Does The Weather Affect Your Writing?

If you're a British citizen like myself you'll know the problems the country has when faced with bad weather. In fact, I think it's likely we're the laughing-stock of the whole Northern hemisphere when it comes to dealing with snow. It doesn't take much to ground the entire country to a holt. But over the pond our American and Canadian friends bumble around quite easily - or so it seems to us - in ten foot of the stuff.

It's snowing again today, and while looking out of the window in my nice comfortable lounge, it gave me the inspiration to write this blog post.

In weather like this I like nothing better than to count my blessings that I don't have to go outside. I make myself a mug of Cadbury's hot chocolate, settle down under my blanket and curl up to write.
I suppose the majority of people hate going out when it's snowing or raining, or even blowing a gale, but does the weather really control our activities that much?

Some people suffer from the SAD sydrome - or Seasonal Affective Disorder. It is quite common for people to be depressed during the winter months and want nothing more than to hibernate away. And when the summer arrives they're the happiest people on earth.

But it seems to work the opposite for me. I seem to be happiest in the winter months. I love to spend the dark afternoons writing, tucked up under blankets with the fire on. And when the summer comes I'm often too hot to even think, let alone write. There seems to be more going on during the summer months so that distracts me away from my writing.

So, how much does the weather affect your writing? Do you write less or more during the winter months? Or do you write the same amount each day no matter what the weather is doing?

How To Become A More Efficient Writer

Most writers do not have the luxury of unlimited time to write their next novel as life in general gets in the way. Instead they have to battle with their kids, their other job and their spouse on a daily basis to get some time to write. And when you're a tired writer creativity does not come easily. At the end of the day when everything else is done you seem to have the time to write but your creative power is zero.

So, what's a writer to do?

• Change the time you write. If you're a morning person just getting up half an hour earlier could be the key to writing more. Think of all the words you could get down in thirty minutes. Alternatively, if you're anything like me, you could designate certain tasks for each day of the week. This could mean that Monday's task is writing, Tuesday's task is blogging, Wednesday's task is typing up written notes and Thursday's task is researching. Just because you're a writer doesn't mean you have to write every single day. If you're that pressed for time assigning one particular task for each day could be a very effective thing to do. Don't feel like you have to do everything everyday. After all, you're a writer - not Superman.
• Don't waste your time editing while writing. It's surprising how much this can slow you down. Set the clock for a cetain amount of time and just write. You can edit afterwards. Remember it's impossible to edit words that aren't there. Don't be a perfectionist at this early stage.
• Do all your prep work at once. If your writing a crime book and you're dealing with a tricky murder scene, do all the forensic research for it at once. There's nothing more distracting than constantly clicking on the Internet while you're trying to write. If you find your need to do the research abandon your writing to focus on that. Alternatively, move on to writing the next scene.
• Find your space to write. I like to work in different places depending on my mood in general. Sometimes it's a coffee shop and other times it's in my bedroom. It doesn't matter if you write best with music in the background or have complete silence. It's all about experimenting to find what suits you best.
• Don't forget to have a life as well. Taking regular breaks is good for the soul but it's crucial to a writer. Writing is a solitary business so it's important to go out and visit the real world once in a while. I see my friends for coffee or take the dogs out. Just visiting a shop to buy something is helpful too. Don't forget you're so much more than just a writer.

Live Life In The Present Tense: Why Ambition Can Be Negative

As a writer I am a naturally driven and ambitious person. I constantly seek out each day ways in which I can improve myself, my life and my craft. I have lists of goals as long as my arms and I often find myself thinking if only I could achieve more than my life would be better.

But I have read several blog posts over the past month that stress having this particular thought pattern isn't always good for us.

People can waste hours each day thinking about things that are sometimes unachievable. How many times how you thought that by winning the lottery your life would be so much better? Of course I am sure it would be in many ways but realistically - how are you going to achieve something like that?

Having goals and ambitions is great so long as you keep a sense of realism and perspective about them. If you lack the last two things your goals and ambitions are likely to become something negative. If you always think about the future and what your life would be like if you had the things you wanted, you are actually missing out on life's present tense and what you have to do now in order to achieve these goals.

I once had a friend who was exactly like this. He was always thinking that his life would be better if it was easier to find jobs that the current recession has stolen. He was unemployed but instead of actively seeking out ways to resolve this he would blame anyone he possibly could for his current issues. In the end I concluded the man was a lost cause because he failed to see that the only person who could do something about his life was himself. No matter how hard you tried to help him there was always an excuse for why he hadn't followed anything up.

So, whatever your ambitions are in life make sure you're doing everything you possibly can in life's present tense to achieve them.

How Reality Differs So Much From Fantasy

As a writer I have written two non fiction books and now I am over 14,000 words into my third book.
But although I have written before, I find writing my third book to be very different indeed and that's because my current WIP is fiction.

When writing my travel memoir books I recalled vivid memories to help me tell the stories. And although I had copious amounts of diary notes to help me with bits I couldn't remember, I still wrote my best material from memory.

But now writing is not the same as it was before. Now I have absolutely no memories to recall and I find that if I want to write I have to make entire scenes up which is more than an obvious thing to do when writing fiction. But I find writing takes me so much longer these days as half the time is spent thinking up the next scene. Even though I have written a detailed chapter outline I still find my writing takes on a life of it's own.

And that is where my inspiration came from when I thought about writing my current blog post.

