hiding my writing on the train

Posted on 05/04/2011 by inktuition

Is there a fascination about people who write in public? Maybe a narcissistic perception that someone on a train writing things down must obviously be writing about YOU?

Well, maybe. Train journeys can be irritating for all kinds of reasons – but I have to keep reminding myself that there may be something about the laddish conversations, the take-away food odours, or the man beside me who keeps sucking his teeth, which could suggest a character trait or a nightmare sequence in my novel.

The only challenge, I guess, is to hide the observations I’m making in my notebook from the woman beside me with bad breath and fleshy elbows.

are all writers fussy about fonts?

Posted on 04/04/2011 by inktuition

When I’m doing creative writing, or even writing a news story or report, I can’t let anything get in the way: not a keyboard that sticks, not a noise in the room that’s annoying, and certainly not a font that’s distracting.

The only font I can use to create is Times New Roman 12pt. Anything else takes up for too much attention and gets in the way of what I’m trying to say – like driving a car and consciously having to think about which gear I’m in.

However, for writers who can’t make up their minds which font to use – for fear it might convey the wrong message – there is a phenomenon called Continue reading →

why shouldn’t writers and novelists get paid?

Posted on 31/03/2011 by inktuition

On Radio 4’s Today programme this morning, I heard Monica Ali, author of The Untold Story, having to defend the fact she has written a commercially viable novel.

OK, so the ‘what if’ plot focuses on the imaginary scenario of Princess Diana having faked her death to escape media attention. And, from a marketing point of view, this is perfectly timed – what with the royal wedding of William and Kate a months away. Some of the commentators were shocked that the author of literary, character-driven novel Brick Lane could descend to such depths as writing popular fiction, and that it would “be hard to take the literary hard ground after a book like this”.

Monica responded in the Today interview by saying Continue reading →

pack up your troubles in your… pencil case?

Posted on 29/03/2011 by inktuition

A worry shared is meant to be a worry halved, but apparently writing down your worries on paper can help ease anxiety and prevent the memory getting blocked (especially before an exam).

Expressive writing – where people can let their problems spill out onto the page, and is known to have psychological benefits in terms of making it easier to cope with issues – is just one of the techniques used by teachers in Washington County to help students deal with test anxiety.

The study tested students about to take their high-school final exams, asking those with high anxiety to write down their fears for 10 minutes before the test. The students who did the writing outperformed their non-writing peers in the test by Continue reading →

a counter-intuitive cure for writer’s block

Posted on 26/03/2011 by inktuition

Is inspiration all a writer needs...?

Writer’s block is never something that has plagued me. I make a living as a writer and editor, and a deadline makes writers’s block a bit of a joke; there’s no time for such narcissistic indulgences.

Which is why I was intrigued by a story in The New Yorker, brought to my attention by the wonderful The Daily Post, about how a psychotherapist cured a screenwriter from writer’s block. The method, as I understand it, involved Continue reading →

Writing with a little help from your friends

Posted on 23/03/2011 by inktuition

You can never underestimate the power of friends who also lead a writing life when it comes to working up ideas for novels, books, magazines, changes in career, or any other writing project.

An evening at a friend’s house last night with three writers was filled with ideas shared, problems solved, plot lines explored – and a notebook full of interesting challenges and crises for our main characters.

So, within four hours, we Continue reading →

persisting in adversity

Posted on 23/03/2011 by inktuition

I’ve persisted today, even when I felt like giving up.

Sitting with a client suffering from depression two years after a bereavement – who just ‘gets rid of’ her days – makes me appreciate the joy I have in my life. I wanted to escape the chill of her room and the critical sharpness of her gaze. But I stayed.

Just as I have stayed with WordPress (now on my Blackberry) in spite of its technical problems, so I can commit to my postaday.

I feel that if I let it slip just one day, it would give me an excuse to slip others.

And if I abandoned that woman, what other pain would I attempt to escape from?

great quote about originality in writing

Posted on 21/03/2011 by inktuition

“Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth (without caring twopence how often it has been told before) you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it.”

C. S. Lewis

True creativity means focusing on your target audience (what writers have known for years…)

Posted on 20/03/2011 by inktuition

New research has proven what writers have known for years: devising ideas to entertain and delight your audience is what stimulates one’s creativity. Don’t just focus on what’s interesting to you personally, as that might just fail to engage the interest of people who might want to buy and read what you’ve written.

Apparently, bearing in mind how someone will benefit from your idea can help you Continue reading →

Happy St Patrick’s Day

Posted on 17/03/2011 by inktuition

Is it just me, or has the world suddenly gone crazy for St Paddy’s? It’s only in recent memory that 17 March becomes the cue for card shops to transform into a sea of emerald green, for shamrocks and cartoon leprechauns to be emblazoned in front windows, and for men in big, funny hats to enjoy daytime pints of Guinness outside pubs on the high street.

Happy St Patrick's Day.

Is it just me, or does St Patrick’s Day prompt more Continue reading →

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writing my life and soul

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