preparation

Five simple tips on how to get published

July 17, 2007 By darren 2 Comments

So you have lots of ideas, your creativity has gone into overdrive and you believe you can be a successful writer, and why not. The next stage, unless you are going to publish yourself (and that is not a bad idea, check out www.lulu.com), is to get your ‘book’ into the wide world. With this in mind I thought I’d share a few tips with you.

Research your publisher. It is no good sending your ideas off to any and every publisher on the list. Find a publisher who has published similar books and also, if possible, ask them what their publishing policy is. What books do they publish, just in case you’ve got the wrong end of the stick.
Grab the publisher’s attention. A plain brown envelope, with a neat resume and outline is very fucntional, but believe me, you need to do a little more in order to get noticed. But remember subtlety works very well too.
Send in a synopsis and two chapters. A publisher needs to know how you write, what you write and a little about you (only because they are nosey). Send in a couple of chapters but they don’t need to be the first two, perhaps the best chapters are hidden away within your tome.
If you haven’t finished the book, estimate the time it will take and double it. It is highly likely that you’ll miss your estimated deadline and so build in some time. Then when you send it in ahead you’ll be loved and the you’ll know how long it really takes you to write without any added pressure.
Write about what you know. It is no good writing about the history of voles if you know nothing about them. So research what you write. There is nothing more annoying to an editor than someone writing about something and getting it all wrong.

And remember, all these tips come from me, a publisher, so get going.

Filed Under: perspiration, preparation, writing

Five more top ingredients for compelling writing

July 3, 2007 By darren Leave a Comment

Seeing as the previous post of ‘Compelling writing ingredients’ was enjoyed by so many, I thought it only fair to return to the creative cookbook and find a few more ingredients you could add to your literary larder.

Remember, a good recipe doesn’t use all the ingredients you have all of the time, and sometimes the subtle flavour is more effective than the one that hits on the first mouthful. But enough of this extended metaphor, let’s get on with the post.

Conflict – two or more characters, in disagreement, in any shape or form will draw the reader in! ‘No, it won’t.’ ‘yes, it will, your reader wants some kind of resolution… or the sequel.’
Emotion – love, hate, joy and fear, if you can get the reader to engage with these emotions you’ll have them hanging on every word you write. Why do you think love and horror stories are so well read!
Progress – a story, should move from A to B, it shouldn’t be static. Even waiting, as in for Godot, is progress; implied progress counts in writing if not in business.
Variety of language – the use of passive vocabulary, which consists of words people know the meaning of, or understand in context, but don’t use everyday, is something to keep well stocked. Try eating the dictionary.
Use your voice – all great cooks have a signature dish, or a specialty, as a writer you need to find an ingredient that is your own, unique to you. Sounds daunting but it is an ingredient you already have stocked, you simply need to use it.

So out with the utensils and start cooking. You have a story to write.

Filed Under: inspiration, preparation, quick tips, writing

Clear but present creation

May 3, 2007 By darren Leave a Comment

The definition of ‘create’ is to bring into existence. We use our imagination to bring something into existence, this is the creative act. Imagination is often sparked by making new connections. By connecting two seemingly unconnectable things we can create something new and original.

This may lead us to think that the more ‘cluttered’ our minds are the more creative connections we can make. I used to think this way and was heard to say, ‘it’s not a mess, it’s a creative workstation,’ or words to that effect. However, I also knew that I wasn’t being as creative as I could be. I would often have a ‘spark’ of imagination and then it would quickly be snuffed out with all the clutter.

This led me to notice a potential paradox between filling my mind with potential connections, to allow and enhance creativity, and clearing my head in order to develop the creative ideas. It became obvious to me that I needed to foster both, however, what I was calling my ‘creative chaos’ was actually nothing of the sort. It was simply unordered and unfinished mess and clutter. This mess would distract me and so when the inspiration came it quickly left and turned into more unfulfilled clutter.

So what have I done? Well I do try to use David Allen’s Getting Things Done to keep on top of all the things I have to do and that has helped enormously. I keep my mind clear of distractions and therefore focus on new connections. I’ll come back to Getting Things Done another time, but until then here are a couple of things that have become guiding creative principles to me:

Keep my head clear – make lists of what I need to do
Keep my desk clear – space allows creativity to grow
Keep adding potential connections – read widely and interact with broadcast media (don’t just sit and watch TV but talk back to it, make connections as you watch)

Put simply it means clearing space to allow the flow of new ideas. It isn’t rocket science but then neither is breathing, but it is so much easier to do without a blocked nose.

Filed Under: creativity basics, inspiration, preparation

How to improve your vocabulary

March 11, 2007 By darren Leave a Comment

I went to school with a very clever chap. He was always revising, and always getting good grades. When it came to his English exam he did all the usual study or grammar and reading of the set texts. He also spent several minutes each day reading the dictionary. At the time I thought this extreme, but he got a much better grade at English than I did.

Creative writing involves words. The more words we know, the more creative we can be. I am not advocating using words that no one knows, or are so obscure the reader hasn’t any idea what you are saying. Having a large vocabulary and one that is also growing is an essential tool for a writer.

One way of improving your vocabulary is to sign up for the wonderful Dictionary.com’s ‘word of the day’. You can subscribe to the RSS feed and you’ll get a new word each day. I have been using this for a while now. Each day I get a word and if I don’t know it, or I am unsure of its meaning, I take a moment or two to learn it. It may be too late to improve my English grade but I live in hope that my writing will become more colourful.

Word of the Day

Filed Under: preparation, writing

How to avoid procrastination

March 5, 2007 By darren 2 Comments

The demon for many creative people is procrastination. Many ideas lay dormant and unrealized as other ‘things’ take our energy and effort. There are many reasons as to why we procrastinate and some are deep rooted in our psychological make up. However, there are a few quick and easy tips to help you overcome ‘creative’ procrastination.

