Writer Without A Clue

I bought an eBook a few weeks ago and it was fascinating to read.

It’s called “Writing Into The Dark” and it’s written by prolific author, Dean Wesley Smith.

He has written hundreds of books and short stories and this book is all about his writing process.

He calls what he does “Writing Into The Dark” because he begins all his novels and short stories (which are not so short because they’re all thousands of words long) and he has no clue how the story will start or end.

He begins with just a few words, or an incomplete idea in his head, and then he just starts writing with no idea as to how the story will develop or end. He doesn’t even know who the characters are until he makes them up as he goes along.

Writing this way would scare the pants off me. I can’t imagine sitting down to write a novel and not even know what it’s going to be about.

I have done free-writing exercises before where I’m given 3 random words and I have to write about them, or write a story that includes them, for 5 minutes without stopping.

I can actually write ¾ page this way, but it feels weird to have no direction with what I’m writing. Yet strangely enough, what I write in those 5 minutes without any forethought, is quite good. In fact I’ve expanded some of them into published articles and stories.

So maybe ‘Writing Into The Dark’ is a creative way to do things.

After all, it’s the way Dean Wesley Smith has been writing novels for years.

Either way, it was fascinating to read his book about his whole writing process.

https://amzn.to/3pYpS2B

How to Write More And More And More…

Do you dream of writing more? Do you see yourself sitting and writing and having hundreds of published books and selling thousands of copies every month?

If you do then it’s time to stop dreaming and start writing.

And although you’d love it if I told you a “secret” to getting more writing done,  I’m not going to tell you any such thing. In fact, I’m going to tell you the opposite.

The only way to write more is to have more bum-in-chair time and actually get your writing done. It really is that straight forward and simple.

But this is good news because when you spend more time writing, it help you in 3 ways.

1. You get more writing done. Successful writers are prolific writers and so that’s what you need to be too. The more time you spend writing, the more writing you’ll get done. It’s so so logical.
2. You’ll get faster. Anything we do continually makes us faster and better. It’s like when you learn to drive, or start a new job. At first it seems hard and time-consuming, but the more you do it the better you get and the faster you can do things.
3. It creates a writing habit. When you do something every day, it soon becomes a habit so you can do it without even thinking about it. And habits, as we know, make our lives easier and effortless - or at least the good ones do.

If you want to write more, then it means more bum-in-chair time and there’s no getting away from that. There is no quick fix or cheat or secret way to do it.

On the plus side, writing more makes it faster and easier to do, plus you’ll get better with practice too.

And that is the secret to writing more.

Mission Critical For Life: Start Living Life On Your Terms By Pursuing Your True Life Mission

https://ruthiswriting.com/books/MCFL.html

My Writing Plans for 2022

So now it’s the end of 2021 and tomorrow is the first day of 2022.

I don’t know about you but I’ve got my writing plans in place for the next 12 months.

One thing I had to do was not only list everything I wanted to write, but also allot the time to do it. It’s no good saying what I want to do if I have no idea how I’m going to find the time.

So I did a plan of everything I want to write, and it includes books, ebooks, articles, blog posts and emails (amongst other things). I wanted to make sure I included everything so that nothing gets left out and I have enough time to do it all.

But it will still be a challenge with all that life throws up at us. Whenever I have a lot to do, the universe always throws up roadblocks and trip hazards.

But I’m determined to not let anything stop me completing my writing plan for 2022.

You can read it in it’s entirety at:

https://ruthiswriting.com/articles/2021/writing-plans-2022.html

Writing When I Really Don’t Feel Like Writing

 

Image courtesy of mohamed_hassan. Pixabay

It’s funny isn’t it that although writers say they enjoy writing, they often resist doing it. And I’m no different. Sometimes I think a pile of ironing looks more appealing than sitting down and writing.

So what is it? What makes us not want to write?

The truth is that resistance to writing is no different to the resistance we sometimes feel to other things. And it’s not the actual thing we have to do that’s the problem, it’s just the act of starting that seems hard.

Last week, Dean and I had plans for a day out We were really looking forward to it. But when the day arrived, we started to ask each other if we still wanted to go and maybe we could just stay home and sit by the pool, have a swim, and then go back up to our apartment, have lunch and watch a movie.

And while that would have been okay to stay home and relax, we eventually said no. We’d planned a day out so we were going. So we packed up and headed out.

And do you know what? We had such a great time. It turned out so much better than we originally thought.

So we can even feel resistance to fun things we want to do, as well as resistance to doing chores we don’t feel in the mood to do.

To make it easier to write when I don’t feel like it, I just sit down and look in my diary to see what I had planned, or I re-read what I’ve written the previous day, or type up some handwritten work. I start with something simple, and then it’s easy to keep going.

Sometimes I buy an ebook or a course or something else that intrigues me, that will give me direction, and makes me enthusiastic to write.

Next time you feel resistance to writing, do whatever it takes to get back into the writing zone fast. And don’t be afraid to invest in your writing future.

https://ruthiswriting.com/books/LLS.html