Adam Croft's Blog, page 39

I think it is something all writers have done at some time or another. You’ll be out, away from your computer, and you’ll suddenly be struck by inspiration. A brilliant idea for your next novel/short story/poem/article/other miscellaneous writing project will hit you. You’ll be really excited about it – it’s the bit of inspiration you’ve been looking for.

But you’ve forgotten your notebook, and you don’t have a pen so you can’t even write it on your hand. You tell yourself that this idea is so great, you’ll still remember it by the time you get back home. There’s no way you can forget it.

By the time you get back home, the idea has gone. All that you have left is the memory that you did have an idea, but what it was, you no longer have any clue.

We’ve all done it.

Of course, in the days of posh smartphones and fancy portable tablet computers, this isn’t quite the issue it once was. If you don’t have a notepad and pen with you, it’s much less likely to be a problem when you’re suddenly struck with a great bit of writing inspiration. You’ll probably still have some way of noting it down.

But still, there’s something reassuring and comforting about a notebook filled with ideas; it’s more personal somehow than all the technology we can use to record things these days. And no matter how wonderful all this technology is and how useful it can be, there’s still that small fear that even once we’ve written a note using a smartphone app, it won’t be there when we want to access it again. We have more control over paper and pen (even if not over the quality of our handwriting, which can render even the most clearly-defined idea illegible upon re-reading, as I think many people will be familiar with).

At the heart of it, I suppose it’s not really about the notebook and pen. Sure, it’s great to carry them with you wherever you go so no matter what happens, no matter what idea you get, where you get it or what technical malfunctions you may suffer rendering your phone-recording capabilities void, you’ll always be able to note down your ideas. But what this is really about is making sure we do note things down, however we decide to do so.

Ideas might seem big and permanent when we have them, but they can vanish again just as easily. You can wake up in the night with a fantastic, fully-formed idea that in the morning, after several more hours of sleep and nothing tangible to refer back once you wake up, makes very little sense. Maybe you’ll get the idea back, maybe you won’t.

It doesn’t seem worth taking the risk though. So however you choose to do it – notepad and pen, smartphone, tablet, computer, voice-recorder, memory exercises – don’t let your ideas go by unrecorded. It might help save us all a lot of writerly frustration.

Here’s something that anyone involved in independent publishing is sure to be interested in – an article looking at whether genre fiction is better suited to e-readers than literary fiction. The article references a blog post by author David Hewson, and it offers some interesting food for thought.

It suggests that when people are using their e-readers on their commute, they tend to be after a quicker, easier read – the sort that much genre fiction can often provide in a way that more literary fiction might not.

Genre fiction tends to do well in the e-book charts, and with so many independent publishers also writing genre fiction and e-publishing their work, it suggests that the theory might be onto something. Of course, it isn’t scientific, and there are plenty of other factors that affect e-book sales (quality, price, reviews, author and so on), but it’s still an interesting point of view into the e-reading boom.

What do you think? Do you think genre fiction is better suited to e-readers than other fiction, or do you think e-readers work well with any type of book?

Here’s another interesting video for fans of crime fiction: this one features crime writer Val McDermid talking with Professor Sue Black, a forensic scientist, about issues such as dismemberment and other grisly things that crime fans tend to find fascinating – and how it is often the little details that really help to make a novel.

I think this point is an interesting one. In the video, Val McDermid talks about how even though issues of character are important, and how she explores why people do what they do, those issues still need to be underpinned with facts – such as forensic detail.

The video also throws up another interesting point that’s worth looking at. Namely, how other professionals can help us as writers. Most of us, after all, aren’t experts in forensic science, or the law or medicine or any of those other topics we often have to deal with in crime fiction. We don’t even need to be experts, but what we do need to be able to do is make what we write plausible.

As is pointed out in the video, that might mean only using a few words of an explanation offered by someone with expertise in the area, but that can make all the difference in making our work believable. It’s fairly common for crime writers to seek professional advice when undertaking research, and it’s certainly something worth considering.

