Matthew Lang

This paste on Sourcehut isn’t particularly positive reading if you are a fan of plain text files. I’m not sure what not to make of this. Are software engineers the last group keeping plain-text files alive? I’m not sure. Obsidian is still a popular tool and it can’t be only software engineers that use it.

This weekend I’m hoping to move all my Bear notes into Ulysses. My Bear renewal for the Pro subscription is at the end of September and while I find the app useful, I’m finding that I don’t use it as much as I used to. I’m also starting to consolidate some other files that I have into Ulysses. It’s becoming my go-to app for writing and note taking.

Most of the notes I have already moved across, but there’s a few that I need to do some more work on to tidy up the formatting that was lost in the migration. Hopefully by the end of the weekend, most of this migration will be complete.

Graydon Hoare suggests we always bet on text.

Text is the most socially useful communication technology. It works well in 1:1, 1:N, and M:N modes. It can be indexed and searched efficiently, even by hand. It can be translated. It can be produced and consumed at variable speeds. It is asynchronous. It can be compared, diffed, clustered, corrected, summarized and filtered algorithmically. It permits multiparty editing. It permits branching conversations, lurking, annotation, quoting, reviewing, summarizing, structured responses, exegesis, even fan fic. The breadth, scale and depth of ways people use text is unmatched by anything. There is no equivalent in any other communication technology for the social, communicative, cognitive and reflective complexity of a library full of books or an internet full of postings. Nothing else comes close.

— Always bet on text

I wholeheartedly agree. You can keep video clips, online meetings, voice memos and all the stuff. Text is the ultimate form of communication.

I’ve been trying to find a way to reboot my writing habit for a couple of years now. The trouble is, most things I have written are on too wide a range of topics. When you’re covering a wide range of topics, it feels like you’re jumping from one subject to the next. I need to narrow these topics down.

Paul Graham’s latest essay on how to write usefully got me thinking about this again.

If you narrow the topic sufficiently, you can probably find something you’re an expert on. Write about that to start with. If you only have ten readers who care, that’s fine. You’re helping them, and you’re writing. Later you can expand the breadth of topics you write about.

— How to Write Usefully

I need to focus on one or two topics and start from there.

Write it says our man in Arizona.

Nicholas Bate has the steps you need to start that novel.

Nicholas Bate with a run down on being happy. Writing daily is just one simple part of it.

Write daily about what is working so that you observe, notice and appreciate it.

— Basics 7: How to Be Happy by Nicholas Bate

I’ve got three apps on my MacBook that I’m starting to use on a more frequent basis.

Ulyssess remains my favourite for writing blog posts, Bear is great for capturing notes and acting as a personal sratchpad and finally there’s iA Writer. It fits the gap in between the two. I use it mainly for composing emails and updates for clients.

Three different writing apps might be a bit much, but I’ve found a use for each of them and it works well for me. I probably won’t find much use for the iA Writer 5 update for iOS but never say never.

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about marketing.

While making my afternoon coffee I was running some editing changes through my head on a post I’m writing. And then it struck me.

If you’re not writing, you’re not marketing.

I’ve struggled with marketing my freelancing business in the past, but I certainly could start making a step in the right direction by writing more for my freelancing business.

Patrick is now nonline for at least the next year.

As of March 4, 2017 I’ve stopped all online publishing. This includes my websites and social media accounts. No blog posts, no tweets, no status updates. I’m nonline. I expect this to last at least a year. In that time, I’ll be writing. My goal for that writing is to become a book.

— On Sabbatical by Patrick Rhone

I’m glad Patrick is still going to be running his newsletter during this sabbatical. A little opportunity to see how the writing is going and what else he’s been doing.

I’m starting a newsletter this year.

Yes, I’m a bit late to the newsletter thing and yes this is probably another newsletter that you don’t need, but here me out before you make any decisions.

