A truth.

Okay so that is a weird title.  But I wasn't really sure what to call this - although I guess musing would be better.  I am not going to change it though as that would go against everything that this posting is about.  I was reading a link that was put up on Facebook, entitled '25 Insights into becoming a better writer.' In fact, here is the link and I urge all aspiring writer's to just have a read as it shows that all writer's have the same issues when it comes to writing!

One overlying rule that I took from this early on is this: Don't be afraid to write badly.  Find a way to turn off your inner editor, and just write.  Only turn the inner editor back on once all of the words are on the page.  The process of writing isn't a problem, it's the fact that we are our own worst critics when it comes to writing.  The number of times in the past that I have written a good deal of words, then deleted the whole lot 'in a huff' at myself for writing such rubbish.. well if I had £5 for every time I did that, I would be rich!

So in summation, my advice is to read through that list of snippets that other writers have given, and thank you! (Just in case by some miracle one of those writers ever reads this!)
My advice to myself and to anyone who wants it is:

1. Just write, and don't be afraid of writing nonsense.
2. 'Don't be afraid to write rubbish' - Pretty much the same as point 1, but so important it's worth mentioning twice!
3. Never throw any writing away, keep it for a rainy day - you never know when it might come in handy!
4. Leave the editing for when you are finished with putting the words on the page.  Only when the first draft is done should the editor in you come out and see the words.
5. Don't finish the first draft and immediately start editing.  Leave the words to 'simmer' for a day or more.  (It's amazing what happens to them whilst they are left alone.  If you immediately edit, you will undoubtedly break it!)
6. Keep calm and carry on.
7. Make time to write, even if you don't really want to do it, try and get something down on the page.
8. Give yourself a word limit and try to keep to it every day (this is a good one for a single story, but also good for multiple 'activities'.
9. Don't ever stop or give up permanently. (this one is wishful thinking!)

I think that will do, I have pontificated enough and so shall finish this blog here.  Thank you all for reading and as always, if you have anything to comment or criticise or add, please leave a comment below! 

Best Wishes

Neil

Update on one link

OK, so it turns out that the link to VYM that I have in my first ever blog might not work for windows computers.  I do the majority of my writing using Linux Mint, not Windows, so couldn't tell if it did or didn't work in Windows, so please forgive the oversight!

I did a quick Google and found a new site that claims to be VYM for windows which is being tested to see if it works by Annie Green, (thanks Annie) who deserves a plug to her blog for her trouble!  I shall confirm this one way or another as soon as I can!

Sorry for any confusion that this may have caused!

Neil

A215 (My first ever Blog!)

Now that I have the course material I thought it best to make a start on the work.  The course doesn't officially 'start' until the 1st October, but since the book is here I might as well get a move on with it!

I have read about clustering and figured that to save paper and hand cramp from using a pen, I would have a look for a tool on the pc for creating these clusters. (a cluster is very similar to a mind map) Since I use Linux Mint, (Ubuntu not Debian release) I easily found a couple of likely candidates using the package manager.  The one that stood out for me most was the quirky entitled VYM (view your mind) which I believe works on all platforms.

When it comes to free writing there are lots of helpful bits and bobs of advice out on the interweb, so I won't link any at this time.  However, I will say that I have made some good use of a web timer that since I type all my free writes does a great job of telling me to stop writing.  It's called Timer Tab and is brilliant as a countdown timer in my browser because it saves me needing my watch or phone at hand when I am free writing.  I must point out that I use Google chrome as a browser, and have not checked whether it works on all other browsers.. I shall leave that to anyone who fancies giving it a try!

I would like to thank all of the sites that I have linked and those that I haven't, but use regularly anyway. 

That is all for this blog.  I hope to add more in the near future, I just have the small matter of writing material first!