Creating a Writer's Retreat

Having some dedicated time to spend writing can increase your productivity no end.  Spending money on a weekend away is not an option for everyone; you can however create your own writing retreat at home.  This will require a little planning and a certain amount of self-discipline it can be just as productive as a weekend away.

Planning the date

The key to a successful retreat is planning, this applies if you are going away for a weekend or taking a couple of days off work and having your retreat at home.

If you have a family you may find it easier to plan your retreat during the week and book a couple of days off work. You will need to ensure that during your writing times you are not disturbed at all; no-one asking where the vacuum cleaner is kept, no answering the phone and no friends over for coffee. Choose one or two days when you can just sit down and write

It should be possible to organise 5 hours of writing in a day – that is 2 slots of two and a half hours; any more than this and you may become fatigued.

Preparing for the day

Place – select a place to write, this might be your dining table, a desk in an office, the library or your local coffee shop.

Food – wherever you are going to write ensure you have enough food and drink available; prepare it in advance so you are not taking up valuable writing time. It is OK to eat a meal in your local coffee shop if either you are writing there or the cafe is within a short distance of where you are working.

Writing – decide exactly what you are going to write on your retreat. You do not want to sit at your desk, pen in hand, and have no idea about what comes next. You may decide to outline a novel or write a complete chapter. You may decide on a short story or an article. Have a plan of what to do and a basic outline of subject, characters or plot. Gather any materials you need and bookmark any websites for research.

Family – for your retreat days you need to be on your own, ensure that you have selected days when you will not be disturbed. If there are other people in your home then make sure you choose a writing place out of the house. Arrange for the children to see friends, ask a partner to go visit their family for the day. If family are around they will disturb you.

Chores – list anything that you have to do on your retreat days day – walk the dog, get children to school. Then try to find alternatives where possible, perhaps a friend will take and collect the kids from school. Give the dog have a shorter walk and then perhaps a second walk at lunchtime.

Music – you may prefer to work in silence. If not put together a playlist or CDs to listen to. Do not have the radio or TV on, these will distract you.

On the day

From the moment your retreat starts image you are on holiday in a luxury hotel, if you are on holiday you will not be doing the washing up, putting the washing machine on, cooking meals, or making the beds. This is back to the planning, if you have to provide an evening meal for the family then do it the day before.

Have a start time for your writing and be in your writing place at that time. Ensure you have water and snacks with you. Turn off the Internet and emails, turn off your phone or at least put it on silence face down on the table.

Write until lunchtime, do not stop, do not answer the phone, do not answer the door. Just before lunchtime make a note of what you are going to do after lunch, this might be edit the short story you have just completed.

At lunchtime stop for a break, move away from your writing, take a short walk, eat lunch and drink water. Take at least half an hour but no more than an hour. If you have reached a difficult point in your writing relax and try to think through the problem. You might decide to meditate for a short while – this is not only relaxing but can refresh you. During lunch do not do any household tasks, check emails, or use social media. You want to keep your mind open for your writing only.

After lunch return to your writing again with snacks and water. Towards the end of your writing time review what you have achieved. If you have completed a short story or article then why not post it off to your chosen magazine. If you have two days for your retreat then note what you are going to do the next morning.

At the end of your writing day you may have the family back home, if this is the case then feed them and relax with them. If you have managed to get some quiet time in the evening then relax with a meal and some music. It is useful to keep the TV turned off and just listen to music as you are thinking through your writing.

What are you waiting for – select your dates and enjoy your retreat.

Happy writing.

Write it! available as a free download this weekend

This weekend - Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th March 2013 - you can download a free copy of my book Write It! - How to write your book in 30 hours or less from Amazon. Follow the tips to plan your book, create time to write, get your writing done and complete your book.


Happy writing.

10 Tips To Get Back In The Zone

We’ve all had those times when the Muse doesn’t arrive, we have writer’s block or we hit that wall. You are looking at the cursor flashing on the screen, fingers hovered over the keyboard and nothing happens, no new words, no new chapters. 

You may even look over the work you completed yesterday and decide it is rubbish and start thinking that maybe you should rewrite this first.  In nearly all cases this is your internal self-doubt or self-destruct button trying to prevent you from reaching your goals.

Don’t let it win. If you have been writing for three hours solid then you probably need a break. Most likely you have been sat at your computer for a while and just can’t get going. If this is the case do not do something else instead and think that when you come back you will feel better – you won’t.

Here are 10 tips that will silence that self doubt voice and help you get going again, at least for today.

1)      Write a different section or scene - you should have a fairly good idea about the whole of your book, maybe there is a future scene that you are just burning to write, maybe you have a chapter on a subject that particularly interests you. Write it now.

2)      Use pen and paper – the brain connects differently with pen and paper than with a keyboard and screen; turn off the screen and start handwriting. This could be shorthand notes, a plan for what happens next, or the complete script.

3)      Make a list – sometimes the brain cannot switch off from all the other things that need doing, repairing the car, doing the shopping, cleaning the floor, make a list of all the things you need to do and then forget about them. If any are time sensitive then set a reminder on your phone or in your diary.

4)      Set a timer and write freely for 10 minutes - it doesn’t matter if you need to cut it later.  This might be a conversation between two of your characters, or an interesting piece of research you undertook for your book. If nothing else this will get you back into the minds of your characters which will help with the “what will they do next” or re-engage you with your topic.

