More of the Good and Less of the Bad and Ugly of Writing

In the last couple of posts I talked about wanting to write my current novel in a year. Before I started writing, I set down some ground rules to give myself the best possible chance of achieving the goal. I thought I'd share them here - some are obvious, some may not work for you, they're just things that helped me. 

I committed to writing five days a week for an hour. Initially I started with a word count, but I found if I didn’t make the word count it was discouraging. When I swapped to writing for a specific period of time, I still kept my word count spreadsheet, but tried not to fixate too much on the numbers.

I decided an hour was a long enough period of time to get something done, but not so long I felt I was giving up everything else, especially after a full working day. If the words were flowing, then I kept writing and sometimes didn’t even realise I had done more than the hour. That was especially true at weekends.

Setting a time limit rather than a word limit was helpful when I got to the editing phase, as I find it gets depressing when my word count diminishes.

I decided not to go for a target of writing seven days a week for a couple of reasons. The first one is fairly obvious – it’s easy to miss a day and then you can feel like giving up and not writing for a couple of weeks, or even months. Another reason is that I enjoy writing, and I want it to remain a pleasure rather than a chore. For me that means at least one day off. As I said these are things that worked for me.

There were weeks when I knew I wasn’t going to be able to make my target, for example the week we packed and moved house. I gave myself permission not to write for those specific times, but to begin the following week and get straight back into my routine, rather than let days or weeks meander on without writing. I felt better as I wasn’t beating myself up over not writing, and I was eager to get back into the story, because I was enjoying the flow I’d built up.

An hour a day, five days a week was a stretch, but it was also realistic. 

Writing time was writing time. There was no internet, email or social media, and I set other times to do research. When I got to a place where I needed to research something, I’d mark it with a comment and keep going. This was actually quite a difficult discipline to begin with, but it was incredibly useful and I’m sure it saved me heaps of lost time on detours through websites, blogs and other interesting but timewasting diversions. It was pure writing time, and because I’d told myself it was only an hour, I had to make the most of it.

In this post I shared a great way of working when I was able to devote longer periods of time to writing, for example a whole day or days.  

I didn’t edit during the first draft. This was incredibly difficult for me, but another useful learning tool as I didn’t spend a lot of time going over and over the same parts, editing them to death and then later deciding that section wouldn’t even make it into the final version. On days I found it hard to get started, I’d read through the scene(s) I’d written the previous day and do a little light editing to get me started. This was another way I managed to keep going and get the first draft finished without wasting a lot of time. It also stopped a lot of the self-doubt that comes when you read what you’ve just written. Rather than spending time worrying about whether it was any good, I just kept on writing. 

Time (when). When I have the option, I prefer writing in the morning as I feel a lot more creative at that time. During most of the time I was writing Still Death, I was working on a project with a company and working from their office. I had to start early, so I wasn’t able to write at my preferred time. However, I was leaving work at a reasonable time and generally getting home before my husband, so that became my writing time. I found once I got used to the routine of arriving home and settling into at least an hour of writing, the creativity was there. That was a really good learning experience as I’d always thought I did my best work in the morning. What this proved to me is – create a routine and stick to it, even if it isn’t what you consider to be perfect. 

Think positively. Without a doubt this is the hardest. It gets really difficult trying to quell the critical voice that keeps popping up. What makes you think you can write? Why would you succeed when others don’t? That scene is rubbish.

Negative thoughts are the easiest way to get off track and stop writing. I don’t think they ever truly disappear, but the trick is to be mindful of them, or the times when they’re likely to start up, and then change those thoughts to positive ones. It’s not easy, but like anything, the more you practice it the better you get.

Still Death will be available from 8th November, but you can pre-order it from the retailers below.  After the launch it will be $2.99 but at the moment you can pre-order it for 99 cents.  

Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Apple Store
Smashwords
Kobo Books 

Success: Mindset and Attitude

Last week I went to an evening presentation by Nigel Latta. He's well-known here, but probably not outside of New Zealand. Nigel is a forsenic psychologist and has hosted several television shows: Beyond the Darklands, The Politically Incorrect Guide to Teenagers and The Politically Incorrect Parenting Show, as well as writing books on these subjects.

I had no idea of the format for the evening, and considering the theme of a couple of my recent posts (here and here), I was quite amused when he said he was going to talk about the Psychology of Success, or 'How you get where you want to go'.

He's an articulate and amusing presenter, and kept his message clear and straightforward. 

• Plan: Know where you want to go or what you want to do. This world of ours is full of information and distractions that can quickly lead us away from what we really want to do.
• Work: He subscribes to the view that we can over-rate talent, and sometimes use it as a cop-out for not trying, i.e. I'm no good at maths, and I'm never going to be any good. If we want to gain new skills or improve at something, then we need to practice, and have the mindset that we can improve. He mentioned some of the research that I've read, that talent isn't fixed and our mindset and attitude is vital in determining our success or otherwise.
• Think: Because we're so busy just trying to keep up with life, we probably don't spend enough time thinking about what is really important to us. This probably links back to planning. If we need to spend time really practising those skills we want to improve, we don't have the time to be excellent at everything, therefore we need to select those things that are most important to us.

Here are some links if you're interested in reading more on mindset and attitude:
Talent isn't fixed
The Right Mindset for Success - Harvard Business Review blog 
The Effort Effect - Stanford Magazine

Success means different things to each of us. Nigel summed up the meaning of success for him - in the widest sense - as living a meaningful life, and in everyday interactions trying to make life a little better/nicer/happier for anyone he comes in contact with.

This idea isn't new, but it's good to be reminded that success shouldn't always be thought of in fame or financial terms.

As a side note to this, the event was held in one of the local schools. Parking was in various parts of the school grounds and the surrounding roads. I'd been directed to the tennis courts for parking. Several hundred people attended the event, and exiting the school grounds afterwards was obviously very slow. I sat patiently in my parking space for about ten minutes waiting to join the exit queue. The school hall had been cold, and to be honest, I was just happy to thaw out with the heater going full blast! From my parking space, I was looking at a driver in the queue. He was behind a driver who was very kindly letting everyone else out. The driver I could see looked as though he wanted to lean on his horn, but he must have remembered Nigel's comments, and refrained!

Busy is the New Rich

With the start of a new month, I've heard a few people making the comment, 'Where has the year gone?' With our third house move this year looming, I know where our eight months has gone!

It's been a busy year as we've sold, rented, bought and renovated. Added to which there is family, work, writing and that little thing called 'having a life'. The list is in no particular order, although 'having a life' got tagged on the end almost as an after-thought, as it's been for a while!

I hear you either tutting, or taking a big breath to tell me how much busier you've been. But wait a minute....

That second paragraph, while entirely true, was written a little tongue-in-cheek. I listen to people at work, friends, acquaintances and passers-by talking, and everyone is BUSY. Not just busy, but BUSY!!

We seem proud of the amount of hours we have to work and our lack of spare time. It's almost a badge of honour. A way of showing how important we are. No longer are we talking about the new car/sound system/television we have, but rather our lack of time to use these items. Even children aren't immune. They seem to spend their lives being ferried around to after-school classes/clubs/social events with weekends full of teams and sports.

I'm not sure if it's worse than it used to be, or if being on-call 24/7 with email, smartphones and gadgets makes it feel that way. If I could bottle something that solved our time deprived lives, and sell it, I know I'd make a fortune. 

There isn't really a one-size fits all solution. We have to find the answer ourselves. I think it begins with realising the effects this state of busyness has on us, keeping us in a state of near panic. If we're constantly running on adrenalin, we're not doing our physical and mental-selves any favours, and our decision-making capabilities are degraded.