Also, juts think about all the inspiration that could come from speaking to professionals, people who have lived what you’re writing and have seen everything there is to see. Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction, and people with experience in areas such as policing or forensic science can be great to test out ideas on or find little bits of new ideas that you can use in your own work.

We don’t always need to get absolutely everything right in crime fiction – that’s why we call it fiction and artistic license is a great thing – but we definitely need to get as much as we can right, and it could be those little details that we wouldn’t have known without the help of friendly professionals that make all the difference to our work.

What do you think?

It’s something that many people dream of – a career as an independent publisher, writing and publishing your own work for a living (or at least part of your living). It’s a great dream, and with the changes we’re seeing in the publishing industry and the increasing tendency for writers to investigate the independent publishing route, it’s not necessarily out of the question.

However, we can’t forget that independent publishing is, just like any other career, hard work. We can’t just dive in and hope for the best. Well, we can, but it’s unlikely to be the best strategy.

One of the key things we need for a career in independent publishing is professionalism. After all, no matter how much we love writing and however fun we find it, self-publishing is still a business. You need to be able to be logical about things, and know how to deal with people. It can also take up a lot of time, which means that a professional approach is required to make sure you’re able to fit everything in.

Making a career also involves lots of determination. These things tend not to happen overnight. You need to put the hours in, just as you would with any other job, and you might need to try different options and strategies if things don’t work out straight away. Plus, it can be challenging. Writing a book takes a long time. Marketing takes up time. Eventually, you’ll probably be writing one book and marketing another at the same time. And you need to have a life as well, and maybe support yourself through another job. You need to be serious about an independent publishing career and the sacrifices that you might need to make in order to achieve it.

However, the fun aspect of writing is also a crucial part of an independent publishing career. You need to love what you’re doing. Alongside all that hard work and long hours, it still needs to be enjoyable. That’s what helps to make it all worth it. Yes, it can be tough, but the effort is worth it. Developing a career for yourself – any career – takes time and commitment and setbacks and determination.

But if you keep your eye on the prize, remember why you love it and let yourself enjoy it, and with a little bit of luck, there’s no reason why it shouldn’t happen eventually. And when it does, it will be more than worth it.

Talking about writing is fun. There’s a sense that it’s productive, because it’s about writing, but it’s also a little bit illicit, because it doesn’t actually involve doing any writing. The rather popular variation of writing about writing (instead of writing what you’re actually supposed to be writing) is also great fun.

But is it stopping us from writing what we’re supposed to? After all, if we’re spending hours each week writing blogs (ahem), reading other people’s writing blogs and commenting on posts, we’ll be losing time we could be spending working on our ‘proper’ writing projects.

I think one of the big reasons for the popularity of writing-related-but-not-actually-proper-writing activities is that we all love the idea of writing, but actually getting started is something of a challenge. Then there’s the fact that we can, in fact, learn quite a lot from talking, reading and writing about writing. It’s great to read blog posts from people with loads of success and experience and pick up tricks or find out things we never knew before.

It can even improve our writing, so it’s certainly not a complete waste of time.

However, we can’t deny the fact that talking about writing is not the same as actually getting on with the business of writing. We can read and write all the blog posts we want and learn as much about writing and self-publishing and the industry as we want – but it’s not going to get that novel written.

At some point, we have to stop talking about it and just get on and write it. That doesn’t mean we should stop talking/reading/writing about writing altogether, just that there often comes a point when we need to re-evaluate how we’re actually spending our time, and whether we’re spending as much time on the actual writing as we could be.

Time is precious, and unless some Doctor Who-style plot becomes reality, there will only ever be 24 hours in a day. We need to get as much out of those hours as we can. Of course, writers can’t write all the time. We have to do other stuff, too: learn about self-publishing, market our work, get the word out and, yes, talk about process and methods of writing. But we still have to make sure we’re spending as much time writing as we possibly can – otherwise we’ll eventually end up running out of things to talk about.

What do you think? Do you find that talking about writing helps you, or do you just prefer to get on with the actual writing?

