Emma Stewart Writes

Category: Writing Tips and Advice

Writing tips and advice

  • Characters Have a Mind of Their Own

    Characters Have a Mind of Their Own

    So, you’ve got your book idea and you’ve started writing it. You’ve produced an outline and set up your plot, you’ve gotten to know your characters and how they are going to develop throughout your story. Great. But for some reason, your characters have developed a mind of their own.

    What if they decide to do something different though? Does this happen to anyone else, or just me? It’s something I have dealt with a lot over the years, from my early days writing fanfiction to now. My characters, especially the well developed ones, seem to have a mind of their own. They do their own thing, sometimes reacting differently to what I expected.

    It’s not unusual. Even if you are an avid plotter, someone who likes to have everything planned out before you start writing your story. Once I get into the zone and the words are flowing, things can change unexpectedly. The question is, do you go with it? Or do you try to force things back to your plan.

    Can you be too rigid?

    I would say yes. Your outline is just that, the outline. Having a plan and knowing the ending is a good thing, but as you go you might deviate from your original plan. No matter how much planning you’ve done for your characters, how much you’ve already developed them, sometimes you can’t really be sure how they will be affected by the events of the story. When you are writing your first draft, you are still getting to know your characters, and how they go through the storyline. If a new direction is flowing freely, I would say go with it.

    Remember you can always change it later when you are editing, if it doesn’t quite work. If it works, stick with it. Trying to force it back to your original plan could make it awkward to read, or it could result in your characters responses feeling out of character or unrealistic. If you force it, it could feel forced and your reader will pick up on that. It can jar them and bring them out of your written world.

    What if the plotline takes off on its own?

    This can happen too. Your plot starts off in line with what you had planned, but partway through a scene, a new idea comes to you. Again, I think it’s worth going with the flow in this case too. It depends on your writing process and how you like to work. Some people can jump around the timeline, writing scenes wherever their inspiration takes them. Others prefer to stick to writing start to finish and in order.

    If you have an outline, keep it. Don’t remove anything from it, add your new ideas if you like. This means that when it comes to your first revision of your writing, you will be able to see how it fits with the overall story and if you still have your original outline, you will be able to assess if your new idea works better or if your original plan is the better option. Then you can rewrite or insert scenes to suit it.

    What should you do when your characters take on a mind of their own?

    Go with the flow is my advice. Even if you are a thorough plotter and you like to have a clear and detailed outline for your writing, it’s okay to deviate from that at times, if that makes more sense. Writing fiction is like any other form of creative work, you don’t want to stifle your creativity too much by sticking rigidly to rules and plans. Sometimes you are telling your characters what to do, sometimes they are telling you what they are going to do. It’s part of being an author, having all these little voices in your head as you write. At least I hope it’s something others experience, is it just me?

    For more on characters, see this tag here: characters. I plan to cover a lot more on this subject in the next few weeks, from avoiding Mary Sue Syndrome to how to develop well rounded characters.

  • Should You Edit As You Go?

    Should You Edit As You Go?

    People always tell you not to edit until you’ve finished the first draft. Is this true? Or is there something to be said for editing as you go? Let’s have a look at the pros and cons of each option.

    Edit As You Go

    Pros of editing as you go

    • Your first draft will be better, giving you a better starting point for your first round of editing.
    • You can catch plot holes, mistakes and other aspects that don’t work and prevent them becoming a problem later.
    • If you realise you’ve made a mistake or something doesn’t work, you don’t have to worry about remembering to fix it when you go to edit your work.
    • If you are a ‘plotter’ and you already have your story outline before you start your draft, you can make sure your scenes are following your plan.
    • If you have hit writer’s block, rereading and editing what you’ve written might help you get your flow back

    Cons of editing as you go

    • Editing as you go can be more time consuming and your first draft will take longer.
    • It’s easy to get bogged down trying to fix one part of your writing and stop making progress.
    • Perfectionism might lead to you losing inspiration and getting tired of your work, leading you to lose focus and put you off finishing the draft.
    • You might not save time, as when you come to do the first full edit of your draft, you find yourself rewriting or undoing a lot of the edits you have already made.

