Our whole creative lives
We are creators. Everything we do in life is a process of creating something, as writers, artists, dancers but in every other job in life there are always creative elements. Indeed, this extends to our lives as a whole and our very existence as humans. We survive best with our creativity utilised, we need to. […]
The mind of a writer
Something popped into my mind the other day and I think I need to expand my idea of the mind of a writer because behind the skill of learning to be a writer I think that there are three aspects that get developed: our creative side, our ability to write and to edit the work. […]
Reading while you’re writing
When I first started writing, I noticed that whatever novel I was reading had a heavy influence on my own writing. I seemed to imitate the style of the author in my own prose which was a tad frustrating when I read my work back and noticed it – and then had to correct for […]
Waiting for inspiration
If you’re waiting for inspiration to happen so that you can start writing, well, you could be waiting for a while. For instance, I get inspired in situations when I’m relaxed, comfortable, happy, content like when I’ve just laid my head down to sleep and I’m enjoying the fact that my head is on the […]
The writing gets done
Despite all the problems associated with getting writers block on a regular basis, I do notice that the work eventually gets done. Why? Because I’m really starting to believe that I am a writer. That I can do this. Now, I know I’m not going to be a literary genius but I’ve got feedback on […]
A moment of satisfaction
I have printed out a first draft of my second novel which I finished writing last weekend. (My first novel? I completed it to a second draft stage but after working on this novel, I feel a demotion coming on. It’s probably not as bad as I think it is. I wish!) Anyway, after teasing […]
My practice novel
My first novel is a practice novel. Simple as. It is the first novel I have ever written so surely it is a warm up, an attempt to practice the craft of novel writing. And revising. And editing. Just as the first child is the practice child. So it is with the first novel. And […]
Write your own damn novel!
This is something a tutor used to say to our class when we were learning to give critique to fellow writers. As a writer, with all our insecurities about our own writing, we get feedback from everywhere. Sometimes it’s good and sometimes it’s basically like a stab to the heart, the pain is excruciating and […]
Stuck again?
So I finished NaNoWriMo on 27th November. Yay! Happy days. I got an email from the NaNo team about what to do after the 30 days. I’m glad I got it because I was starting to think I would never go back and write again. They seemed to know that I needed a push. So […]
Your writing voice is perfect
I remember when I first started to write fiction, I didn’t know if I was writing properly but as fate/luck/whatever would have it I did a 10 week creative writing course. This was my first introduction to hearing different voices or styles of writing. Now, I hear you say, duh, didn’t you read any fiction […]