While creating a compelling, unexpected plot is undoubtedly one of the most important aspects of crime fiction, we can never underestimate the importance of finding the emotional heart of the book either.

After all, if there is nothing to care about in the story – no characters to feel for, no events that pack an emotional punch as well as an intellectual one – the book will end up somewhat empty. It won’t be anywhere near as interesting and readers could well end up asking ‘what’s the point?’

The good news is that the ‘heart’ of crime fiction can come in many guises, so no matter what kind of work you are writing, you should have plenty of interesting options to explore. One common theme in this sort of fiction is the sense of an absence or something being lost. The loss of life, the loss of a loved one, the loss of freedom or innocence, of trust…

That then gives way to a wide range of other emotions that could well be central to a book: anger, love, uncertainty, grief. The challenge is often in deciding where your primary focus should be.

Do you, for instance, decide that the death of the victim is going to be the emotional centre of the book? Or could you make it so that the focus is on a relative of the victim? The antagonist? A combination of several different ideas?

It’s possible to explore a wide range of emotions and actions that add depth and heart to a crime novel. That multiplicity of options is one of the things that makes the genre so compelling, but there is something of a skill in finding where that heart is and making sure it fits in with everything else: the characters, the plot, how you want things to develop and so on.

Still, when it’s done right, that sort of exploration can really help to elevate a book. What do you think?

You may remember a recent post on ideas for being more creative. Well… here’s another one, because as writers, there is no such thing as too much creativity (unless, of course, your creativity leads to a plot that is full of holes because the whole ‘logic’ thing went entirely out of the window – but mostly, for writers, it’s a good thing).

Learn something new – learn a language or start a new hobby that requires you to learn some new skills. Expanding our horizons is a great way to open ourselves up to new ideas, and new ways of being creative.
Don’t be afraid of failing – sometimes we want to try new ideas, but shy away because we’re worried they won’t work. Well. Maybe they won’t. But as long as the only thing that will be harmed if something fails is your pride (which will heal), don’t be afraid of taking the leap. You’ll still learn something, and you might get something amazing out of it.
Don’t be obvious – often, when faced with a problem in our writing or in our lives, we go for the most obvious solution, either because it’s the ‘done thing’ or because it seems to be the easiest way to go. Maybe it is, but if that’s the case, it’s unlikely to be the most creative way to go. Put some thought into more unusual solutions; you might not end up using them, but they could spark some creativity for something else further down the line.
Don’t be too chaotic – it can be tempting to think that creativity is something of a chaotic pursuit. This is sometimes true, but if your whole life is chaotic, your creativity in writing won’t have the best environment in which to flourish. Having things organised in your life will free up space in your mind – space that you can use to be creative in your writing.
Don’t think of it as work – thinking of our writing as work is often one of the fastest ways to zap all fun and creativity out of it. Remember that it’s fun. Creativity is always more present when things are fun (although there is no doubting that when faced with work, many of us will be outrageously creative in order to get out of doing it, so if that provides you with inspiration at all, go with it).
Don’t worry about it – when you’re writing, don’t worry too much about whether what you’re writing is creative enough. While there are plenty of things we can do to improve and develop our creative streaks, dwelling too much on it while in the middle of writing something might not always be the best idea. If you’re into what you’re writing, are enjoying it and want to keep going, don’t worry. The creativity is probably there already.

Writer’s block is an issue we’ve looked at a few times on this blog, and it’s always an interesting topic to return to, partly, I think, because writing never stops being difficult. Even if you’ve been writing your whole life, it’s still a challenge – and so it should be.

But that also means that The Block is always there, lurking, in the back of your mind. You could be having the most productive day ever and then, suddenly, you’re stuck. It’s unpredictable, and while there are plenty of things we can do to get over it and keep on writing even when we’re finding it as difficult as we ever have, it’s still an issue.

Luckily, it’s an issue common to all writers. You don’t have to call it writer’s block if you don’t want to (an ordinary day at the office, perhaps, or that which we shall not name), but we all experience a bit of difficulty from time to time. It’s always interesting to see how other people deal with it – and it’s also reassuring in a way, that even the most successful of writers have the occasional off day.