    Not Editing Until the End

    Pros of not editing as you go

    • It keeps your creativity flowing. Not stopping to revise keeps you in the zone and allows you to freely get all your ideas out without hesitating or reviewing.
    • If you are a ‘pantser’, stopping to organise and add logical structure can really derail you and drop your motivation.
    • All first drafts will need editing once completed, even if you have edited some as you go, waiting until the end to edit can help make sure the whole piece is cohesive and that it all works.
    • Some writers think this approach is more efficient, because you can focus on one part at a time. It stops your perfectionism slowing down your progress.
    • It gives you a chance to take a break from the work. Taking time away to do something else allows you to come back to edit with fresh eyes, making it easier to spot things you want to change.

    Cons of not editing as you go

    • The first round of editing can take longer. You might find yourself having to make a large amount of changes to tidy everything up.
    • It can become overwhelming. If you have not made any edits as you go, the prospect of editing the whole piece can be a lot to think about and seem insurmountable.
    • You might be reluctant to make major changes or remove parts because you’ve become so fond of the story. You might really love a scene you’ve written but it doesn’t fit the story any more and you know you really should remove it but you don’t want to.

    So Should I Edit as I Go?

    Honestly, there’s no one right answer to this. Some people will tell you one option is better than the other, but they both have drawbacks. It is also possible to do a bit of both. Realistically, even if you have been editing as you go, you will still need to do an overall edit once the draft is complete. So there’s not one correct answer.

    I recommend doing what works best for you. Everyone’s process is different and unique to them. How you like to write, if you are a ‘plotter’ or a ‘pantser’ or a bit of both. If too much editing will stifle your creative flow, you would be better waiting until you’re finished to start editing. If you have realised you want to change something, and it’ll bother you until you do, maybe make the edit while it’s on your mind. If you’re new, experiment a bit with both options until you find the method that works best for your brain and your work.

    Need help with editing or proofreading your work? Take a look at what I offer here.

    As always, happy writing! Discuss your thoughts in the comments. Until next time!

  • Why you should still be using a dictionary

    Why you should still be using a dictionary

    Why You Still Need a Dictionary

    Word choice matters. English is a complex language with a lot of options for word choice. No matter how good you think your English is, it is important to be selective in your word choices. You need to make sure you are saying what you think you are saying. Some words which are used interchangeably when they shouldn’t be, as the meaning might be similar but not quite the same.

    You might think people will know what you mean, but that’s not always the case. Someone reading might know what the word you have used means and realise it is incorrect. It is also possible for someone whose first language is not English to get confused if you use a word that’s not quite correct. Let’s look at a few examples.

    Words You Should Check in the Dictionary Before Using

    • Venomous and Poisonous: both of these words are related to toxins but there’s a difference in how they work. Toxins are substances that have a detrimental effect on the body. Venom is where the toxin is injected into the body by a fang, a tooth, a stinger or claw. Poison is a toxin that affects the body when it is ingested. Some things can be both.
    • Psychologist and Psychiatrist: Both are professionals who deal with psychological problems and mental health, however, a psychiatrist is a medical doctor who has specialised and is able to prescribe medication as well as diagnose. Psychologists are scientists who have studied psychology and are able to assess and provide therapy but cannot prescribe.
    • Complement and Compliment: these words sound the same and have a positive meaning but they are slightly different. Compliment is when you make a positive comment about something: “Your t-shirt is awesome!”. Complement means something that enhances or emphasizes the quality of something: “This wine is the perfect complement for a steak dinner.”

    Deciding which word to use

    When it comes to choosing the right word, it can be tricky. If in doubt, double check with a dictionary. Look up the word you want to use and check that the definition fits with what you are trying to say. Keep in mind the purpose of what you are writing, and you can be sure you are saying what you want to say. There is no shame in having to look things up to double check. Even the most professional and experienced writers cannot possibly remember every single word and meaning right off the bat. Word choice can affect how your writing is interpreted, so you want to make sure it has your desired effect. (See what I did there, another example! ‘Affect’ is a verb, ‘Effect’ is a noun.)

