Write your way through 2020

This is that time of year where people reflect on what they've been up to in the past year, and resolve to achieve a particular goal in the new year. I know from conversation with some of my writing friends that we have a terrible tendency as creatives to beat ourselves up over not getting published, or not getting our particular pet project finished, or for not even dusting down the laptop or getting as far as sharpening the pencil.

Writing - if it's something you enjoy and you want to do - is like anything else in life. If for 2020 you want to get fit, buff your body or get yourself a trim beach butt, then you have to exercise. It won't happen any other way. And if you want to see your work in print and in bookshops, then you have to write.

But how can we do this, I hear the cry, I have no time, I need to learn, I don't know where to start....

Writers, or those who want to write successfully - which for many means mainstream publication, although I would say that if you write for pleasure then you're a writer anyway - have to simply get on with the act of writing. Whether it's opening up a notebook and jotting words and sentences down with your favourite biro, or tapping away on your iPad, you simply have to do it.

To write successfully, as with anything else you want to achieve, writing has to become a part of your life routine. And to do that, especially if you also have to work and have a family to care for, you need to find those spaces in your routine that allow you to do it. So, for example, in the same way someone who likes baking will make sure that they churn out the perfect scones for tea on a Saturday afternoon because that is when they have time to do it, the writer will sneak into a corner of their home (or the back of the car, or under a tree in the park, or in a corner table at the cafe) and spend an equivalent amount of time writing.

One of the wonderful things about writing is that you can do it anytime, anyplace, anywhere. I've managed to draft up a poem while walking the dog, thanks to the record function on my phone and not caring one hoot that passers by consider me an utter oddity for muttering away seemingly to myself.

One of the drawbacks of writing is that unlike the scones, the finished product may take days, weeks, months or even years to complete, so you can become pretty disheartened. I have been co-writing a non-fiction book with my daughter since 2015. We are both full time workers and mothers, the research has been intense, the subject matter complex. But we are getting there, a few hours most Sunday afternoons, a few paragraphs at a time. We still have two chapters, an introduction and conclusion to go plus all the revising, editing and rewriting, but it's steadily happening. It's taken the slow forming of a Sunday habit to get this far.

Other writers I know dedicate an hour per evening most evenings to their writing project once their kids have gone to bed. In fact, one of these sets an alarm so it is exactly one hour, which she claims to give her an intensely focused hour of writing. I can't contradict her because it seems to work perfectly well for her and she's in the throes of her third novel. Still others prefer the early hours and will do the same but before breakfast. You simply have to find that time of day that suits you best and that day of the week that suits you best.

And get selfish. Your time is so precious, so use it to fulfill that writing dream. There are people who go to their sports practice every week religiously and their families support them. You can be exactly the same about your writing. Okay you won't win Olympic gold but you will be the creative writer you want to be.

So back to New Year writing resolutions. The 20% or so of people who purportedly stick to their New Year Resolutions, whatever those may be, are those who:

-     set  one clear goal which can be broken down into small achievable steps
-     take small, steady steps towards that goal and don't try to overreach themselves in one go
-     enlist the support of family and friends
-     ask for support (if you need to get fit, you might hire the services of a personal trainer, or join a gym. It's the same with writing; join a creative writing class; or join a writer's group, or talk to writers you know and ask for help - most of us simply can't say no to helping aspiring writers do the writing that they love to do themselves)
-     cut themselves some slack; one slip up should not derail progress to achieving a goal

Here are some ideas for getting your writing on course in 2020:

Make writing a part of your everyday life

Even if you're not yet ready to start writing a book, experiment with finding that time and place that works for you and write. Even if it's just twenty minutes a day accompanied by your morning coffee and croissant before the kids get up. Twenty minutes is enough to write a short blog post, or a letter to a friend, or some draft lines of a poem, or some notes for a new chapter, or even the first paragraph of a novel. Once writing is part of your life, it will start to flow and by February you will have some material you have produced and can revise and work with.