Liver and Ice Cream – Sometimes we simply don’t feel like doing that creative work, but if it is our livelihood then it is a matter of importance. Give yourself a ‘gift’ if you spend some time doing what needs to be done. Rewards can be a very good incentive; have a little ice cream after you’ve eaten the liver.
Allow yourself to make a s**t first draft – I know many creative people, including myself, who seek perfection in everything they do, and if they feel perfection is out of reach will not even make the effort. This is impossible! Therefore, don’t worry if your first creative attempt doesn’t work. Creativity is as much a journey as a final destination.
Allow yourself to fail – closely linked to the point above, sometimes what we create, or make, doesn’t work. This is allowed. Don’t worry, we only truly grow by failing. This is a universal truth, trust me.
Make sure you know what you want – we can put off attempting our creative project because we are not sure what we really want to do. Knowing the goal of our project keeps us focussed. If we are focussed it becomes difficult to procrastinate.
Remove those distractions – obvious, but those of us who procrastinate will keep the TV remote or the google search box within reach when we should know better. You may find it useful to take yourself away from your comfort zone to do that creative masterpiece, or even unplug the modem.

These ideas only touch the surface but for serial procrastinators like myself, they are well worth spelling out time and time again.

If you want to to do some deeper digging into how and why we procrastinate, and therefore how to overcome it, take a look at The Now Habit by Dr Neil Fiore in our book store.

Filed Under: preparation, quick tips

How to prepare for an art journey

February 23, 2007 By darren Leave a Comment

If you are an artist and would like to get out and about to do your thang, then preparation is very important. It is no good getting somewhere and then realising you’ve left a vital component back in your studio or in your art box.

Help is at hand in this wonderful and very comprehensive article by innowen at DIY Planner. Not only do you get a list of bits to remember, but links to the places they can be bought and also the practicalities of using all the bits and pieces. You want to be visually creative on the move? Then take a look at the following link…

Have Art, Will Travel | D*I*Y Planner

Filed Under: preparation

Launchy… free software to aid your creativity

February 14, 2007 By darren 1 Comment

One of the frustrations with working creatively on a PC is the time it takes to move from an idea to creating with a specific application. It is far too easy (OK, I am talking windows here) to have an idea and then stumble around trying to find the application to use.

One solution is to have your desktop covered with shortcuts. However, I am a firm believer in Desktop Zen. My PC desktop has nothing on it at all and my sidebar is on auto hide. Less distractions equal more creative productivity, for me. Another option is to create special toolbars for those creative moments. I have used this for a while. A toolbar for web design apps, a toolbar for graphic apps and so on – as you can see I collect applications, [which could be an issue to deal with in the future.] The problem with this, and also the basic structure of Windows, is ‘where will the app I want be?’ Do I go start> all programs> or do I go toolbar> web>? Then the question is how have I labeled the shortcut? Where is Paint Shop Pro? Is it under graphics, Paint Shop Pro or Jasc Software? All of these, minor distractions and irritations, can hinder my creativity… until now.

Enter Launchy. I was skeptical when I first read about this wonderful little application. Basically it is a little, free Windows utility, that lets you forget about shortcuts, toolbars and start menus. It has a small memory footprint and sits silently in the background until you need an application.

Case study: I have an idea for an image and need to fire up Paint Shop Pro. Previously I would have been struggling to remember where it was and how to get it. Now I simply hit the alt and spacebar at the same (ish) time and up pops launchy. Then I start to type. By the time I have typed P-A-I for Paint Shop Pro, it has found the icon, and by pressing enter the program is firing up.

I think this is one of the best ‘free’ applications around, and ideal for creative types. So take a look at the website and see how this amazing simple program could help with your creative inspiration.

You can find out more here

Filed Under: preparation, software

Free novel writing software – yWriter

November 2, 2006 By darren Leave a Comment

There is an old adage that says nothing in life is free. Well that isn’t true for the above. As I start out on Nanowrimo all the planning for this month of self-punishment has been done in yWriter a wonderful piece of free software, from Simon Haynes, who has also written some published novels using this very same software. Designed by Simon specifially to be used for writing – by a writer for a writer – yWriter is really great.

It takes a while to get used to, the GUI isn’t the most pleasant and it is obviously for the more literary minded, don’t expect stunning landscape vistas to inspire you as you type away. I have had to restart several projects as I learnt to use the program by clicking and typing (yeah OK, I should have read the online help, but hey, who does?) but even though these are negative points the software does work, is very functional and is perfect for planning that novel… and writing it too. But it never claimed anything other than being a functional piece of software.

So, if you need something that will keep, organise and develop your ideas then check out yWriter, surely one of the best pieces of free software out there.

Filed Under: inspiration, preparation, software

How to refine a story plot idea?

October 19, 2006 By darren Leave a Comment

There is a wonderful article by fellow Nanowrimo participant Innowen, at DIY planner. If you need some advice on sorting out the plot then there are some great ideas here, and as you can see, they havn’t simply been plucked out of the air, but have been of practical help…

… now where are my plot cards?

Actually, I’ll be telling you all how I’ve pulled together my ideas for Nano in the next few days.

Filed Under: inspiration, links, preparation

Nanowrimo

October 6, 2006 By darren Leave a Comment

Nanowrimo stands for National Novel Writing Month and can be found here. Basically you sign up and attempt to write a 50,000 word novel (novella?) in the month of November, along with a whole bunch of others who are wanting to do the same thing – visit the site as they explain it much better than I can.

You’ll either love the idea or hate it, depending on your personality type, however, if you really need a little push to get writing then this could be just for you (and all the others who sign up).

Filed Under: perspiration, preparation

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