    Synonyms

    Sometimes word choice is a stylistic choice. There are a lot of words in English that have a large number of synonyms, words that have a similar meaning. Some words can have a few different but related meanings as well, so you might find a synonym that makes things clearer for your reader. Let’s look at an example, and take the word ‘good’.

    Meanings of the word ‘good’

    • of a high standard or the required qualities
    • skilled at doing a specific thing
    • healthy, strong or well
    • useful or beneficial in effect
    • appropriate to a purpose
    • having moral virtue
    • showing kindness
    • obeys rules or conventions
    • enjoyable or satisfying
    • smart clothes suitable for formal wear
    • noun for that which is morally right
    • noun for a benefit or advantage

    A long list, isn’t it? That’s why I chose this as an example, ‘good’ is a word that has a lot of different meanings and uses. It’s also a word that is used a lot in many forms of writing, particularly fiction, articles about people and marketing. You can’t really sell a product if you can’t show what is so good about it, right?

    What synonyms should we consider?

    Obviously we have a lot of potential meanings for the word ‘good’, and depending on the context, we might want to choose a different word to make the sentence more accurate or more interesting. So, the first part is to establish what context we are using this word. So let’s say we are writing about my writing skills.

    “Emma’s a very good writer.”

    Not bad, but could we make it better? The context here is talking about a skill I have, that is also of high quality so we could choose a synonym that fits with this. so here’s a few alternatives:

    • Emma’s writing is of a high standard.
    • Emma’s a superb writer.
    • Emma’s writing is wonderful.
    • Emma is an accomplished writer.
    • Emma is a talented writer.
    • Emma’s an expert writer.

    However, you might find other synonyms that don’t work so well.

    • Emma’s writing is nutritious. (You can’t really eat my words.)
    • Emma’s writing is obedient. (I follow the rules, but this sounds odd.)

    It is important to remember your context when making choices about words to use and synonyms. I would caution against using a thesaurus too much, you can overdo it and end up with something ridiculous like: “Emma’s manuscription is surpassing excellence.” It says the same thing but it’s a bit pompous and confusing. Using lots of long and obscure words will make your writing less accessible, especially in something less formal than academic writing. It doesn’t always make you look more intelligent and it can make your writing more difficult for people who are dyslexic or who have English as a second language. You don’t want to be sending your reader to use the dictionary all the time.

    In Summary

    The key takeaway from this is to make sure you are using the right word for the job. If in doubt look it up in the dictionary to make sure. Remember, if it bites you and you die, it’s venomous, but if you bite it and you die, it’s poisonous! See you next time!

    Useful Links

  • Introducing your characters

    Introducing your characters

    Introducing Your Characters

    So you’ve got your characters and you are ready to start introducing them. Great! Where do you start? A lot of newer writers can fall into a trap when it comes to making the first introduction of their characters, especially the main character. Starting off your first page with a huge infodump of every detail about your main protagonist logically makes sense, but is it interesting to your reader? No, probably not.

    Part of the fun of reading a story is learning about the characters as they go through the plot, picking up details along the way and watching them grow through their development arc. You want your reader to get enough information to be intrigued and want to learn more, but there needs to be more for them to learn later in the book so that they will want to read further. So here’s a few pitfalls that new writers can fall into.

    Infodumping

    It can be tempting to just write a few paragraphs about your character. Listing all the details of their appearance, followed by a list of their traits and skills. It’s like you’re writing their CV or a dating profile. It is too much detail at once, and can be overwhelming for your reader. To start off, we need to know their name, a little bit about who they are and what they are doing. Their personality traits and flaws can be revealed as you go, how they respond to situations and people will reveal this in an organic way. How they face challenges and work to overcome them to achieve their end goal will tell your reader the kind of person your character is.