On the 19th of each month I’ll send you a long form piece of writing about my thoughts on a topic that will usually revolve around technology, productivity or products. If you like my blog then you can expect content along the same lines, just in a longer form. Each month, I’ll also include a link list of interesting titbits from the Internet that have caught my attention and I think are worth passing on.

Interested?

Sign up here then please!

First edition drops on the 19th of January and is entitled, “Back to basics”.

For over a year now I’ve been writing my morning pages by hand. At first the exercise was all about moving away from the growing stack of digital tools I was using. It was becoming tedious continually sitting at a screen so I started handwriting my morning pages.

The exercise itself forced me to slow down a bit more and practice my handwriting. It’s been going well and I’ve got a stack of full notebooks to show for it.

I use a Hobonichi Techo planner for logging a few things through the day and scheduling important meetings and work. It means I’m writing a lot more than I did in the past, and the time I’m spending on writing is growing. If I had no client work on then it wouldn’t be a problem, but I’m doing client work most days.

Whether my morning pages are handwritten or typed, I’m know that I’m still getting the value out of my morning pages, but the time taken to type my morning pages is much shorter than handwriting them. To that end I’m typing my morning pages again on 750words.com.

I started this morning with a weekly review and will be using it just like I did with my handwritten morning pages, focusing on a particular topic for each day and just writing.

I love using pen and paper where I can. It’s portable and flexible. There comes a point though when the digital alternative has clearer benefits and it’s definitely the case here.

Wally Bock has you covered with your first six steps towards a published book.

Long before any writing starts, most authors spend a great deal of time preparing to write. At this point, they usually don’t have a specific idea about what they want to write, but they do have some ideas and a few hunches about what might work.

This is the stage where you do some research. You probably already have some good sources and you’ve probably spoken about the ideas you want to write about several times. Try to get some more information. Dig down. Don’t worry about being comprehensive. It’s almost certain that you’ll need more research once you start writing.

— How the Book Gets Done by Wally Bock

I’ve been asking that question myself for the last few weeks. I’ve been searching for a way to kickstart my own blogging habits again. I often wondered if it was worth the hassle.

I did a quick search for any other people asking the same question. I found a couple of posts that had two great reasons for why people blog.

Kati Stage’s response on Medium is reminder that we’re not all on Facebook. Despite the popularity of Facebook, there are still people searching for content outside of Facebook.

I see blogging as a way to get more reach. Still today, there are plenty of people who don’t have Facebook. Hard to believe, I know. However, I was one of them just 3 years ago. April 2013 I created my very first Facebook account at the age of 32.

— Is Blogging Dead? Isn’t social media enough? by Kati Stage

Next is the response of Michelle Lyndon-Dykes posting on her site The Barefaced Chic:

We all started blogging for our own, specific reasons. Whether it be to make a living, for fun or simply because we have an absolute need to write. So write we do, and the written word never dies.

— Blogging is Dead, Long Live Blogging by Michelle Lyndon-Dykes

These two posts were a nice reminder of why I blog and it is mostly for two reasons.

I want to write.

I want to write and I want to write more often. Writing code is one thing, but being able to string a series of words into readable sentences is difficult. Saying that I do enjoy it. And enjoying it is half the battle.

I want to reach.

Working on my own means that I don’t have appraisals or a team manager monitoring my performance. It’s through these rituals that others advance their career.

If I want to advance my career I have to attract new clients. I know this blog isn’t tailored to web development but I do try to write about topics around my career. What I’m working on, how I’m doing it and what the results are. It’s not all gold and I struggle as much as the next person with it, but I still try to write about it all the same.

You see to reach new clients I have to bring them in with something. That’s what I hope to do with my writing.

So to answer the original question, blogging isn’t dead. It’s still a force to be reckoned with. And I hope it stays that way for a long time.

Find a reason and write.

I’m still on the fence about Medium. Despite having an account there and no stories posted I still get people following me.

