Wednesday 23 April 2014

Writing Habits

One of the questions I get asked the most is: "why are you such a good writer?"
And it kind of bugs me because the person talking to me often accompanies it with a comment about how they will never be as good as me.
Of course it benefits my ego greatly, but I don't feel like that's a "good" way to compliment somebody.

And I wasn't gifted with magical writing powers, it's all from having writing habits.
So in an attempt to answer these questions, I'm writing a post about good writing habits.

No. 1: Keep a journal dedicated for any ideas you get, or even just to rant in
Not everything that you write will be ready for publishing immediately, and the journal is for making a collection. I'm kind of obsessed with collecting, which my dad says is bad for feng shui. But collecting is okay if it's organised, right?
Basically, don't have your writing floating around on loose sheets of paper because you will lose those papers.
And speaking of collecting, I like to collect notebooks. Writing in a pretty notebook really motivates me. Here's the one that I write in (by the way, I have an obsession with stationery from Typo. I WANT IT ALL):
Ironically, my grandfather studied rocket science in university.
From typo,  9.95 AUD
No. 2: Write in a diary
There are no rules for writing in a diary. I don't mind if you're a guy, I won't judge. Writing in a diary is perfectly fine anyway. 
Just make sure that if you're writing down all your secrets, nobody is able to find your diary. 

No. 3: Make a vocabulary list
#throwback to elementary school - am I the only one who genuinely enjoyed spelling? 
I am? 
Okay. 
(In all seriousness though, this does help. Do this for a couple of weeks and the next time you journal, throw in a few fancy words)

No. 4: When working on a longer story, always stop when you get to the good part
If you stop at a part where you get stuck you won't want to return. But if you get to a part you're excited about writing, you'll get back to your notebook pretty soon. 
Always press on if you get stuck. 

No. 5: Write for an audience
What is it that you're trying to tell the readers? It's great to write for pleasure but sometimes if you want a challenge, write in a different genre or target your writing towards a different age group. 
Authors note: this is good for if you want to make profit off of your writing

No. 6: Clear a "writing space"
I'll admit: I'm bad at this. I just write at my desk, but that works for me. But I get my ideas when I'm about to fall asleep, or when I'm lying on the sofa doing nothing. Which brings me to my next point:

No. 7: Ideas
The trick to writing is having something to write about. If I get an idea I usually write it down before I forget. Which is why sometimes I have drawings or writing on my hands. And no I am not at danger of getting ink poisoning. 

So hopefully that clears up any questions about writing. What helps you to write? Leave suggestions, ideas, habits, questions, et cetera down below. 

1 comment:

  1. Been awhile huh? Sorry I have been away. Love the new look. Also this post is fantastic. I am sharing it with all my classes as we speak and on twitter. I really respect your dedication to your craft. It's inspiring to see such a talented writer at your age.

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