    The character should be changing with the story, they learn and grow, their experiences will shape their personality. The beginning of the story and flashbacks can show who they are at the start. Your reader wants to follow them as they go through these experiences and see who they become by the ending. That’s difficult to do if you dump it all at the start. It’s a journey of discovery, for your characters and for your reader.

    The Mirror Monologue

    This is a common trope and one that rarely works well. Your character wakes up in the morning and goes to the mirror to get ready for their day. They spend time looking at their reflection and having a long internal monologue about what they look like. The thing is, people don’t really do this in real life. They know what they look like already and they won’t mentally list every feature every day. It’s not realistic to do this.

    What do you look at when you look in the mirror? Take some time and really think about what you look at and what you focus on. Maybe you like the way your hair is styled, or you don’t like your eyebrows. Perhaps your outfit makes you feel confident, or you’re unhappy with the colour of your shirt. We know our appearance in the mirror, so in real life we focus on things that we like or don’t like. We won’t think about every part of our bodies and every feature. Especially when it comes to body parts.

    Gender Issues and Descriptions

    This is particularly an issue with writing about women, I have seen excerpts where a female character spends two paragraphs describing the shape and size of her own breasts. It’s quite jarring to read, because most of us do not think about ourselves in that way. We don’t really notice the weight of our breasts as we walk, because we’re used to them. We don’t try to decide which fruit accurately represents their size and shape. It’s just not a thing that women do. We might think about how a certain bra or top makes them look, or if a top is too low cut. I imagine there is an equivalent of this for male characters, but I cannot comment on the real life experience of that, and it is much more common with female characters.

    When you are dealing with characters who are outside the binary genders, it may be different. Again, I haven’t lived this experience so it’s difficult to really know how it might be. What I have learned from trans friends and trans creators online is that part of the reason someone does transition, whether this is medically, surgically or by using clothing and make-up to change their appearance, is to better reflect who they really are.

    If you are planning to write a trans or non-binary character but you don’t identify as such yourself, it is worth finding someone who has lived experience that is willing to give you some advice and feedback to ensure that you are accurately representing them and not feeding into misconceptions or misunderstandings. Obviously, each individual is different, and it is usually better not to write about such characters if you don’t understand what they might feel and experience. Especially if you’re not willing to learn and be respectful.

    How To Introduce Your Characters Better

    You obviously need to introduce your characters and describe them to some degree. You need your reader to be interested. So here’s how to tackle it in a way that will get the job done well!

    • Everything you mention at the start will be considered important by your reader so mention the key aspects first.
    • Pick the most notable or memorable details of their appearance and highlight those. What makes them distinctive and memorable.
    • Don’t make the descriptions too complex and go easy with the adjectives. One or two for each feature is plenty. The reader will use their imagination for the rest.
    • Their behaviours should reflect their personality traits. This is where ‘Show, don’t tell’ comes into play. An outgoing person is likely to be talkative and willing to engage with strangers.
    • Describing behaviours, clothing, accessories and surroundings can give insight into your characters background as well as their personality. A messy workspace could indicate laziness or a lack of care about being tidy. Sleeping on a tatty old mattress on the floor of a rundown apartment will show that your character is in financial hardship.

    Inclusivity and Stereotyping

    • Be mindful of unintended racial bias and harmful incorrect stereotypes. It is easy to get this wrong. Even if it is not done on purpose, aspects of characters can end up causing harm. Ensure your language and word choice is appropriate and inclusive. If you want to include a character who is a different race from you, or has another aspect that you don’t, it is very important to make sure you know how to handle it properly. That means research, listening to people who are living that experience and making sure your language reflects it accurately. If in doubt, leave it out.
    • If you are using real world contemporary characters, it might be better to be more ambiguous with race and leave it up to reader interpretation. This is clearly still relevant given the discussions around Disney’s live action “The Little Mermaid” remake and the casting of a POC in the lead role.
    • Representation matters, and everyone should be able to see themselves reflected in media, whether it is books, films, video games or comics.

    I hope this helps you out in nailing those introductions. Happy writing! As always, I love to hear what people think and encourage respectful discussions in the comments below. If you are unsure about how you are introducing your characters in your writing, get in touch and I will be happy to help you out!