Sure I get what Medium is trying to achieve by making blogging easy for everyone but I’m still on the fence about such a high volume of people using one platform.

Mark Lowenstein highlights a few of the benefits and drawbacks with Medium.

Medium offers very little in the way of guidance or tutorials to help one get discovered. There is nobody one can talk to, unless you’re an established brand or company who wants Medium to host your content. I’d bet many writers would be willing to pay a modest fee, or sign up for a premium membership with Medium, for some help building an audience/following and getting their content discovered.

Discoverability is a problem many people face on Medium but I don’t think this a problem with Medium directly.

When you start writing on Medium, you’re writing with (and against) thousands of other people. That’s a lot of competition, so why not blog elsewhere? It’s your decision.

Today, right now, anyone with a $300 laptop can use the very same tools as the people at the top of just about any industry.

— The very same software by Seth Godin

I wonder though how many of those at the top have stayed away from modern technology?

Writers are a great example of this. While many of us might be falling over the latest apps and technology for writing, how many writers have produced their best work on older technology? There are many great stories of authors using old typerighters, old disconnected computers and even pen and paper.

What I’m experimenting with now, though, is adding a little more structure to my pages. Not something overbearing (the whole point of morning pages is for it to be free, stream-of-consciousness writing), but more a footnote. Once my daily pages are dumped from my brain, I’ve started adding three lists: Focus, Fears and Excitement.

— Pulling Focus by Relative Sanity

My morning pages routine has also seen a little change in its format in the last few weeks. I pick a word, form a topic or question around it and then start writing. It’s working well so far.

with Nicholas Bate.

When Ethan was at golf coaching before Christmas, he asked the professional how many balls he would need to hit to get his swing perfect or as close too. His reply straight to the point, “10,000”. Given the chance I have no doubt that Ethan would have started that night trying to rack up as many swings at the ball as he could.

If you practice something long enough you’ll eventually be good at it. Great? May be. Good? Most likely. It doesn’t matter if you’ve already got prior knowledge or your new to something. Spend enough time at it and you’ll get better.

The same goes for writing.

When I first started blogging I looked for something to write about that people would like to read but that’s a rookie mistake. If you want to find something to write about then write something that you will want to read as an individual. Write the web you want to read.

Yes, we’re borrowing slightly from Austin Kleon’s “Write the book you want to read”, but the goal in each case is the same.

I also don’t write straight into my blog anymore. I did this for a year, but there came a point where I was just going through the motions. I was filling up the space for the day and when I read back what I was writing, I didn’t like what I seen.

Instead I write far away from any digital interface that will allow me to easily publish. I write in notebooks, plain text files, and in some cases, even on an index card. Write anywhere that doesn’t have a big “Publish” button at the side of it. It will give you a chance to read, review and edit your writing.

I’m certainly not an expert on whether my writing has improved using a scale of measure but I would like to think that after this amount of time writing on this blog, I have improved my writing in some respects.

A wonderful piece highlighting some life lessons from a father.

Begin conversations with people on airplanes when you hear “We have begun our descent.” If they prove to be fascinating, you will broaden your world; if they prove insufferable, it’s only 15 minutes. Uber rides and chairlifts provide a similar opportunity — exposure to people you would not otherwise meet in controlled time periods.

— Unsolicited Advice for My Three Sons, In No Particular Order by Rufus Griscom

It’s writing like this that I love to read but going through the thousands of posts on Medium is a real problem. Another walled garden of potentially great content I guess.

I finally finished William Zinsser’s On Writing Well last night.

I’ve been making slow progress through it due to the fact I read it last thing at night and only managed a few pages at a time.

I’ve been chewing through a number of books on writing ever since I read Stephen King’s book, On Writing. Educating myself on writing is just as important as my continual learning of software development, which is why I spend the time I do reading books like this.

I didn’t take as many notes as I probably should have done, but I’ve queued the book up again on my reading list so that I do take notes on it the second time around. The main reason I enjoyed the book is that it doesn’t focus on non-fiction writing.

