Month / April 2017

by whyididntwritetoday

Minimalism and the never-ending ‘how are you?’

So, you’ve got a day to yourself and you’ve got a little bit of money in your back pocket. You decide to go shopping and pick up some new clothes, because let’s face it – even the best stocked wardrobe needs to be freshened up every now and then.

You walk into one of those kind of sleek clothes shops that have more mannequins than clothing lines – you know the type I mean, right? The sort of uber-white, brightly lit joint that’s so minimally minimalist you almost think you’ve accidentally walked into an empty lot.

As you enter a sales assistant walks past you – stopping briefly to assess you. They work out your social stature, your waist size and whether or not you fit in with their pre-programmed ideals of what looks best for the brand.

“Hi, how are you?” they sing out cheerfully, a couple of coat-hangers strung over each shoulder – the attached garments billowing out in their wake like a cape. A superhero for the well dressed minimalist capitalist consumer.

So, what do you say? I mean you’re not going to open up your deepest, darkest fears to a stranger are you? Well, you might. But most likely you’ll just say “I’m good” and then go about your day…staying perhaps a couple more minutes before you decide that a white t-shirt with a full stop in the middle isn’t going to make you look as cool as the person you want to be.

But do you know what I always say?

I always say, “I’m good thank you, how are you?”

And do you know what they say? Nothing. They’ve already walked past and gone back to their day – forever leaving me hanging.

Not just clothing shops, but all sorts of stores, restaurants and even bars. I’m always left wondering how they are and how their day is going.

Why do I ask? Why do I care?

Because I feel that, as a writer, I need to be in tune with other people…I need to be interested in other people.

Because that’s where the true stories lie – the beauty of observation is that it’s so easy! There are great characters all around us, with great perspectives and feelings – but if we don’t take any notice of them, we’re losing free research. A free chance to craft and calculate new characters.

It’s a well-known fact that many authors base characters on people they’ve known – because the best characters tend to originally be born of flesh and blood – not from the factories of the creative mind. Or, at least not fully.

So, open your eyes/ears and ask someone how they are.

by whyididntwritetoday

Unless you can get Beyonce to sing halfway through your story…

In yesterday’s post I touched on the subject of sport, and I kept on thinking about it afterwards.

If the statistics that a quick Google search have given me are to be believed…and, let’s face it, in this world of ‘alternative facts’ you never know…association football is the most popular sport in the world. With a whopping 3.5 billion fans spread across the globe!

I’m happy to admit that I’m in that number. 

One of the things that I’ve noticed about football, which sets it apart from many other sports, is that it’s a fast-paced, free-flowing game. Asides from a fifteen minute break between halves the action is nearly continuous – only ever broken up by the occasional free-kick, throw-in or injury.

That makes it fairly easy to watch and it means that, unless it’s an incredibly boring game, it’s harder for the average viewer to get distracted. I’ve tried to watch sports such as cricket or American football before and I’ve never found myself as involved. The pace of cricket can be slow and a match can often last a very, very long time – I’m stumped as to why anyone can actually like it! When it comes to American football, my lasting impression is that a game seems to have more stoppages than national rail!

I find that this is something that I can attribute to my writing. I won’t lie to you, as an up and coming writer I’m looking to write for a wide target audience right now and will continue to do so until I make my name.

Any marketer worth their salt will tell you that the average Joe (or Jane) has a short attention span, so when they’re reading a story the action and the dialogue needs to have a zip and a zing to it or else their readership will soon decide to put the book down and go back to their busy lives…or at least update their Facebook statuses and find the right Instagram filter for their next meal.

So, the lesson for you and I today, is to find a flow to the action of the story and once we find it – we need to make sure that we keep it going. We should only break for long, drawn-out paragraphs of self introspection when we really have to.

Although having said that, if anyone can make their novel like the Superbowl and have Beyonce singing halfway through, that will probably work too…so don’t fully rule other sports out!