  • Apostrophes and how to use them properly!

    Apostrophes and how to use them properly!

    Apostrophes – an easy guide to using them properly!

    Ah, the apostrophe, the bane of many a writer’s life. An elevated comma? Or an important punctuation mark that is chronically misused? It is definitely the second one. Apostrophes are commonly used where they shouldn’t be and not used when they should be. So welcome the the first part of punctuation, where we talk about how to use punctuation properly, beginning with how to use apostrophes.

    There are three main situations where an apostrophe should be considered. Simply put, the apostrophe is a punctuation mark that is used to indicate possession or to indicate where missing letters should be in contractions. There are a few rules regarding placement of apostrophes in certain situations which we will cover in detail below.

    First use of the apostrophe: Contractions

    Contractions are shortened words or phrases used for ease of speech or writing. They are extremely common in both written and spoken English and the majority of people know what they mean. However, using contractions can cause confusion at times, and it can lead to misuse of contractions. Do you know the difference between ‘your’ and ‘you’re’? We’ll be covering this in a later post in more detail, with useful ways to remember which one to use.

    Contractions are great, and for most casual written content it is perfectly okay to use them. However, they are considered quite informal so they should definitely be avoided in formal letters, formal writing and academic writing. Here’s a few examples:

    • don’t = do not
    • doesn’t = does not
    • should’ve = should have (by the way, it is not “should of”. Ever!)
    • it’s = it is
    • ’tis = it is

    Note the last two mean the same thing, but a different ‘i’ is omitted. The apostrophe goes where the missing letters should be. One apostrophe is all that is needed, even if you’re dropping ten consecutive letters, which would be an impressive contraction if you can do that!

    Second use of the apostrophe: Possession

    No, not the demonic kind. The belonging kind. Apostrophes are used to indicate possession. They are used after nouns and indefinite pronouns such as: the man’s house, the dog’s bone, the tree’s leaves. It should also be used after plural nouns that do not end in ‘s’: people’s, women’s, children’s. If the noun ends in an s sound, the extra ‘s’ can be left out if it makes the word more awkward to say and the apostrophe placed after the word.

    For plural nouns that end in ‘s’, the apostrophe should be placed alone at the end of the word to indicate possession: puppies’, classes’, horses’. It should also be used when stating a period of time: three days’ time, ten weeks’ time. This form of apostrophe use also applies to singular nouns ending in ‘s’ or ‘z’ followed by the word ‘sake’: for goodness’ sake (taken from New Hart’s Rules, the Oxford Style Guide, Oxford University Press).

    Apostrophes are not used with possessive pronouns such as ‘yours’, ‘hers’, and ‘theirs’. Remember ‘its’ is the possessive form of ‘it’, while ‘it’s’ is a contraction of ‘it is’. For more on pronouns, see a previous post here where I discuss pronouns and how to use them properly.

    There are specific rules and conventions for proper names and phrases where apostrophe placement matters. If in doubt, look it up and double check. I like the Blue Book of Grammar as it’s easy to use. Check the apostrophe rules here for more details and examples.

    Third use of the apostrophe: Plurals?

    Sneaky heading here, as you should not be using apostrophes to create plural words. This is sometimes known as the “greengrocer’s apostrophe” and it is incorrect. Apostrophes are not needed when making plurals of names, numbers, abbreviations and words being used as nouns when they are not normally nouns.

    For example: ‘dos and don’ts’ is correct. ‘do’s and don’t’s’ is incorrect. The first sentence contains a correctly used apostrophe in the contraction.

    There are some situations where you would want to use an apostrophe, usually using symbols, letters or numbers as objects. For example: “mind your p’s and q’s”. In this case, the apostrophe gives clarity to the objects of the sentence, saying “ps and qs” would be very confusing. Readers might figure out what you mean, but people who haven’t heard the phrase and people for whom English is not their first language would be very confused.

    Thank you for reading. Go forth and use your apostrophes properly!

