could not achieve your goal.

You must keep writing and sending out your writing to people who can buy it, no matter what.

As long as you're writing, you're building your own stepping stones to your success. Keep writing, and you will achieve your writing goals.

Wrapping up this little homily, WHAT and HOW you write (in the sense of your voice, or style) is essentially out of your control. You can only write what you can write, but you won't know what that is, until you write it.

Equally, there's is only one mistake you can make in writing, and that's to  stop writing.

So please stop thinking, and keep writing. :-)

Write more - the key to your writing success

Yes, you can write more - even if you're a world-class procrastinator.

Did you know that when you write more, your writing improves? Many of my writing students experience this. They find that when they write more, writing is easier for them - they're not dominated by their inner editor.

My new writing class, "Write More And Make More Money From Your Writing: Develop A Fast, Fun Productive Writing Process" is based on lessons I developed for my private coaching students to help them to write more, improve their writing, and make more money writing.

If you're struggling with your writing, the class will help. The techniques you'll learn in class with help you write fiction, nonfiction, and copy for business.

Discover how you can write more, improve your writing, and sell more of your writing to higher-paying markets.

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Writing reality: writing is a process

Many new writers expect golden words to flow from their fingertips instantly.

Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way. Your first draft of anything you write should always be awful, nonsensical, and all but unintelligible.

This is because in your first draft, your sole aim is to generate text. Writers write - they think on the page/ computer screen. I've written about the Magical Number 7 before:

4. Remember The Magical Number Seven, Plus Or Minus Two - don’t “write” in your head Your working memory is limited; you can only keep around five to nine elements or “chunks” in your mind at one time. That’s not a lot, and it’s a primary reason some writers write very slowly. They’re trying to use their mind in a way it wasn’t designed to be used.

Don’t try to “write” in your head.

WRITE. Write your thoughts, so you get it out of your working memory onto the page/ computer screen. The Magical Number Seven is the reason free writing is such a wonderful tool, and why it’s so important for you to use this skill.

When you write, in free writing and journaling, you’re extending your working memory, and when you do this, you automatically write more.

Writing is a PROCESS, something like this:

1. Get vague idea about something or other; write idea in a sentence. Or have no ideas at all, just write a sentence, any sentence. Or, read your commission/ brief and summarize it (if you've been commissioned to write);

2. Expand on the original idea/ sentence, just writing whatever comes. Hope that this sparks further insights;

3. Write a draft, without expectations. You've now made a start, which is all your first draft is - a start;

4. Print out the draft, make notes. Get more ideas;

5. Next draft.

Writing is just a process. It's very mechanical. You need to WRITE. :-)

End your writing procrastination: become a prolific writer TODAY

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The 70 tips will help you to plan your writing time, stick to a writing schedule, and get more energy, so that writing is a pleasure for you.

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Just Write: Find the Confidence to Write More

Here's a short exercise. On a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is totally and completely trivial, and 10 is vitally important, please rank writing in your life.

How did writing measure up?

Be honest. :-)

You're not making a moral judgement, you're just aiming for clarity.

At some stages of your life, writing isn't important. Other things are much more important. If you're raising a family, working two jobs, and studying for example, writing may rank at 3.

If writing is important to you - you've ranked it at 7 or over, then it's time to make room for writing in your life.

Here's how: schedule your writing. Make writing the first thing you do each day.

As soon as you get out of bed, stumble to the computer (forget coffee) and start writing.

Julia Cameron's Morning Pages helps with this. Morning Pages allows you to write without pressure, just getting your pen moving across the page. Once you learn to do this, you can transfer this writing-ease to whatever other writing you're doing.

In "Just Write: Find the Confidence to Write More" I wrote about brain lateralization and giving yourself the freedom to write junk. This is a great attitude to have.

Morning Pages will help you in your quest to free yourself to write junk. When you stop putting pressure on yourself, you'll find that the overall quality of your writing goes up, and that the best writing you do is very good indeed.

You can only write more if writing is important in your life... and if you free yourself just to write, without making demands.

Write more - the key to your writing success

Yes, you can write more - even if you're a world-class procrastinator.

Did you know that when you write more, your writing improves? Many of my writing students experience this. They find that when they write more, writing is easier for them - they're not dominated by their inner editor.

My new writing class, "Write More And Make More Money From Your Writing: Develop A Fast, Fun Productive Writing Process" is based on lessons I developed for my private coaching students to help them to write more, improve their writing, and make more money writing.

If you're struggling with your writing, the class will help. The techniques you'll learn in class with help you write fiction, nonfiction, and copy for business.

Discover how you can write more, improve your writing, and sell more of your writing to higher-paying markets.

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Writing resolutions - make them, keep them

Whatever your writing resolutions: to write something every day; to write more often; to write a book; or to turn writing into a full-time career - keeping your resolutions means that you need to make writing a priority in your life.

This is easier said than done.

I've just posted "Just Write: Find the Confidence to Write More" at Writing Hacker.

If you follow the easy tips, you'll find it easier to keep your writing resolutions because you'll have growing confidence in your writing.

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The only way to write is to write: demolish writer's block forever

The only way to write is to write. Sounds obvious, doesn't it? Unfortunately, if you're a new writer, or an experienced writer who's suffering from writer's block, it may not be obvious.

The only way to write, is to write, but sometimes you get in your own way.

Here are three ways in which you block yourself:

1. You demand of yourself that you write in a certain way, to achieve a specific goal

Let's see how this works. You're writing a mystery novel. You want to write a mystery in the style of ___________, who happens to be your favorite writer.

This can work, but often it doesn't, for the simple reason that you are you, you're not your favorite writer.

When you set out to write a specific project, be yourself. Write it your way - just start writing. If you make demands of your creative muse, you're likely to become blocked. Accept yourself and the way you write.

That's not to say that you can't write in the style of someone else. When I read some writers, like Charles Dickens and PG Wodehouse for example, I tend to write in their style, and need to journal for a while to get out of it - this comes naturally for me.

Do what's natural for you: write your way. If your writing is flowing easily, that's great; something's working. It's a mind state, and since it is, after you become aware that it is, you can tap into this mind state on demand.

2. You don't journal about your writing as you write

Journaling is a great way to break blocks. Journal right in the middle of your current project.

I just write: [THOUGHTS] and journal. When I've finished thinking on the computer screen, I end it with [/THOUGHTS].

I leave my thoughts in the project until it's complete, then I save the file as Version 2, and delete the thoughts in the new file. I always leave the original "thoughts" with the previous version of the file, because then I can  return to a previous version and discover what I was thinking at that time.

Writing about your current project while you're in the middle of it stops you blocking - you're writing, aren't you? :-)

3. You don't schedule your writing

I love schedules. My mantra is: "If it's not written down, I don't do it" - so I schedule everything.

I have a daily schedule, a list of writing tasks that I must get done, plus long lists of tasks for each project I'm writing. I work through those additional tasks after I've done all the tasks I MUST complete on a certain day: the ones I've specifically scheduled.

If you're not a full-time writer, you nevertheless must schedule your writing. If you don't schedule it, it won't get done, and you'll convince yourself that you have writer's block when the reality is that you're just procrastinating.

Create a schedule, even if you're fitting writing in between working two jobs and raising a family. You can build a writing career even if you're busy with other things, but only if you write, so schedule ten minutes, 20 minutes or an hour for your writing. Every day.

At the time you've chosen, write.

So there you have it: the only way to write is to write. All you need to do is get out of your own way.

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