Category: tools

#61 – Pauline Wiles – Write Through The Roof

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On May 5, 2019

In interview, podcast, productivity, psychology, tools, women's fiction, write through the roof, writers, writing, writing tips

Episode 61 with Pauline Wiles – women’s fiction author & writing productivity coach

‘We need to figure out our own path and plod along steadily.’

Episode 61 – Pauline Wiles – Show Notes

  • Benefit from writing both fiction and non-fiction: entertainment v exploring own worries
  • Take a day off once a week
  • Tea – English breakfast with milk
  • Bacon controversy
  • Fiction – light-hearted escapist women’s fiction but dealing with finding yourself as a person before getting in a relationship.
  • Quirky cultural differences between the UK and the US.
  • Non-fiction – productivity for writers – purposeful productivity.
  • Comparisonitis. Humans learn by comparing.
  • Listening to her own advice.
  • Mindfulness – catch own thinking before it spirals out of control. Ten-minute daily meditation – listen to own breath.
  • Dividing week into blocks of time. Writing, business, promotion and marketing.
  • Creating a parking lot for ideas
  • Jane Austen, Marian Keyes, Emily Giffin, Laura Vanderkam, Gretchen Rubin
  • Indie With Ease
  • Ten Things my Husband Hated

‘Try to compare when you’re having a positive day.’

‘I’m definitely not sitting there on a fluffy cloud of zen.’

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Recent listens: How to Publish Your Book by Jane Friedman

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On February 5, 2016

In audiobook, book review, my writing life, publishing, tools, writing tips

I like my audiobooks. But for some unknown reason, I can’t focus on fiction in audio. My mind wanders and I miss sections of the story, so I’ve learned to stick with non-fiction for audiobooks.

A recent listen was How to Publish Your Book by Jane Friedman, available through The Great Courses. This is available through Audible and you’ll also receive the accompanying lecture notes in PDF.

how-to-publish-your-book-by-jane-friedman

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How I “finished” – Tip#6 Loading up my Toolbox

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On December 7, 2015

In my tips, my writing life, tools, Uncategorized

Load up my tool box

A professional needs their tools. The two tools which really helped me  to compile and edit my unwieldy lump of words were Scrivener and Speech Function/Text to Speech.

7

Scrivener is software designed for writers to easily format long documents. It has lots of nifty features.  My favourite is the left hand navigation where you can save chapters or scenes in folders and easily swap things around. I also love the target word count feature, with a satisfying little “ping” to congratulate me on reaching my daily word count. I’m probably only using a fifth of the features, but now it’s an essential part of my writing.

Speech Function/Text to Speech reads my words aloud to me. This is invaluable in the editing process. Read aloud, it’s easier to locate missing words, typos and clumsy phrases invisible to the eye. There is also a choice of voices, so I swap between an older British woman to a younger American man depending on my mood.

What are your essential writing tools?

Tomorrow – Tip #7 Being Selfish and Competitive

What I learned about writing in 2014

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On January 2, 2015

In discipline, my writing life, nanowrimo, tools

Time for some self indulgent navel gazing about 2014.

2014 was a big year for me. I got serious about this writing malarkey. Writing and publishing a novel has been my life’s goal as long as I can remember, so it was time to stop tinkering around the edges and make a real go of it.

So what did I learn in 2014 and what inspired me.

There are loads of options in the publishing world

I love my podcasts and stumbled across So you want to be a writer. “Writer” comes from the Australian Writer’s Centre and is a valuable resource of information and inspiration. It alerted me to the booming world of self-publishing. Having read Hugh Howey’s Wool in paperback, I had no idea about his back story in super successful self publishing and the different options available to writers these days. Valerie and Allison are knowledgeable and entertaining, their advice on the importance of establishing an author platform inspired me to start this blog, join Twitter and come out as a writer. I look forward to each episode.

I can write hundreds of thousands of words a year and keep a day job

Having participated in Nanowrimo multiple times and won, this year I got serious about sitting down almost every day to write or edit. In 2014, I managed 4 drafts of a 75,000 novel #1, a Nanowrimo 50,000 word vomit draft of Novel#2 and 15,000 words of Novel #3. And I kept my day job! And still managed 8 hours sleep a night (well, many of those 8 hours tossing and turning but my sleep battles are a discussion for another day).

Although on the downside, I have fallen way behind in pop culture, if it’s not Dr Who or Games of Thrones, I haven’t seen it. Hey, I’m old now – it doesn’t matter if I don’t keep up with the cool kids anymore. Oh and the best thing, whilst some days writing is like cracking walnuts with my bare hands, I still enjoy the process.

My writing doesn’t suck

I put my work out there for the first time, seeking professional and beta reader feedback on my drafts. No one told me I sucked. In fact, people even said some complimentary stuff and more importantly, gave me pointers on what to improve. Onwards and upwards, friends!

My goal –  to have a completed (ready to publish) manuscript by 31/12/15. And I can’t wait to share it with the world!

Writing dilemma – who’s my target audience?

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On November 25, 2014

In dilemma, my writing life, tools

Today’s writing dilemma…should I write for a specific audience or write for myself?

In my day job, I’ve been a product manager for ah-hem years. Rule #1 being – know your customer and develop a product to meet your customer’s needs. For years I’ve been analysing and getting to know my “target market”.

But when it comes to my writing, I don’t really know who my target audience is.

I’m writing a book I’d like to read and couldn’t find. In the wise words of the incredible Toni Morrison….

If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.

But then I’m busting another rule of marketing – don’t market to yourself. Cos that’s a pretty small market. I’m not going to buy my own book!

Confusion reigns.

www.theinvisibleagent.wordpress.com

This is today’s dilemma…how do you approach your writing? Do you have a specific audience in mind or do you write to interest yourself?

8 uncool tips for winning Nanowrimo

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On October 27, 2014

In my tips, nanowrimo, tools

It’s the last few days of October. This means it’s almost Nanowrimo time!

I can’t even remember when I first started Nanowrimo (at least 10 years ago) and I have won at least twice. But done nothing with it (see previous post).

For me, a successful Nanowrimo is all about the discipline. Not the fun kind with riding crops, but the boring kind.

www.musictomes.com

www.musictomes.com

Here are my 7 uncool tips for a successful Nanowrimo vomit draft.

  • Consistency – yes, discipline is boring and unsexy but you can’t get around it. Commit to your 1667 words per day. Do it every day for a month.
  • Be a hermit/shut-in – what’s more important, giving birth to your awesome novel or going out for drinks with people you don’t really like to places you hate? Tell your friends you’ll see them in December.
  • Unplug – the TV, the internet… out out damned distraction. Do you really need to see another video of a quirky cat or a teenage boy cracking his knackers on a stair rail?
  • Go with the flow – if you are having a good writing day, just let it keep going. Weekends (if you are M-F 9-5 like me) are great to get bulk words down. This gets you ahead for the days when life gets in the way
  • Preparation – I’m a plotter. I do love a spreadsheet or a Gantt chart. My tip is plot as much as you can now. Then if you get stuck or have exhausted a storyline, you’ve got somewhere to go.
  • Just keep writing – you get a mental blank spot, just keep writing. Even if it’s garbage, a story will appear as you keep typing. Sometimes it’s your best idea ever.
  • Don’t reread your previous work – don’t look down, just keep going. You can reread and edit in December. November is about quantity not quality.
  • Be kind to yourself – there’s always December. Or 2015.

Hope this helps you and Happy Nano-ing!

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