As stolen/inspired from Daniel Carpenter's debut blog post ( thank you Dan!).... it got me thinking about my own personal rules that I write to. I'm not saying that this is the way everyone should write, it's just a few thoughts about how I go about writing.
In no specific order:
1. Write. And if you can't write, think about writing. And if you can't think about writing, read, read, read, read, read until even the act of making a cup of tea feels like a story.
2. Go out. See other writers, poets, performance artists. I take most of my inspiration from listening to and reading other writers work, so go out to your local events and pay attention to what is happening around you.
3. Listen. I've heard some of the most interesting, heartbreaking, funny and unbelievable stories from talking to colleagues or overhearing conversations. I once heard a drunk man on the tram telling his nephew how to survive in prison.
4. Experiment. I recently picked up a horror novel for the first time since I was fifteen and ended up writing my first horror short story. It has now become one of my favourite pieces. Don't be afraid to experiment with genre.
5. Relax. Stress is one of the biggest killers of creative inspiration. When I'm stressed I get a black block at the front of my head that stops ideas getting through. Go to the gym, take a walk, have sex, water some plants, do something active that will de-stress you but keep your mind active.
6. Ask for criticism. One of the best ways to improve is to pass your work to an honest critic who feels your work isn't at its strongest, and the test out their methods and ideas of how to improve. It may not work but it will get you reflecting on what other readers like to read.
7. Talk. Talk about films, stories, novels, articles, documentaries... Constantly be analysing and looking at storytelling tools. Me and my partner are always pulling apart a film we've just watched reflecting on what worked and why or what partronised us or what bored us. This makes me reflect on the same mistakes I make in my writing and why they don't work.
8. Submit. Apply to competitions, magazines, websites, zines. It will help you to build a portfolio of work but regularly writing to spec and the knock backs will help you improve.
9. Enjoy. Enjoy writing or what's the point?
10. Support. Your peers are not your competition, they're your colleagues. Support other writers, help them succeed, celebrate their successes. We should learn from each other and be one big happy family. (sorry for the cheese)
So yeah, that's it. Just a few thoughts about my writing patterns and what helps me. I wonder how different each persons rules are? Thank you Dan for letting me steal from your blog, and goodnight :)
Wednesday, 26 May 2010
Saturday, 22 May 2010
Long time no see
Hi! I've been so caught up in work that I've had absolutley no time to think of writing, or even having creative thoughts at all. Spending all day sinking under a pile of paperwork and listening to grumpy managers and engineers who want your response 'right now!' is not what I call creative inspiration. On the other hand I am desperately trying to change the situation and have new projects to focus on.
First thing is the Bad Language book launch which is now happening on Wednesday 2nd June at The Bay Horse in the Northen Quater. Finally! We had a few issues with dates and venues but have finally settled on a date and I refuse to move it any more, even if the Queen came to beg me to move it. Not that she would. Bad Language are also working on their next event which will be a literature quiz night filled with many surprises!
Also, next week, on the day after my birthday, is the exciting Unsung Festival which I have been looking forward to for a long time! A whole day of cider, music, literature and art, at least I hope there's cider. I'm going to treat it as my real birthday seeing as I have to work all day on my actual birthday. Work is even less fun at the moment as I'm covering someone who usualy has so much work to do of their own that they do 30 hours over a month on adverage. I have to pick that up and maintain my own workload! Anyway, enough of work rants. More fun planned...
The next project is the World Cup Special with Bad Language. We're looking for short pieces of fiction or poetry centered around the World Cup, which I have to admit is quite hard when you're not into football. But then again, it was Joe's idea, who is a football enthusiast. The first piece has already been posted to the Bad Language blog, which gives you a taste of how you can write about football when you're not that enthusiatic about it.