With this in mind, this video on the BBC Writersroom is well worth a watch. It features some well-known TV writers talking about how they deal with writer’s block, offering a few different insights and perhaps a little bit of comfort in the fact that when it comes to The Block, we are not alone.

The common theme seems to be that no matter how you deal with the issue, the important thing is to deal with it somehow. Giving up isn’t an option; we have to keep writing, whether we choose to deal with it now or later. We can get over whatever the problem is that we’re experiencing – how you do it is up to you, but don’t walk away. Like a couple of the writers on that video say, it’s easier to edit rubbish than it is to edit nothing.

How do you go about getting over writer’s block?

 

Barnes & Noble has recently announced that it is planning to launch its e-reader, the Nook, in the UK. It’s due to launch this autumn, which means that people in the UK will not only be able to buy the device but also to access the Barnes & Noble online store, which has around 2.5 million digital titles.

The move of the Nook into the UK will be the company’s first expansion outside the US, so it’ll definitely be interesting to see what the take-up of the device is like among UK consumers.

It has been reported that the web address www.nook.co.uk will open in October 2012 to sell the e-readers as well as digital titles.

The Nook has been available in the US since 2009 and it has proved popular; it’s thought that Barnes & Noble has about 25-30% of the US digital market. It isn’t yet known how much the Nook will cost to buy in the UK, but it has been reported that only the black and white e-readers will be available, although it has launched a colour version in the US (which competes against Amazon’s Kindle Fire).

You can read more about the UK release of the Nook here and here.

What do you think – are you tempted by the Nook or do you prefer a different e-reader?

You may remember a while back, I took a look at some Twitter tips for writers. Today, we turn our attention to that other social media giant writers can’t ignore: Facebook. As the most popular social network, Facebook is definitely something that we need to engage with – and like Twitter, it has multiple users for writers, from engaging with readers to running competitions and providing you with an opportunity to procrastinate while still feeling productive.

So here are some Facebook tips for writers…

Make a separate author page

Many – if not most – of us will already have a personal Facebook profile, but if you’re planning to use it to promote yourself as an author, it makes sense to set yourself up with a specific page to do so. This doesn’t have to be an entirely separate account, but Facebook gives you the option to set up a fan page, which people can ‘like’ and engage with.

Don’t have too many pages

The temptation might be to set up a separate page for each book you release. There might be some merit in this – it all depends how you want to go about your promotions – but make sure your Facebook platform remains coherent. It needs to be clear, if you have more than one page, which is your main one and how everything links together.

Don’t over-promote

We can’t get away from the fact that writers tend to use sites like Facebook to promote their work, but at the same time, we also need to be careful about over-promoting. If all you post on your Facebook page is information about your book and special offers you’ve got going on, it could easily turn people off. The occasional promotional post is fine, but make sure you get a mix of stuff in there too.

Engage regularly

If you have a few days away from Facebook every now and then, probably no one will notice and you’ll give yourself a welcome break. However, engaging with Facebook religiously in the beginning but then drifting away is in some ways worse than not having a Facebook presence at all. Inactive pages can be something of a turn-off and if you don’t update in ages, people might decide to ‘unlike’ your page.

Remember your privacy

The aim of using Facebook might be to help you reach out to readers and hopefully sell some more books, but remember you have a right to privacy too. For instance, think about the information you have on your page and/or profile. Are you happy with anyone who happens to pop by reading it, or do you think you could benefit from applying a privacy filter?

Remember it’s fun

When you’re promoting a lot and spending quite a bit of time on Facebook, it can start to feel like a chore – and that’s something that’s likely to come across in your updates. If it’s starting to feel too much like a pain, it might be time to re-evaluate your Facebook strategy. Social media can be a great business tool for authors, but don’t forget that it’s fun too. Let yourself enjoy it. You and your readers will appreciate it.

What are your tips for writers using Facebook?