Congrats to anyone who can correctly recognise the guy in this blog’s featured image.

by whyididntwritetoday

Centre Circles & Corner Kicks

I didn’t write this evening because I watched the football.

Creatives aren’t just the artists and the writers of this fair lonely planet. They can be in all walks of life from engineers to footballers.

Ever since the days of gladiators and colloseums sport has always united and divided us.

Long may it continue. 

I’ll write tomorrow. Tomorrow is the day where I’ll begin walking down the path to becoming the greatest writer who ever lived..

by whyididntwritetoday

The Top Shelf of the Library

I didn’t write today, because I couldn’t find the right story to start on.

I always feel that the fictional storyteller’s mind is a library of ideas and plots, many of these are easy to access and get a hold of. But, usually the ideas that you really want to pursue and start to write about are the hardest ones to find.

By that I mean, to again use the library analogy, they’ll often be on the top shelf. You can see them from a distance, and can make out a bit about them, but you need to get closer to them.  So, you’ll spend ages looking around for a ladder or maybe you’ll clumsily try and climb up the shelves until you reach the top.

Then, after using all that time to try and get a proper hold of the idea, you’ll be so distracted that all the time that you’d made to write will have floated away.

I’ve always been an ideas guy. Even as a kid I’d be more interested in sketching out my own comics and stories than I would reading them. I guess there are two types of people – those who walk out of a cinema and think; “man, that was a great film!” – and those who walk out of a cinema and think; “that was an awesome film, but I reckon I could do better”.

Creative consumers and creative do-ers.

I’ve always been the latter.

I can’t remember the last time a day went by where I didn’t have a story in the back of mind that I wanted to tell. Whether it be simple, or more complex. Sadly, without a computer (or at the very least) a notepad permanently taped to my hands the creative flow can’t always be tapped at the best time. Life has a habit of getting in the way, doesn’t it?

I wonder how often, in the whole history of the world and everything ever, truly great masterpieces have fallen to the wayside because the potential authors just weren’t able to organise their mental libraries in time to grab the bull by its horns and get some words down on some paper.

Motivation for an idea can be lost so quickly.

Why do they always come to you when you’re just about to drift into the land of nod, or when you’re out and miles away from your desk?
But, here’s a Sunday night vow…I will be better, and I’ll avoid excuses and organise my gems when necessary.

Because becoming the greatest writer who ever did live isn’t going to come about without a blood, sweat & tears.

New York Times Bestsellers List here I come…

by whyididntwritetoday

Weekend or writing week beginning?

If you’re lucky enough to have your weekends free you should make some time to write.

It’s easy to lose your days off in a whirlwind of chores and life admin tasks.

But in 30 years from now, would you rather look back and think that was the weekend that I started my path to become the greatest writer who ever lived or that was the weekend I mowed the lawn?

Who knows you just might make it onto The New York Times Bestsellers list…

by whyididntwritetoday

Do you only blow out candles on your birthday?

I often wonder if it was easier to write many, many years ago. Just imagine it, the clock strikes the seventeenth hour of the day and as the sky around you slowly begins to fade into twilight you down tools and you make your way home. Depending on the era the occasional flickering streetlight might be there to guide you back and then once you’re there, asides from eating, I suppose there must have been little other distractions.

Making the assumption that, at the time, you were educated enough to be able to write to a decent standard – you take a seat at your desk (in front of a roaring fire or candle), fill your pipe with tobacco and what else would you have time for but to write?

I always attach a certain kind of charm to writing by candlelight, I firmly believe in the Danish art of Hygge and I think a simple candle flame really can conjure up the right environment for you to centre yourself and collect your thoughts. So, what could be more perfect than having to use a candle to write with as a necessity rather than just an extra touch?

Of course, I’m being idyllic – I’m sure it would be rather annoying that your only source of illumination could be scuppered at the mere rustle of the wind. Plus, no matter which era you found yourself in times could likely be hard/busy and I’m sure the time to write probably wouldn’t come so easily. Still, it’s a nice thought isn’t it?