The next personal piece I'm working on is the inspiration from Russell Morgan's picture, as mentioned in the last blog. I've been throwing ideas around for a while but have been waiting until my words have stopped drying up from work. I'm working on a very short micro fiction, or extract, about a dead girl who is stuck in a man's mind due to his memories. She cannot move on until the man stops thinking of her so much, and also faces much frustration as he changes and manipulates both their memories into something that isn't truth. This may prove to be quite a complex idea to fit into a short piece, which is why I say extract.
I've started reading The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers, which makes my skin tingle. It follows the story of a mute man and his relationships with the people around him. I am up to the moment when he allows a lonely, lost, drunk man to move into his home and share his life. I find the ideas about how satifying the protagonist finds the relationships in his life romatic; the rhythms and patterns in McCullers language is like reading a song.
I'm also reading Watchmen, old skool I know, but I have been reading it on and off since the big craze about it started. I'm not really into superhero comics but I enjoy the relationship side and the idea of how focusing on the negative side of society can make you corrupt. It's quite a fun novel but I also enjoy how it's influenced by real life events and the philosophical ideas behind the plot.
That's all I've got to say for now. The short piece about Russel Morgan's art will follow shortly, and I am also writing interview questions for my first two artist interviews. I hope to see people at the official book launch where you'll hear readings from the performance poets/writers featured in the new book, visual/audio literature, art work and possibly live music. Also, if you're in Manchester next weekend please make it along to Unsung, that looks to be set to tickle your artists taste buds. Farewell for now!
First thing is the Bad Language book launch which is now happening on Wednesday 2nd June at The Bay Horse in the Northen Quater. Finally! We had a few issues with dates and venues but have finally settled on a date and I refuse to move it any more, even if the Queen came to beg me to move it. Not that she would. Bad Language are also working on their next event which will be a literature quiz night filled with many surprises!
Also, next week, on the day after my birthday, is the exciting Unsung Festival which I have been looking forward to for a long time! A whole day of cider, music, literature and art, at least I hope there's cider. I'm going to treat it as my real birthday seeing as I have to work all day on my actual birthday. Work is even less fun at the moment as I'm covering someone who usualy has so much work to do of their own that they do 30 hours over a month on adverage. I have to pick that up and maintain my own workload! Anyway, enough of work rants. More fun planned...
The next project is the World Cup Special with Bad Language. We're looking for short pieces of fiction or poetry centered around the World Cup, which I have to admit is quite hard when you're not into football. But then again, it was Joe's idea, who is a football enthusiast. The first piece has already been posted to the Bad Language blog, which gives you a taste of how you can write about football when you're not that enthusiatic about it.
The next personal piece I'm working on is the inspiration from Russell Morgan's picture, as mentioned in the last blog. I've been throwing ideas around for a while but have been waiting until my words have stopped drying up from work. I'm working on a very short micro fiction, or extract, about a dead girl who is stuck in a man's mind due to his memories. She cannot move on until the man stops thinking of her so much, and also faces much frustration as he changes and manipulates both their memories into something that isn't truth. This may prove to be quite a complex idea to fit into a short piece, which is why I say extract.
I've started reading The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers, which makes my skin tingle. It follows the story of a mute man and his relationships with the people around him. I am up to the moment when he allows a lonely, lost, drunk man to move into his home and share his life. I find the ideas about how satifying the protagonist finds the relationships in his life romatic; the rhythms and patterns in McCullers language is like reading a song.
I'm also reading Watchmen, old skool I know, but I have been reading it on and off since the big craze about it started. I'm not really into superhero comics but I enjoy the relationship side and the idea of how focusing on the negative side of society can make you corrupt. It's quite a fun novel but I also enjoy how it's influenced by real life events and the philosophical ideas behind the plot.
That's all I've got to say for now. The short piece about Russel Morgan's art will follow shortly, and I am also writing interview questions for my first two artist interviews. I hope to see people at the official book launch where you'll hear readings from the performance poets/writers featured in the new book, visual/audio literature, art work and possibly live music. Also, if you're in Manchester next weekend please make it along to Unsung, that looks to be set to tickle your artists taste buds. Farewell for now!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)