I was glad to see there was even a section on writing about science and technology including this gem of advice:

Describing how a process works is valuable for two reasons. It forces you to make sure you know how it works. Then it forces you to take the reader through the same sequence of ideas and deductions that made the process clear to you.

— On Writing Well by William Zinsser

I recommend this book for anyone interested in improving their writing regardless of the form it takes. This book won’t make you a successful published author but it will make look at your writing in a more critical way and that’s not a bad thing if you want to improve.

Ulysses is now out for the iPhone. Having used it on my MacBook for a couple of weeks, I might still be swayed by the shininess of a new tool, although it is one of the best writing tools I’ve used.

I’m still on the fence about using my phone for writing though, but if it writing on your iPhone is your thing, it may be worth checking out.

I call Ulysses a writing environment, though not really a publishing environment (more on that in a bit), because you’re surrounded with a rich set of writing tools. Put another way, it’s one of the very few apps that feels relatively complete. That doesn’t mean it isn’t finished or there’s nothing left to fix or add. It’s more that Ulysses leaves me with the fewest questions, frustrations, and frictions of any writing app I’ve used.

— Review: Ulysses 2.5 for iPad and, now, iPhone by MacStories

While reading On Writing Well last night, I was glad to have found the section on technical writing.

Describing how a process works is valuable for two reasons. It forces you to make sure you know how it works. Then it forces you to take the reader through the same sequence of ideas and deductions that made the process clear to you.

— On Writing Well by William Zinsser

Consider these gems from Nicholas Bate.

Write a page a day and in 12 months you’ll have the makings of a novel. Study a nation a month and in a year you’ll probably have a greater perspective on the world.

— May the Incremental Be With You by Execupundit

I’ll be honest. I’m probably not the ideal person to be giving advice on writing but here’s a little bit of advice for those aspiring bloggers and writers who frequently question their own writing much like I do.

Last week I had an idea for a technical article. Over the course of the next few days I outlined the article, wrote a couple of drafts, edited it and then read the final draft back to myself. I hated it. It lacked purpose and it didn’t offer enough value to the programmers who would be reading it. In the past I would have simply trashed the article and moved onto something else but is there another way?

In her book “Manage Your Project Portfolio”, Johanna Rothman has great advice about evaluating software projects and deciding what action to take with projects.

Once you’ve decided you should do this project, you have a limited number of decisions to make. You can commit to a project, kill a project, or transform a project to increase its chances of success.

This could be equally applied to writing.

I’ve already mentioned that in the past I would trash any articles that didn’t meet the grade. Everything else was published. What about transforming that article into something else though? Could we salvage something from it?

I decided to transform the article rather than killing it. It took a couple of hours but in the end up I had a different style of article on a related topic to my original article. I was happy enough with the final result and its now added to the growing pile of technical articles to be published next year.

When it comes to writing it doesn’t need to be publish or trash. If something doesn’t meet the grade then consider transforming it into something else. It’s definitely worth considering rather than throwing away what could be a potentially great piece of writing.

Two words that fill me with dread. About me.

I don’t mind writing about a lot of things, but one topic I find difficult to write about is myself. In the past I’ve written about decisions, tools and experiences but the one topic I rarely write about is writing about myself in order to sell myself. Yes, the dreaded about me page.

I’ve managed so far to do well with my self-employed freelance career but things stagnated a bit over the summer. In order to keep the business ticking over, I’ve started treating my freelance business as a separate entity to my own personal website. I’ve relaunched my DigitalBothy blog and I’m in the process of writing a number of technical posts to showcase my expertise. A platform for people to see what I can do. I’m also writing a new about me page for the blog to sell myself as a freelance developer.

Technical writing isn’t a problem. I’ve found my voice (or tone) for that style of writing. An idea, an outline, a draft, a number of edits, a final proof and I’m usually fairly happen with what I have written. When it comes to writing my about me page though, that’s where it becomes tricky. Writing my about me page or even a resume is not something that comes as a naturally as the technical writing.