  • Let’s talk about pronouns

    Let’s talk about pronouns

    Pronouns are important, so let’s talk about how to use them properly in all situations. Oh boy, is this a hot topic right now! As I have made it my mission to use language correctly and help other people do the same, I thought I would weigh in on the discussions around pronouns and what they actually mean. To be clear, myself and my work is 100% LGBTQIA+ friendly and no homophobia, transphobia or anything like it will be welcome here. This is a safe space for everyone, but let’s see if we can’t educate a bit as well. So let’s start with the basics.

    What are pronouns?

    Most people will be aware of what a noun is. A noun is a naming word, such as ‘toaster’ or ‘lollipop’ or ‘dog’. A proper noun is a name for a specific noun, such as ‘Steve’ or ‘Buckingham Palace’ or ‘Playstation’. It’s a word you use to identify a specific thing you want to talk about.

    When you are talking about a specific thing in detail, it can be tiresome to repeatedly use the noun over and over again. Especially when you are talking about a person. That is where pronouns come in. Pronouns are words used in place of nouns when you don’t need to repeat what or who you are referring to. Read the definition in the Collins Dictionary.

    An example: Steve is going on holiday next week. He is really looking forward to it.

    In this example, ‘he’ is a pronoun. We know we’re talking about Steve, so we can use a pronoun in place of his name in the second sentence. There are different types of pronouns used for different purposes.

    Personal Pronouns

    These are used for people and animals. They can be used as either the subject or the object of a clause. They include: I, you, he, she, it, me, him, her, they, them, we and us. It is almost impossible to talk about people without using pronouns. Everyone has pronouns. They are not a new invention, they have been part of the English language and many other languages for a long, long time. There are some languages where pronouns are not used, or are optional, but the context will indicate the subject being discussed.

    Some personal pronouns are gendered, and some are plural (sometimes!) but we’ll get into that in more detail later. English has a structure that generally requires a subject for clarity so pronouns are quite important. You may find other languages use pronouns differently. Japanese sentence structure means it is often possible in spoken Japanese to drop the pronouns, if it is clear who you are referring to. So while Japanese has words for I, you, he, she, they, etc, it is not incorrect to drop them entirely, allowing for a single verb to become a complete sentence in some cases. Indeed, it can be considered quite rude to use a word for ‘you’ in Japanese. In English, this doesn’t really work as well.

    Other kinds of pronouns

    There are other types of pronouns in English. Reflexive pronouns are used when the subject is performing the verb on itself (see what I did there!). Itself, myself, yourself are all good examples and are essential in some sentences.

    Possessive pronouns indicate ownership of something: mine, his, yours, theirs, hers, its (do not use an apostrophe here! See this post here.). ‘That is mine, you can’t have it.’ Look at all the pronouns! Obviously this sentence only makes sense with context around it.

    Demonstrative pronouns indicate nouns by their location or position relative to where you are. This, that, these, those. This is nearby, that is far away. Make sense?

    Relative pronouns link a modifier to a noun. ‘She’s the one who did it.’ Who, whom, that, and which are all relative pronouns.

    Interrogative pronouns are your question words. Who, whom, whose, which, and what are all interrogative pronouns. They are used to replace the noun when you are asking a question. ‘What is that?’

    Indefinite pronouns are pronouns that are used when you don’t need to be specific about who you are talking about so a personal pronoun isn’t needed. This includes words like everyone, anyone, someone, neither, much.

    Gendered Pronouns

    Getting into part of what has been an ongoing discussion regarding personal pronouns. In English, we have both gendered and non-gendered personal pronouns. She/Her and He/Him are gendered, for female and male respectively. What about the non-gendered ones? They/Them, I/m, You, We/Us. There are others out there, this list is not exhaustive as there are newer pronouns which some people who do not identify with a binary gender, feel is more suitable.

    It is important to be aware that you cannot always know what someone’s gender is by their appearance or their name. Some names are gender neutral. You can’t assume. So how do you navigate this? Simple. If in doubt, ask. If you make a mistake, apologise and correct yourself then move on. Don’t make a fuss about it. Be polite and respectful. If someone else uses the wrong pronouns for someone, politely correct them and move on.