Unfortunately, most of us aren't in a position to change everything in our lives. At the very least, I think we should stop for a few minutes at least once a day, and clear our minds of all those chattering thoughts that want to grab our attention. We should use the time to notice where we are and the things around us, and how we actually feel physically. In other words, to be exactly in that moment, rather than still continuing an argument we had earlier with someone, or still being angry with the driver who cut into the queue, or the other thousands of mostly inconsequential things that drag us away from enjoying NOW.

W.H. Davies wrote this poem in the early 1900s.

What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows.

No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.

No time to see, in broad day light,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night.

No time to turn at beauty's glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance.

No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.

A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

Someone once said they doubted anyone would ask for the words, 'Wish I'd spent more time at the office,' on their tombstone.
 
It's a beautiful world out there. Appreciate it.

Choosing Your Attitude

Yesterday I witnessed a most unusual incident, actually it was more than that, it was an extraordinary incident.

I was the third car at a junction, waiting to move onto a main road. It reasonably busy, as most people were on their way to work. My attention was on the two cars in front of me, but from what happened I guess there was a slight gap in the oncoming traffic, and the driver of the second car assumed the driver in front would go. You’ve guessed it, the first driver didn’t go, so the second car smashed into it.

I can hear you asking, so what’s unusual or extraordinary about that. In itself nothing, it’s what happened next that made it extraordinary. Both drivers got out of their cars. The female driver of the second car apologised, and was so obviously upset at causing the accident that the other driver, also female, gave her a hug.

I admit to a bit of gender bias here, but as I drove away after the incident, I was so impressed with the driver of the first car. The last thing anyone wants, or needs, on their way to work is to be involved in an accident. The damage wasn’t horrendous, but both cars will need to visit a garage. It wasn't an intentional act, but unfortunately our fast–paced lives seem to predispose us to anger. We react as if the other person did it intentionally, forgetting about the times we may have been in a similar situation and only narrowly missed causing an accident, and I certainly include myself in that.

If I wore a hat, I’d take it off to the lady yesterday morning. She turned what could have been an acrimonious encounter, into one that was resolved in a far more pleasant way. It certainly made me more aware (once again), of the importance (for our own well-being), of choosing our attitude rather than letting it be chosen by other people or situations.

On a lighter note: 

A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort.

Have a Happy Day

Over the past couple of months we’ve had our own little mayoral problem here in Auckland. Internationally it hasn’t caught on, unlike the Toronto mayor, but it has kept the local papers busy.

The reason I mention it here is that on my way to work I saw the headline that it was a big decision day for the mayor and whether he would keep his job. I scanned the headline as I walked past and then continued thinking about work concerns (well I was on my way there), and the other personal and writing thoughts pushing through.

In our lives there are days we will never forget. Some of them are planned and anticipated such as a wedding, a milestone birthday or anniversary, or the birth of a child. Others happen when we least expect it: meeting someone who will have a big impact on our life, illness or the death of someone close. Those particular days, whether happy or heart-breaking, are momentous, but they are only momentous to us, and possibly to a few other people we know. Even hearing of the death of a favourite actor or famous person is unlikely to have the same effect on us.

For most of the time we’re unaware of these momentous occasions in other people’s lives. The people walking along the street around you may be bubbling with excitement and anticipation over an upcoming event, or in the depths of misery over the loss of someone close or an illness or health diagnosis.
 
I recall being very aware of this a few years ago when my father died unexpectedly, and instead of going to work that morning I found myself flying back to England. I looked around at the other people on the plane and wondered about their reasons for travel: holiday, business, family or some occasion not so happy.

We don’t know what’s going on in the life of others so why not give them a break if someone reacts unexpectedly or unpleasantly to us. Sure they may just be grumpy and rude all the time, but that’s their problem. However, they may be going through the worst day of their life.

I know it’s a cliché for this time of year, but by treating other people kindly we never know the effect it may have on them.

I still remember the unexpected pleasure and boost of happiness I had when a stranger smiled at me and wished me a ‘Happy Friday’ on the way to work one day.
 
If nothing else it will make you feel good.