5)      Close your eyes and imagine this section of your book completed – what will be there, how will it end. Play out the scene or think through the content. Visualisation is a powerful technique used to get those creative juices flowing.

6)      Meditate – many writers start a writing session with meditation. Clear the mind and remove all tension. If it helps use music or an inspirational audio track.

7)      Ask a question of your book – ask a character what they think should happen next.

8)      Write the description or blurb for your book – this will help you focus on the purpose or theme of your book.

9)      Record your words - use voice to text software or a Dictaphone, verbalising your words can increase your creativity, improve flow and help you find the answers you need.

10)   Turn off your screen and type – you are getting no visual feedback so no negative thoughts.

Work through these and see which work best for you. Never give up – if you plan to write for an hour then don’t let your self-doubt stop you.

Happy writing.

5 Quick Ways to Make Money from your Writing

Often we focus our writing on the big task such as writing a novel or non-fiction book.  Writing short pieces to both increase income and provide new writing challenges can be enjoyable and profitable. Try at least one of these during the next week.

Flash fiction
Can you tell a complete story in just a few words? Yes? Then flash fiction could be for you. There are many outlets for stories of 1000, 750, 500 words or even less.  Interestingly fewer words does not mean less pay.  Try some of the online outlets for your work, some only publish flash fiction. Writing flash fiction will focus the mind on saying it succinctly without unnecessary adverbs and adjectives – a useful skill for any write.

Fillers
Magazines and newspapers print a huge number of fillers each month. These can be anything from a 50 word snippet to a 700 word short article.  These can also be opinion pieces or a personal story that will be of interest to the readers, try linking to a previous article. Pay varies however you could write a number of these in a reasonably short period.
 

Writing Internet content

A long time ago businesses realised that they needed a web presence. Now they are realising that they need to update their content regularly to keep visitors coming back.  Businesses need short articles on subjects relevant to their customers, for example a DIY store might want an article on how to put up shelves. A dog groomer might like a set of articles on a range of dog care issues or a series on different breeds of dogs. Writing a batch of articles and offering them to a business with a web presence (huge market) can be a good way to increase your income.

Greeting cards

There are literally hundreds of paying markets for greeting card verses; you might think that online card retailers are shrinking the market but they need content just as much as cards designed for the high street. The big difference with online retailers is that you need to write content that can be personalised – usually with a name or age.  Request the guidelines from greeting card companies and start writing verse that is personal, the type that someone will say is “just perfect” for the recipient. This is one area of writing where you can send in multiple submissions to the same company.

Readers letters
Many magazines offer rewards for letters printed – this can be cash or products. To give your letter the best chance of being printed refer to an article or letter in a previous issue, make it personal, make it positive about the magazine, or at least not negative, and ensure you sound like a reader.
 
Happy writing.

Free Read-out-Loud ebook available this weekend

This weekend - from 01/02/2013 - Volume 2 of the George and his Dragon Stories by Lily Wells will be available to download from Amazon's Kindle Store free of charge.  Each volume contains three short stories designed to be read aloud to young children in about ten minutes.

These books are ideal for Kindle Apps on mobile phones or tablets as well as the Kindle.

This is the second of the George and his Dragon series featuring three more short stories.
George and his Dragon stories are ideal to read aloud to young children at bedtime, in the car, at the cafe or anywhere when you and your child want to spend a few minutes together reading a short story to your child will keep them entertained, fuel their imagination and give you the opportunity to spend a few minutes focussed on them.

Each story tells the everyday adventures George and his Dragon, Oscar, have together. Oscar is a small dragon who lives under George's bed. He likes to play with George, listen to what George has been up to during the day and, if he can find a way, join George wherever he goes often with amusing results.

Volume Two contains three stories:

1 – George and his Dragon go to the Park
2 – George, his Dragon and the Lost Toy
3 - George and his Dragon go Shopping.

Download and enjoy.

New Year Resolutions for Writers

It's that time of year again - you look back at how many resolutions you managed to achieve from last New Year and transfer most of these to your new list!

All resolutions should provide you with some easily achievable quick wins to give you the motivation to stick to them.  Here are some resolutions that will help you on your journey to becoming a published writer.

1) Write for 10 minutes every day.  Select a time slot and stick to it; this could be first thing in the morning or last thing at night.  Whatever time you decide make sure you get some words down.  You may find it helpful to use a notebook and handwrite for these 10 minutes because waiting from the computer to fire up may demotivate you.

2) Complete one small writing task each month - this might be a short story or an article.  Ensure you target this for a magazine or competition. Send it off to the chosen market.

3) Start a blog and post at least once a month.  This is a great way to practise your writing.

4) Track your progress. Keep a log of all the writing you have done. Note what you did and the word count - it is OK to note down 20 words, they all count - you will be surprised how they start to add up. 

5) Self-publish - anything, a novel, a report, one short story.  Don't think about the money you may or may not earn. It is all about completing a piece of work to the highest standards.

By the end of January you will have completed at least 5 hours of writing - those 10 minutes really do add up. submitted a short story or article to a magazine, ezine or competition, and completed at least one post for your blog.  Quick wins to motivate you to undertake and complete those longer tasks.

Happy New Year.

Free book on writing available this weekend

This weekend - Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th December 2012 - you can download a free copy of my book "Write It! - How to write your book in 30 hours or less" from Amazon. Follow the tips to plan your book, create time to write, get your writing done and complete your book before the New Year.

Enjoy!