Don't you find that fantasy is so much different to reality? You have enthusiasm for your new job only to find out your job role isn't what was advertised. You start a new relationship that's full of hope and promise only to find that somewhere down the line your beloved isn't the person you thought they were. You buy a house that looks stunning from the outside only to find it crumbling on the inside.

But sometimes the cruel reality works in your favour. Your rose tinted glasses have been yanked away from you but then you're forced to look at life in a different light. How can you get out of the job that was falsely advertised, how can you end the relationship your heart is no longer in? How can you fix your house?

As you're forced to view things differently you're forced to come up with different ideas.

Sometimes life has a funny way of making you appreciate the things you already have by showing you your perceived fantasy is actually worse than reality.

Does Keeping A Journal Make You A Better Writer?

I've always kept a journal, or a diary, as I prefer to call it. Especially when I was growing up I couldn't wait to transfer my emotions onto the four lined section I had for that day. Telling my diary just what fun, exciting times I had during my teenage years. Writing how much I loved my life on every single page. That's a complete lie by the way - growing up I hated pretty much everything about life.

But I always found that writing down my feelings helped me a great deal to process them and to put my emotions into some kind of logical order. I had a better insight to why I felt how I felt, instead of just trying to work out the thoughts in my head. 

It's no wonder I felt better because countless pieces of research have proven that writing down your problems does actually help you to solve them. Your brain can see the physical evidence through your writing that there's a difficulty which needs to be solved and it quickly goes about finding potential solutions to the problem.

I had a huge diary when I was travelling. I went out and bought a A4 one to keep a record of my experiences throughout the year. And I wrote in it every day, something which most of my fellow travellers could not understand.

But I am so glad I did because it was these diaries that gave me the inspiration to write my first two books. I wouldn't have had this inspiration if it wasn't for them.

So the pivotal question of this blog is does keeping a diary make you a better writer?

I believe it does, even if you're writing pure fiction books. You don't have to write memoirs for it to be helpful. Keeping a diary helps you process your thoughts, condensing them into succinct notes. It forces you to cut the bull and focus on the main points. And this tool is invaluable to all writers. When you're faced with writing out plotlines I believe if you're used to keeping a diary you'll find the process easier.

So, what about you? Do you keep a regular diary of day to day life? Do you find it helps when you're writing?

Why Having Goals Can Sometimes Be Negative

I thought I would have this topic as my first blog post of 2013 because it's so fitting. Across the globe people have spent the past week thinking about their goals for the year and what they can do to achieve them. They may write them down in a list or just have them floating around in their head. They may talk constantly of them or speak a word to no one.

Having a goal to focus on is great but sometimes the goal itself can get in the way of actually achieving it. You may become obsessed about what it is you want to achieve and over analyse it. Your goal is so big that you waste all your energy just solely thinking about it. Your thoughts are like a washing machine full of socks, turning around in your head over and over again.

You stop achieving your dreams because you think about them too much.

What a waste of emotion!

Here's a classic example of what I mean by this.

While I'm writing, I'm obsessed with my word count. It affects me so much that I spend more time counting words than I do actually writing them. Keeping track of my word count significantly slows down my writing instead of speeding it up. You may think I'm encouraged if I effortlessly type out eight hundred words in an hour but I've always got one eye on my word count.

Instead I have found that I work much better under a time limit. Having goals is one thing but make sure you give yourself ample time to reach them.

Looking Back Over 2012

This year is finally drawing to an end and there has been many unexpected twists and turns throughout the past twelve months.

I published my second book back in August and have written over 10,000 words on my third novel. I  secured myself a second job last month and so far that is going well.

But for various reasons, good and bad, 2012 hasn't ended like I had predicted. At the start of this year I had many different business goals to accomplish and I am proud to say I have achieved them all. I did exactly what I had planned to do and the results were instant. But the fantasy of achieving these goals and the reality of every day life has turned out to be very different.

And that is life through and through.

People often think that if they changed their life in a certain way they would be much happier. And maybe they would for a short time. But whatever the situation, good or bad, there will always be pros and cons. You may think being a millionaire is a guaranteed road to happiness and it probably is, but only in the financial area of your life.

True happiness doesn't stem from how much money you have or how many flash cars you drive. It stems from a much deeper satisfaction of being true to yourself and expressing your personality in a way that only you know how.

My true happiness stems from writing and spending time with loved ones. I don't care that I haven't updated my phone in ten years to a iphone or Blackberry - I am quite happy with my beloved, trusted Nokia 3410. After all, it's only a phone and all I need it for is to call and text. No device like that is really worth much. It's never going to find a cure for cancer.

Nothing materialistic is ever going to bring me much happiness.

Now I'm not saying that I can get by in life without money - nobody can. We all need money to eat, be warm and clean, and to surf the Internet in the hope of connecting to people overseas. I could not live without broadband and I need money to keep that! But society today places too much value on fame and how people look. And if you don't look a certain way then you end up being accused of all sorts.

Where has kindness and compassion gone? Has it left human souls forever more? The tragic events in America over the last couple of days seem to answer this very well, and it's here that I'd like to say that all the victims are in my thoughts.

So, as it's Christmas, the very time of year that we should make an effort to be nice to each other (although why we can't have that mindset throughout the whole year really baffles me) Make an effort and do a random act of kindness for someone.

I'll be away from this blog until after New Year so may I wish all my followers a very happy holiday.