Spring Bliss

At the moment I’m feeling in harmony with nature. It’s early spring and just about light as I get up, which has allowed me to see a number of beautiful sunrises as I do my run.

Spring is my favourite season, bringing with it a sense of renewal and possibility. On a more down to earth level it’s warmer than winter and not as humid as summer can be. Even after a number of years in New Zealand, it still feels strange that Spring arrives late in the year rather than being something I looked forward to as soon as the Christmas decorations were packed away. But whatever the month of the year, I enjoy this feeling of newness.

We’re on the east coast and so I see more stunning sunrises than sunsets, and that too gives a feeling of limitless possibility at the start of a new day. I gaze spellbound at the vibrant reds and yellows appearing from the sea and feel a sense of awe at being able to experience this.

What I try to realise, especially on the not-so-good days, is that this is external to me. Spring bliss is there for me to experience whenever I want to.

A sunrise, spring flowers, a clear blue sky or whatever makes you feel good - these things only reveal what is already inside us. The secret is to find that place when the external world is not showing us the glorious sunrise, dainty snowdrops or sweet-smelling freesias.

Happy searching.

Dreams and Aspirations

Recently one of the little people wrote a story. The teacher was impressed and the little person was asked to read her story to other classes in the school. She's an avid reader who adores books and so was excited and pleased that other people enjoyed her story. Her dreams are now of being a writer.

Being excited about this lightbulb moment she told some friends she was going to be a writer. One of them commented that no-one would buy a book by a child.

I'm sure we all have friends like that - although whether they stay friends is another blog post altogether. It doesn't matter whether our dream is to write a book, climb Everest or find a cure for cancer, there is often someone who will ridicule the idea and tell us why we're wasting our time. I'm not talking about the person who points out realistic challenges but who still supports us, I mean the ones who don't have the vision and ideas, and only want to keep everyone else in their bland we're all the same and will never do anything special worldview.

We may never make the bestseller list, reach the peak of Everest or find that cure for cancer, but the journey to wherever our dream takes us is what is important.

Bits and Pieces

I wrote a short story last night. It's been a long time since I even had an idea for a short story as I’ve been busy with other projects, work and life in general. This one came out of the blue and mostly complete. The problem is that it came to me around 2 a.m. as I lay restless and tired, but not sleepy. You know what’s coming! I should have got up and actually written it. 

I remember most of it now as I sit at my laptop, though the sparkling prose isn’t quite as sparkling it was in the early hours. But I will persevere…

It’s interesting (for interesting you can read annoying/frustrating) how something that should help in your work can initially slow you down.

I have a shiny new toy, except that when a laptop is a requirement for your job it’s not a toy.

Recently I had problems with my (old) laptop which necessitated taking it back to factory settings. Fortunately it didn’t just die so I was able to ensure I had all my backups, but the reset meant I lost many of my customised settings in programmes. I recreated a lot of those settings, and now with the shiny new laptop I’m doing the same, plus getting used to the new operating system. 

New is not necessarily better, at least until you get used to it.

This week I’ve also been battling a back injury; hence the lack of posts as sitting hasn’t been an option for a few days. 

There is an old saying along the lines of, ‘you don’t realise how good it is not to have a headache until you have one.’ I can certainly agree with that one this week, when every movement has been accompanied by vocal noises ranging from a groan to something louder depending on the pain scale.

So that’s been my week in a few paragraphs. Sitting is still problematic, but my Kindle has been a boon as I've been able to read and make editing notes on the book I'm working on. Hopefully normal service will be resumed shortly.

Perspective and Being Too Tightly Zipped

I've just spent a few great days in Sydney. Your thoughts on that statement will probably vary depending on what part of the world you live in. Sydney is just under four hours flying time from Auckland, and is one of our closest destinations. Although that's further than Paris is from London (for example), it's a popular place to visit for a short trip from New Zealand.

I love visiting Sydney, and have considered moving there on a few occasions, though the things I love about it are some of the things that put me off moving there. It's a vibrant, busy, bustling city, and these days I prefer the quieter life.