I mentioned Hygge earlier – here’s a definition just in case it prickled your curiosity:
Hygge (pronounced hue-guh not hoo-gah) is a Danish word used when acknowledging a feeling or moment, whether alone or with friends, at home or out, ordinary or extraordinary as cosy, charming or special.  (http://hyggehouse.com/hygge)

(Look at me using the lazy blogger art of copying definitions)

While in my ‘Sandwiched’ article, I mentioned that you shouldn’t spend too much of your time trying to find the perfect setting and moment to write, it doesn’t mean that you can’t make the odd tweak to your surroundings and your mood.

Start by embracing a bit of ‘Hygge’ and buying yourself a few candles – I was in Copenhagen not so long ago and the Danes absolutely love them. With good reason too. They create the perfect kind of cosy vibe that I find helps me to write – my mind rang with creativity throughout the whole trip.

Whether you write at a desk, or in bed – go out and get yourself some candles. Have them burning away while you write and see if it helps you find some focus – I wonder how many words you could write in the time it takes a standard candle to burn down to its wick?

If you’re interested in finding out some more about Hygge, check out this book – my girlfriend swears by it, and so do many others: Hygge

by whyididntwritetoday

Are you listening, or just waiting for your turn to talk?

Do you ever find that, in your head, you’ve got the perfect anecdote to tell and you’re just waiting for the other guy to shut up so you can share yours?

Yeah, me too.

I get that a lot.

But, do you know what I’ve found? Life’s much more rewarding when you genuinely listen rather than wait for your turn to say something.

Life isn’t a play, you’re not just waiting to say your line when the cue comes.

Spare a moment and an ear for those around you, ‘cos let’s face it, we tend to like those who take the time to listen to us. Those who are interested in us.

Plus, when it comes to writing – while, like me, you may always want to base your main character on yourself – you need to realise that the greatest stories and perspectives of all come from those around us.

Real life is a great inspiration – but, if you ain’t listening you ain’t gonna get jackshit from it.

by whyididntwritetoday

Lessons from Charlie B…

“I don’t make movies for critics, since they don’t pay to see them anyway.”
– Charles Bronson.

It’s funny how sometimes the simplest quotes make so much sense, and that they’re often the ones you remember. A family friend, while really ill, said the simplest thing to me a few years back, “the one thing you need in life is good friends”. He’s sadly no longer with us, but that quote – as simple as it was – is one that’ll stick with me through the ages.

Once in a while you do just need someone to point out the obvious to you, or the things you think you already know – because sometimes you take that knowledge for granted, to the point where you don’t even apply it.

However, that’s not what this post is about – although maybe I should do a blog on that subject too! I don’t know if you’ll recognise the chap in the featured picture (mainly because, dear reader, I don’t know who you are!) – but, just in case you don’t his name’s Charles Bronson.

He was in loads of westerns and crime movies from the 50s through to the 90s and was perhaps the most hard-bitten, anti-hero to ever walk amongst the reels and projectors of Filmland.

This simple quote about critics has stuck with me since I’ve read it. Sure we may all want critical acclaim, but the critics don’t control things as much as they used to – the power of e-publishing and open media has changed that.

Plus just getting a book published means it’ll make its way onto the New York Times Bestseller List anyway so…

So yeah, write for your fan-base, write for the people who want to read your books. There are thousands of great writers who churn out classic after classic just for their fan base, and they likely make a decent buck or two from it.

Think of all those terrible Mills & Boon pulp romances – they sold 3.3 million paperbacks in 2010, and god knows how many online editions. If you love money, there’s a love story in buying some shares in those guys!

Success comes in many formats – receiving a gold mark from someone who is paid to be critical (and not to enjoy) is just one of them.

Of course, if you’re a blog critic please feel free to give this blog a great review and heads-up so I can become the greatest writer who ever did live.

That was your lesson, class dismissed.