How I write

So, I have started whiting again, and I am very happy that I am doing so. I said to @londonjustin that I would try his method of planning, what compares planning a novel to the process of producing a computer program. L So I try his method, to be fair I was trying to write a plan as quickly as possible (or maybe that is the true test) so I started planning. One of the things I realised latter is that his plan from what sticks in my memory, Maybe Justin would disagree, but it can be summed up to me as, write the ending and or purpose for your novel, (to inform, tell a particular story, push a moral)to explain the characters, then to form a plot with a focus on the later stages of re-writing and editing.
My normal method of planning is slightly different (though I have only planned one fictional piece) and this plan consists of allowing the thought, it might be a character or a theme to bounce around my head for a day or so. and then to open up my laptop and write 3 pages, a figure though in my last plan turned out to equate to a figure closer to 100 000 words (although I still have not finished the first draft) when I was aiming for something closer 50k (before editing, expanding of detail etc.) But a true plan for me, I can only imagine being 3 pages, typed or handwritten, I do prefer typing thou. Once I have allowed the main ideas to bounce around in my head and I have a plan written out I then start to write. As I made my NaNoWriMo attempt last year I started to discover tactics to write efficiently, the most important being:

Setting goals/word counts: When I am using my preferred (non-write-or-die) program, Q10 (a free download) I set a daily goal (1667 words minimum for Nano) a mini-goal usually something that would result in a self-indulgence, such as a break, chocolate, coffee, tea, lollies, a new lip balm. Pretty much everything I bought for myself last November would be a prize for reaching a certain word count. This towards the beginning of Nano was 500 words, and this tends to be my usual goal (though in retrospect I would have made the goal closer to 1000 for the first week of Nano) this then dropped to 250 as the month wore on, eventually wearing down to 100 words as I tired, became sick and so on, as many Nano writers will ditto. These goals, even when not rewarded reminded me of how much I had done, and served as markers that I had written a decent amount. As someone who gains great pleasure in watching numbers increase this was a very effective technique, also having a word count for how much I had written that day, that session and overall that month. Especially how Q10 translates your overall goal into a percentage is very comforting, did you know that 500words is 1% of 50K! Tiny as it sounds, especially earlier in the month (and I would probably write more now in a Nano like situation) I would write 3000 words, 6% of my Nano goal. And to me this very much felt like an accomplishment!

Prizes: I mentioned prizes before, and incentives for writing can be very effective, prizes don't necessarily have to be especially bought, though that can help. a visit to the supermarket with the aim of buying excessive amounts of confectionary (something I believe you can claim on tax if you are a published writer who gains a profit from writing!) just for you can be an inspiring exercise, that also can help control your sugar intake and make it seem precious rather than a given. But also crude things such as "I won’t have a shower this morning if I don’t write 2000 words" or "I won’t have necessities break until I write another 500 words" just little things like that can keep me writing.

Environment: Environment is very important to my writing; I can’t have anyone I know around me. Even if they are in another room i find it hard to settle down with the sounds of movement, or TV in another room. So getting up early and staying up late was a necessity for a lot of my writing. Also going to the library or a cafe when no one I knew was there was an important factor; also I had to have dedicated writing spaces to get a lot of work done. When I went I go to the library to write I have a process. There are 2 libraries that I frequent, at one I can easily crash in a bean bag and write, at the other I sit at a desk in a certain spot, because at the library where I avoid the bean bag, I have gone there many times with friends and chatted and mucked around, some of the time sharing a bean bag, So i find that memory a distraction. I also managed to clear enough space for a card table at the bungalow at the back of my house, and there is a powerpoint there too so I could sit for hours singing angst punk rock songs and eating chocolate as I wrote without fear of being embarrassingly interrupted, and the humidicots, and other sciency equipment there from when My dad did orchid flasks is a really cool place to write... although slightly terrifying! I know that if I went there with a friend and just sat around, that it would be harder to work there.

Word wars: Many lunch times I sat with one of My Nano buddies and we wrote for about 45min of our lunch break, sitting side by side and peeking at the other's word count. Also we battled it out once via txt message one evening. Now with my recent purchase of "write or die" and the wonderful writers I have met though twitter. Word wars seem to be even more accessible and as I get more into writing again, most likely a very helpful community of peers to bounce Ideas off.

Word processor: I wrote the beginning of my Nano using word, big mistake, the red and green squiggly lines (I know they can be turned off) slowed down my writing immensely. Also the desire to format, I would recommend notepad, q10, write or die, anything that *does not* have spell check or formatting options. Editing I have found should be put as far away from writing as possible.

Make sure you have meds: If you suffer a chronic condition, stress gives you headaches, makes you more prone to get sick, have allergies make sure you have plenty of your drugs of choice. Aspirin is a necessity in my writing kit as I suffer from migraines especially when I’m stressed or tired. And I keep lemsip close for another signs on illness. I try my best to identify when I am feeling crook, so I can take necessary action, a break, sleep if I have the time, or meds. A migraine can knock me out for a day if am not careful but awareness plus knowledge of things I can do to help, kept me writing with minimal disruption from my body.

So those are a few of my writing tactics, overall, and I think this next thing applies to everyone, I think the most important tactic is Identifying your own personal strengths and weaknesses and using them to formulate tactics to help you write is a must, plan, even if you disregard it, the worst that could happen is you lose a few hours of your life, and back to Justin’s planning method, I think its great overall, and I am definitely going to use it for my essay planning. For fiction though, I don't think its right for me. I highly recommend you try it though, especially if you are a writer who also has knowledge of programing, as many I know surprisingly do!