There is a popular quote that says travel broadens the mind, but does it?

I think that if we have an open mind to begin with, then travel will challenge our assumptions, and give us new ideas and views of people and cultures. While it possibly won't change our beliefs, it should give us greater tolerance for others. But, and this is a big but, we have to have the right frame of mind, and a willingness to change our perspective.

My mother always said that some people were too tightly zipped into their own skin to look at situations from a different perspective, and unfortunately that's still true.

I believe that as people there is more that makes us similar, than makes us different.

I stood for a few minutes enjoying a view within listening distance of a French family. The parents were with their youngest child, who was about three, while two older boys played with a ball. The mother said something, and the three-year-old replied with, 'Pourquoi?'

My school French managed to make our most of the mother's answer, and again the child replied with the one word. This went on for a few minutes until the mother gave up, and passed the conversation onto the father, and I moved away smiling.

Pourquoi is French for why, and I'm sure every parent has had more than one why conversation with a toddler. They can seem never ending when you're in the middle of one!

The ferry trips across the harbour to Manly were lovely, and even at night it was pleasant to sit outside and watch the city lights.  The gardens and park along from the Opera House were filled with hyacinths and tulips, as it is a good 4-5 degrees warmer than here in Auckland, but it made me realise that Spring is just around the corner.

It's all about perspective.

Daydreaming

If you don't like sport, you'll probably be finding it difficult to divorce yourself entirely from the Olympics. Even in our distant part of the world, where the time difference means that most events are on overnight, there are repeats, the internet, and of course recording the bits you do want to see.

I wasn't particularly gifted at sports as a child. I've always been tall, and the sports teacher spent most of my school life telling me I should be good at high jump/long jump, running and whatever else we were doing, because I was tall. Telling me didn't make it so, but I did love watching those athletes stand on the podium clutching their medals

I only started running a few years ago, tricked into it by a friend and the guy doing the training. Much to my surprise I found I liked it, though I'm not sure 'like' is the right word. I don't leap out of bed thinking, oh goody time for a run. It never gets any easier, and while I'm running my brain keeps asking me what the hell I'm doing. I've not yet come up with an answer. What I do know is that I keep running, and as I've given up other sporting activities I don't enjoy, I guess that somewhere, well hidden, I enjoy running.

I'm not a fast runner, and I would hazard a guess that I'm not one of those elegant, athletic people that appear born to run, but I keep on dreaming that maybe I am.

I’ll be watching the marathon, though my longest distance so far is around 8km, with the dreams of childhood still in my head. Well, that's what writer's do; we think up the impossible and make it happen.

Deadlines and Positive Thinking

I've just finished a work project with a very tight deadline. I've had more than a few of those this year, and I enjoyed a wonderful moment of lightness as I uploaded the documents, and metaphorically watched them disappear.

Deadline is a very negative word. Out of interest I looked it up in the dictionary, the first two definitions were exactly as I had expected, but there was a third.

'(Formerly) a boundary around a military prison beyond which a prisoner could not venture without risk of being shot by the guards.'

And I thought my deadline was bad!

When I'm not actually stressing about a deadline I enjoy the work I do, and the fact that mostly I work from home.

I realise that it's not so much the activity, but how I view it, that defines how I feel about it.

So taking this idea further - enjoying every day is about looking at daily activities in a positive way.  Finding a way to make those tedious tasks more exciting or fun.  That's what we do with children, make a game of putting away the toys or clothes, or even eating their vegetables.

I'll let you know how it goes.

Keep Moving

One of the simplest ways I've found to get over a slight mental stumbling block, whether on my creative writing or non-fiction, is to move away from the computer.  Often it's just the equivalent of a walk to the water cooler.  For me this is to the fridge, or tap to fill my water bottle.  

I can't count the number of times I've mulled over a section of dialogue, the assessment questions I need to create, or a topic for this blog with a white fog drifting through my head.  I walk away from the computer and something comes to me.  It's like magic.