As a person I’m quiet. I’ve always been that way. And it comes through when I’m writing my about me page. I tend to overlook and downplay the achievements in my career. I can’t afford to be that person. I’m hoping that these few paragraphs can prompt me to be a bit more vocal when it comes to selling myself.

I’m off to grab a coffee and have another stab at the about me page. Thanks for reading.

I try to write in this style for longer posts. People have commented on this in the past but I never figured it to be a big thing.

It seems to be hard for most people to write in spoken language. So perhaps the best solution is to write your first draft the way you usually would, then afterward look at each sentence and ask “Is this the way I’d say this if I were talking to a friend?” If it isn’t, imagine what you would say, and use that instead. After a while this filter will start to operate as you write. When you write something you wouldn’t say, you’ll hear the clank as it hits the page.

— Write Like You Talk by Paul Graham

Jason Fried answers this on Twitter.

Why do I like to write? Because words are fucking fun to play with. Writing is playing. Can't think of a better reason.

— Jason Fried (@jasonfried) September 17, 2015

I love how iA have opened up with their iA Writer 3 release:

If you came here to read about ground-breaking new features, we have to apologize: iA Writer has not become bigger. It has become lighter, smarter, more refined.

— iA Writer 3 by iA

That’s how you sell software.

The morning pages habit trundles on with my Moleskine Volant notebook filling up by the day. Some days it’s easy to get started while other days it seems like a struggle. It shouldn’t be like this.

Every year we visit Jennifer’s family just outside of Toronto. The holiday usually revolves around shopping for the girls and golf for the boys, but on those days where we want to spend the time together as a group we sometimes head down to the lake. It’s a great spot for a picnic and a walk, it lets the kids explore and of course there’s that love of skimming stones. You spend a couple of seconds looking for a good stone and you throw. There’s no concern about the quality of the throw, a few throws is all that’s needed to get better. Also you know that once it’s thrown that stone is gone forever. Well at least until it’s washed back up back onto the shore again.

Your morning pages should be like this. Just writing, seeing where it takes you and never worrying about that writing coming back. It’s an exercise to clear your mind and nothing more. Also it doesn’t matter about the content of your morning pages. It’s all for you. No-one else. Once it’s written it can disappear from the eye of the public forever. Just like your little stone skimming across the water and disappearing, your morning pages can hide forever.

This morning I was stuck for something to write about, so I just started writing. Half a page in and it started to get easier. The next time I start my morning pages it won’t be so hard to get started. I just need to remember it’s just like skimming stones.

Nicholas Bate advises you write. A lot.

For the last two weeks I’ve been writing my morning pages. The fact that I have managed to keep this going for two weeks is a good sign and I’m glad to be doing it again. The content of the writing itself isn’t important, well not at the beginning anyway.

What eventually happens though is that I do find something to write about after those first few paragraphs. The writing then becomes more focused and I start to see where my morning pages are going. It doesn’t always become something of value, most of the time it’s just a stream of thoughts on the page but every now again there’s an idea or thought there than can be the basis for a blog post or an article.

In doing this I’ve started to realise something

When we make something easy, we reduce its value.

Writing a word is easy. Anyone can do it, but the value of the word is almost worthless. Without context or surrounding words to form a sentence, the word is nothing but a word. It’s worthless.

Writing a sentence is just as easy for most of us. Even writing a paragraph should be easy for most of us. And that’s when we start to see a glimmer of value. That’s when your writing can become something of value. Beyond this where do we go?

Writing a letter, a blog post, a long form article or even a book. As the number of words needed to fulfil each form of writing is passed, the next form of writing becomes harder and harder to do. At the same time though, the value of that piece of writing increases.

Writing enough words to make a book. That’s real value. Assuming your writing is coherent and is of a high enough quality for someone to take the time out to read it. That’s real value, but it’s also difficult to do and that’s the trick with writing.