    There is no need to argue about pronouns or tell someone who they are based on what you think you know. It’s basic human decency to respect other people by calling them what they want to be called. It’s no different from someone preferring to go by a nickname or middle name, or getting married and taking their spouses surname.

    ‘But ‘they/them’ is plural!

    Yeah, no, it’s not always. I have seen this argument a lot when it comes to non-binary people using ‘they/them’ pronouns. “It’s not grammatically correct.” That’s incorrect. Don’t get me wrong, ‘they/them’ are used in a plural form, referring to groups of people. This occurs in other languages too, some languages even have gendered group pronouns. In English, however, ‘they’ and ‘them’ can be correctly used for a single person of unspecified, unknown or non-binary gender.

    Don’t believe me? Collins Dictionary to the rescue: here. Or the Guardian’s Style Guide entry on pronouns: here. The Blue Book of Grammar, particularly Rule 11a and11b: here. Finally, this article from the Oxford English Dictionary, which is the most definitive record of the English language, which traces use of the singular ‘they’ back to the year 1375 which you can read here.

    Conclusion and Inclusion

    So, in summary, you cannot drag out the ‘basic biology’ argument when it comes to gender identities and ignore the ‘basic grammar’ of pronouns. Singular ‘they’ is correct. Plural ‘they’ is also correct. If you disagree, you’re transphobic, simple as that. Also, while this isn’t really the place to discuss it in detail, as a life sciences graduate with years of experience treating a large variety of animals, I hate to break it to you but there is no such thing as ‘basic biology’. It is never that simple. Ever. Biology does not have hard and fast rules about anything. Try some basic human decency and respect instead. It looks better on everyone.

    Thank you for reading. Feel free to comment, if you can be respectful. Discussion is welcome, as long as you remember that opinions are for pizza toppings and ice-cream flavours, not people’s existences. I reserve the right to moderate the comments and remove inappropriate or hateful ones. See you next time!

  • Keeping track of ideas!

    Don’t let those sneaky ideas get away from you!

    Anyone who does writing or any other creative pursuit has to deal with this at some point. Sometimes ideas will come to you at the most random moments, and it might not be convenient when it does. I’ve had so many interesting ideas come to me while I’m driving, in the shower, or about to fall asleep when my brain suddenly says: “Why don’t we do this?” Keeping track of ideas so you don’t lose them can be challenging.

    What you don’t want is to forget your brilliant idea before you get a chance to implement it. You know how to fix that annoying plot hole but you’re tucked into bed. What do you do? You know that if you don’t write it down, by the time you wake up in the morning, you will have forgotten it.

    Useful Ways to Record Your Ideas

    • Notepad and pen: keep them everywhere. Bedside table, in the car, on your desk.
    • Your phone: you have so many options for apps to use, or email yourself. You could even set a reminder alarm for when you will be writing next!
    • Alexa, Siri, etc: if you have one of these devices, you can use them to create lists and reminders for yourself
    • Tell someone: tell someone you trust, you and they will be more likely to remember it. If there isn’t anyone around, repeat it to yourself. Or record it on your phone.

    Be brief

    You may not have a lot of time to write down your ideas when they come to you. That’s okay. You don’t need to put every detail into the note. You need enough to jog your memory, that’s all. The rest is in your brain somewhere, you just need a keyword or two to find it, just like using a search engine.

    Don’t Overthink It

    Be careful about thinking on the idea too long without putting it down on paper or on a screen. You can talk yourself out of ideas sometimes, and then you lose the chance to see if the idea is good or not. Don’t change it until you’ve had a chance to write it out properly. If it isn’t quite right, you can always edit things later or remove it if it doesn’t work for you.

    There’s a saying when you are building or making something: “Measure twice, cut once.” You can apply similar logic to writing. It is far better to over-explain and write more than you need to then edit it and cut it down later. If you try too hard to be concise in the first draft, you might end up missing something that you want to include.