I change my perspective and my thoughts change.

I like that thought on a bigger scale as well. Change the way you look at things, and the things you look at change.

For a while every time I've thought about my WIP I've thought about how stuck I am with the plot, and yes, I'm over the 'losing the plot' jokes!

So I'm taking my own advice and changing my perspective. After all I'm only stuck if I decide I'm stuck and don't try to move forward.

Happiness PS

As I walked through Aotea Square to work yesterday morning I passed a lady I didn't know, (not an unusual occurrence I agree), she smiled as we passed and said, 'Happy Friday.'

I was already feeling quite happy (well it was Friday!), but it made me smile.

Such a simple thing, but I hope it made her feel as good as I did.

Try it out on Monday!   

Happiness

I'm just back from a few days away. Very restful days - walking on the beach and lots of reading. It was great, maybe not everyone's idea of how to spend a long weekend, but I enjoyed it.

Happiness can be elusive. One of those things we notice when it's not there, or when we experience it to an extreme.

While walking along the beach yesterday, we came to an area of channels running down to the sea; some were deep enough to mean wet feet, and as I watched I noticed how fast the water ran in those deeper channels.

Very like us I guess. Unless we make an effort it's easy to settle for the same thing - a feeling of not quite unhappiness, but definitely not close enough to what we should be feeling.

There are some things that maybe we can't change - we need to go to work etc.  But there are things we can change.

The past couple of months I've been working in an office in the city centre. I drive to the Park and Ride each morning between 6.30 and 7am to catch the bus. I made a deliberate choice from the beginning to smile and wish the bus driver a good morning as I took my ticket, and to thank them as I got off. Do you know what? Most smiled back and said something nice, but even if they didn't I felt much better for smiling. Not a great scientific experiment, or even original, but I don't care. It makes me feel good.

A few weeks ago I saw this article on where the world's happiest people are.  I did have an irreverent thought as I read the third paragraph - I spend a lot less than two-and-a-half hours a day doing housework!

Finishing on a positive note - reread the last paragraph of that article. The way to have positive experiences is to be positive, be aware of how you're feeling, and how you're projecting that emotion to others.

Okay lecture over!  Just make sure you have a GREAT week.

A Positive Outlook

As I've mentioned a few times on this blog, the 'other' side of my writing is in training and development.  I was a trainer for a number of years, and one of the things I noticed, couldn't help but notice in some cases, were the varying attitudes that people had about the training.

The majority saw the training as a way of learning something new that would help them in their job.  Some were desperate for the information, and knew exactly how the topics of the day would help them in various tasks.

For a few the training was a perk, and sometimes it was usefully focussed.  Occasionally the training was unwanted. As one person put it - my manager told me I had to come.

Guess which people got the most out of the training?

When we experience positive emotions our brains are flooded with dopamine and serotonin. These chemicals make us feel good, but they also help to make more neural connections in the brain, which in turn assists us to organise and file new information, retrieve it faster when we need it, and allows us to think more quickly and creatively.

Every time we experience positive emotions, dare I say it, happiness, we are priming ourselves to be more creative.

From Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience.

The constitution of the WHO states “Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” This may sound exaggerated but positive mood within the normal range is an important predictor of health and longevity. In a classic study, those in the lowest quartile for positive emotions, rated from autobiographies written at a mean age of 22 years, died on average 10 years earlier than those in the highest quartile. Even taking into account possible confounders, other studies “found the same solid link between feeling good and living longer.”

So a positive mood not only helps us learn and retain new things, but could also mean we live longer, as long as we don't get run over by the proverbial bus.

When I first moved to this house, I set up the spare bedroom as my office. It's a small room on the cold side of the house, and looks onto a high retaining wall, which means it gets very little sunshine. Guess what. It doesn't inspire me. Much of my writing time is spent at the dining table. It's in a sunny room with doors that open onto wooden decking, and from the deck I have a distant view of the sea. I feel happier here, and far more inspired.