If you want your writing to be valuable then it needs to be more than a word, a sentence or even a paragraph. Shorter forms of writing should be difficult to do but not out with your grasp. Anything longer than this will definitely be difficult to do but still possible.

Writing is difficult to do, but that’s what is going to make your writing stand out from the writing of everyone else (or even their lack of writing). You’ve taken the difficult road to writing something of value.

We need more posts like this. Good to see that Markdown is favoured by Curtis.

I was on a roll there for a while, but it’s been difficult to get that consistentcy back again. I am working on it, it’s just the hovering over the publish button that has frequently held me back.

Software engineers should write because it promotes many of the same skills required in programming. A core skill in both disciplines is an ability to think clearly. The best software engineers are great writers because their prose is as logical and elegant as their code.
— Software engineers should write by Shubhro Saha

Here’s a good place to start.

I’ve been following the tips from this post in the last week and I’m already starting to see the benefits.

Michael Wade has the best advice for getting that first draft done.

… Kurt Harden.

Here’s the first:

1. Grab them by the … whatever will get their attention. Memo? Invert that triangle. “Start at the last page” as a client recently told me. “Our new product line is selling very well, with penetration in existing clients of 30% after the first year. But the _____ line is failing…” A paper? Get the most interesting quotation you can find, and place it right before the start of your paper. It’s okay, the person reading your paper wants to enjoy themselves. You will be rewarded for making the experience interesting.

— So you have to write a report/paper/memo by Cultural Offering

All this week I had the pleasure of taking my youngest to nursery in the morning. It’s been great dropping him off and seeing his place of learning. It wasn’t without incident though. On Wednesday morning my back twinged while lifting the little guy so that he could press the buzzer at the nursery door. The last two days have been very uncomfortable.

After a painful day yesterday, I had to lie down. A couple of pain killers later and I’m lying on my bed wondering what to do next. I picked up my phone and started writing. 500 words, 1000 words, 1500 words. The milestones were just flowing past. When I started feeling tired I had written 2500 words. Not a bad start to a book.

It took me to being flat on my back before I started writing, and once it started it just kept going. I’ve probably made dozens of spelling and grammar mistakes, but that’s what the first draft is for. It’s not about details, it’s just about writing. Getting the idea on paper using words. I’ve made that first step in getting something down and I’ll be continuing with it now over the weekend.

I need answers. Not right now, but definitely later on.

I’ve an idea in my head to turn my Grass Roots Productivity series into a book. This involves what many in the trade refer to as ‘writing’. Therein lies my first problem.

Where do I begin?

For my only attempt at NaNoWriMo I just wrote a short introduction to a story. Each subsequent day I wrote more and more. No planning, no outline, no overall story to start from. Needless to say I struggled some days and faired better on others.

Is an outline really necessary though? I don’t know. I’ve never written an actual book before. Some people say just write, others say outline first.

I suppose at the end of the day what I have as a first draft is not going to be the finished article and it will need to be read, edited and reviewed a number of times before I publish it. I’m not looking for a the winning recipe to writing a prize winning novel. I’m looking for practical advice to starting a book.

• Do I outline the book?
• Do I just write to see where it takes me?
• Do I build on my existing blog posts?

I’ve got too many questions and no answers. Bugger it, I’ll draft an outline and start writing from there. I need to start somewhere.

… a great place to write. No fast food, no traffic, no slog of a commute, no rat race, no corridor warriors, no boss and no 24 hour internet.

The last few weeks have seen my writing tail off from the schedule I would have preferred to keep. It’s meant that I’ve resorted to writing posts on the day they are supposed to be published. Hardly ideal, but those are the breaks in life.

Right now seems like a good time to take a break for a few weeks over the holidays and regroup. I’ll still be posting links to here and maybe the odd written post once a week, but I’ll be relaxing my writing schedule until the start of next year.

