I read an article, written by a fellow author who I've never met, and the advice was very simple. Stop writing.
Odd, you might think. That this advice was given to authors by a fellow author. But it was very sound advice. You can get into a rut where you set yourself unobtainable goals and start to stress yourself when you don't hit your targets. As a result your output suffers in both volume and quality. This was the situation I found myself in.
After letting the article sink in I decided to follow the advice. I wouldn't, I resolved, write anything for a whole week. Fortunately I had planned ahead and have a month's worth of The Fallen prepared. Everything else was to be ignored.
I tidied my hard drive and backed up (was it really that long since last time???). I tidied my bungalow, watched a few films I meant to see and generally lazed about.
Then something unexpected happened. A story, almost fully-formed, popped into my head. The fourth installment of the Blue Jackets to be precise. I had a lot elements floating around in my head but when I removed the pressure they coalesced into a cohesive story. I have started to write it but already it feels a hell of a lot longer than parts 1-3. Could this be the first novel I've been threatening to write? I don't know but it will certainly be novella length at the very least.
Writing feels, for the first time in a while, like fun again. Happy days!
On 10th May, I will be giving a talk at Newcastle Central Library around the theme of 'Inspiration and eBooks' It should be a fun night with advice on how to break into the published world and some anecdotes on how I came to write about what I do!
Places are limited and need to be booked to guarantee entry on 0191 277 4100
Follow me on Twitter @GeordieWriter
Join the Blue Jackets on Facebook
Blue Jackets on Amazon
Growth Spurt: Blue Jackets Part 2 UK, USA
Induction: Blue Jackets Part 1 - UK, USA
Odd, you might think. That this advice was given to authors by a fellow author. But it was very sound advice. You can get into a rut where you set yourself unobtainable goals and start to stress yourself when you don't hit your targets. As a result your output suffers in both volume and quality. This was the situation I found myself in.
After letting the article sink in I decided to follow the advice. I wouldn't, I resolved, write anything for a whole week. Fortunately I had planned ahead and have a month's worth of The Fallen prepared. Everything else was to be ignored.
I tidied my hard drive and backed up (was it really that long since last time???). I tidied my bungalow, watched a few films I meant to see and generally lazed about.
Then something unexpected happened. A story, almost fully-formed, popped into my head. The fourth installment of the Blue Jackets to be precise. I had a lot elements floating around in my head but when I removed the pressure they coalesced into a cohesive story. I have started to write it but already it feels a hell of a lot longer than parts 1-3. Could this be the first novel I've been threatening to write? I don't know but it will certainly be novella length at the very least.
Writing feels, for the first time in a while, like fun again. Happy days!
On 10th May, I will be giving a talk at Newcastle Central Library around the theme of 'Inspiration and eBooks' It should be a fun night with advice on how to break into the published world and some anecdotes on how I came to write about what I do!
Places are limited and need to be booked to guarantee entry on 0191 277 4100
Follow me on Twitter @GeordieWriter
Join the Blue Jackets on Facebook
Blue Jackets on Amazon
Growth Spurt: Blue Jackets Part 2 UK, USA
Induction: Blue Jackets Part 1 - UK, USA
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