This week I am delighted to welcome Elaina James to my blog. Elaina is a member of the RNA NWS. She was a childhood writer who in adulthood filled notebooks with poetry, song lyrics and ideas for stories... until one day she decided it was time to get started on actually writing a book. Here, she shares her personal writing rules.
In my day job I’m an accountant, a profession driven by rules. As a writer I cherish the freedom to be creative and spontaneous. The accountant in me however won’t allow my creativity to go unchecked. I have rules. Lots of rules. Disturbingly it wasn’t until I came to write this post that I realised quite how many. You’ll be relieved to know I’ve whittled down my list to the top five:
1 - Never rely on memory
Inspiration for a great new story, a compelling character or the perfect line of dialogue doesn’t always strike on demand as I sit poised in front of my keyboard. Instead my best ideas spring into my head at the most inconvenient moments, like when I’m just drifting off to sleep, all comfy and warm snuggled up in my bed. The temptation is to convince myself that I will remember it in the morning, and therefore don’t need to shuffle up the bed, fumble for a pen and notebook and scrawl in torch light to preserve these precious thoughts. The reality is my memory is useless. No matter how brilliant the idea is, or how well formed it seems at the time, once that moment has passed it will be forever lost. My main writing rule is therefore to always write down the ideas when they come to me. Of course at 2am in the middle of winter it’s not the easiest of rules to keep.
2 - Write what comes to you
Some writers plot in meticulous detail before they even begin to form their story. I am not one of those writers. Which is odd, because in every other aspect of my life I am a planner. When it comes to writing however, all I need is a character and a vague idea of destination before I pick up a pen. The trouble is I don’t just have one characters voice in my head, I have many, which means I’ll write the story for the character who shouts the loudest that day. When I get up in the morning I have no idea which story I will write, I just write. Unless of course I’m working to a deadline, at which point all those unruly voices have to learn a little patience. Even creativity has to adhere to prioritisation at times.
3 – Research
It doesn’t matter if its set in a far off historical location or on my doorstep in the present day, every story needs research. Whilst my first draft is usually written fairly quickly, my second draft is when I go back and fact check. I keep a folder of all the facts that I collect from internet searches and library visits, most of which won’t even end up in the novel but all help me to get a feel for the time or place I am writing about. I love researching locations, mainly because it’s a good excuse to go off exploring with my trusty camera in hand. The photos are great to look back on when trying to write a description later and saves me relying on my poor memory.
4 - Don’t set writing targets
I never set targets for how many words to write each day. It would just depress me. Some days I write very little, some days I write a lot. Is one better than the other? Not necessarily. It depends what I’ve written, rather than how much. As an accountant everything is measurable, as I writer, I love the freedom that nothing is.
5 - Accept procrastination…to a point
Usually I’m the kind of writer that will eagerly avoid mundane household chores and even turn down social events to sit at my desk and write because my characters are demanding attention. Sometimes however I can find any excuse to keep me from the keyboard, even mowing the lawn. Believe me, for someone who hates gardening that’s pretty drastic. I flit between feeling guilty for ignoring daily life and panicking that I’ve lost my love of writing. The trick I’ve learnt (or am learning) is to accept that both extremes are normal and neither is permanent.
Links: https://www.facebook.com/ElainaJamesWriter/ https://twitter.com/Elaina_James
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Comments (20)
It's interesting to hear you are also a planner outside of your writing. It's always baffled me how I can have such contrasting sides to my personality, and yet it seems to work for me. It's good to know that I'm not alone ;)
I chuckled at various points, especially as I often gets my best ideas in the shower. Is there a waterproof writing board to hang on the shower wall?! I also nodded in recognition as despite being a planner in every other aspect of my life, I too am much more fluid in my writing life.
Thanks for sharing, Elaina.