Fall in love with writing

And I mean the process itself: savour the smell of a brand new notebook; feel the way your favourite pen lets the ink flow across the page; shape those words with a sense of pleasure; sit in comfort, in your favourite spot, where the view and the sounds around you don't distract but perhaps add to the enjoyment of the moment. Don't just focus on the end product - this could take years in the making and impatience will make you give up. Just enjoy the moment of writing, however brief those moments seem.

Read new material

Writers read. Good writers read a lot. Set off some sparks in your creativity by reading something new, in a new genre or form. If you read sci-fi, pick yourself up some poetry; if you like romance, try out a fantasy novel. Give your brain a holiday from the  usual and it will reward you with fresh ideas.

Share your writing more

Find a group of other writers willing to do the same and who you know will give you constructive, kind criticism and fresh insights into your work. Meet regularly and learn from them and with them. The support and confidence you will gain, and the motivation to write more is immeasurable.

Set out a specific goal

Whatever your goal is, don't be frightened of it. It can be as extravagant or as humble as you like. From 'I am going to write one short story I am proud of' to 'I am going to write a fantasy series to rival GOT'. Then this time next year, see how far you have got. With a bit of work, you will have exceeded your own expectations.

My goal in 2020 is to finish at least a good working draft of that non-fiction book. Get in touch and let me know what you've set for yourself!

Time and Space for Writing

When and How?

It's what every writer I've ever met seems to crave - time and space for writing.

Carving out a chunk of time from a busy life just to sit and write seems to be incredibly difficult.  But no-one can think of being a writer if they don't write and in the same way as footballers make time to train and play their sport of choice, or swimmers spend regular sessions in the pool, so writers should and could set aside a session of writing time.

So why does it seem so hard?  I've been trying to be a writer for over thirty years.  But I relegate this most desired of activities to such a low place of importance in my daily life.  I work, I do the shopping, the household chores, walk the dog, visit family and friends, clean the car, far more readily than dig out my laptop or tablet or notepad and just write.  Perhaps I view writing as a guilty pleasure rather than as a hobby or a job.  And because I probably look at it as that - something that I do when everything else has been done - people around me don't expect me to put my writing first and certainly not before them.

So this year, with the help of Gibraltar Writers, I have finally found a session - only small and modest - where all I do is write.  No TV in the background, no phone to interrupt me (mobiles on silent only), no kids  breaking my train of thought, no dog to take to have an untimely wee, no hearing the washing machine telling me the kids' uniform and hubby's trousers are ready to hang out to dry, not even wondering whether the kids have had their supper (their dad is perfectly capable of seeing to their needs).  One Tuesday a month, I can go to the John Mackinosh Hall, to a dimly lit and sparsely furnished room where internet connectivity is so poor that social media sites can rarely interfere with my train of thought, turn on the laptop and just write.  Okay, so two hours a month is hardly going to see the 21st century version of War and Peace written, but I produced a short story draft last month, and this month, maybe the first draft of a competition entry.

Which takes me to the next point.  Space.  I live in a pretty cramped apartment.  Tucked into a corner of the living room is my desk and computer.  Space to write, physical space is important.  It's nice to have a desk and computer.  I have books on shelves near me and in the drawers I have notes and old print outs of manuscripts.  So far so good.  But just behind me is the TV.  It's where the family watch evening programmes.  Not conducive to uninterrupted thinking. 

Space for writing is about mental space as much as physical space.  We have the technology these days - tablets with a plethora of novel writing apps can help you achieve that goal of writing the novel.  But it's no more sophisticated really than paper and the back of an envelope if you cannot think your plot, or dream up your characters.  Just as a swimmer will need a pool or some body of water to master their craft, or a footballer a pitch or a basketball player a hoop high on a wall and a ball, so a writer needs space physical and mental to dream up those stories and string those words together.  J K Rowling did it in cafes and hotel rooms.  The John Mackintosh Hall monthly session is a step in the right direction for me.  And in the summer, there are shady, quiet corners of Alameda Gardens, begging to be used to dream up a best seller!