See you all on the other side!

If I’m being honest, I can’t exactly remember how I stumbled across Steven’s blog. It was a few years ago at least. Anyway, ever since I subscribed to Steven’s blog, it’s been a treasure of writing tips, practices and great books by Steven.

The first book I read of Steven’s was Do the Work. I also read a second book by Steven, Turning Pro. When I first read these books I didn’t appreciate their value, but over the last year, I’ve returned to them more and more found them to be extremely valuable. As for Steven’s other books, I have them on a list to read for next year.

Steven’s blog is essential for anyone who wants to write. Steven tells it like it is and doesn’t sugar coat any of the writing process. It’s a hard journey for those involved but he isn’t shy in saying that it is a rewarding journey with a great prize at the end for those that are willing to put in the work.

Another great blog to follow if writing is your thing.

I’ve seen some whacky swings at the driving range, but most of the time the swing has the desired affect. The ball hits the intended target. Steven Pressfield is definitely onto something here.

The concept of the Authentic Swing is that each of us is endowed from birth with our own gift, our own style, our own unique talent and point of view. Our job is to find it and bring it forth.

— Furky swings Authentic Swing, shoots 59 by Steven Pressfield %}

Steven’s new book looks to be another addition to the list.

And it’s called Markdown.

Honestly, it’s a simple markup that anyone can use.

Start with Steven Pressfield’s Foolscap Method to get yourself started.

Just when I thought I had read all the right books for writing, I’m recommended this great list by Steven Pressfield.

Thanks NB.

… is the best hour to write for Curtis. Maybe it is for you too?

… with nothing more than a sheet of paper and the guidance of Steven Pressfield.

… how can I keep a personal, private journal online?

The other week I read about a popular journaling app for the iPhone that allows you to populate your journal by aggregating your posts from your various social networks. I was saddened to hear that this was being touted as a selling point for journaling software. Here’s why I don’t see it as a benefit.

When you aggregate posts and actions from various social networks, you’re effectively just pulling the random stuff that you throw out to the world on a daily basis. Often it’s a spur of the moment thought or opinion. How many times have you posted publicly you were going to do something but didn’t see it through? I’ve lost track myself. Promises of using different programming languages and frameworks have all been broken because that post that I made publicly is a spur of the moment action. Aggregating media is not a form of journaling because it pollutes your journal with whimsical statements and promises that are often written on the spur of the moment.

Journaling is the act of writing down your thoughts in private. Whether it’s a digital journal or pen and paper, journaling is the act of organising your thoughts and putting them down so that you can reflect on it now and later. It’s a log of your thoughts, opinions and actions. Your successes and failures. Sometimes you’ll like what you write, sometimes you won’t. When you start noticing trends in your journal entries, then you can start to take action.Ten journal entries in the same month about your wish to write a book say more about your passion and willingness to do this than a one off tweet on Twitter. It’s these trends in your journal entries that let you identify what you want to do rather than what you would like to do.

Your journal is your life in the words that you write to yourself, not to the world.

Great advice for people like myself that edit their work wrongly! I don’t how many times I have re-read back to myself my writing from the screen and failed to see all my mistakes.

Print Out Your Work

Always do this. Always. It’s a pain, but when you’re talking performance reviews, that 20-yard hassle of a walk to the printer could mean the difference between a 4% or a 5% raise.

Here’s why: As any writer or editor will tell you, critiquing someone else’s work is much easier than deconstructing your own, because outside eyes bring a fresh perspective. To approach your own work critically, you need to simulate this “outsider” perspective by viewing it in a form other than the one you wrote it in.

— How To Edit Your Own Writing by Lifehacker

Writing, real writing, makes you smarter.

via Who Writes For You

I need to do this more often. Much more often.

It’s easier than you think. Just read step one.

… idea books. Think of it as topical journals. I currently post everything into the one journal, but I do leave a few things out as I feel they should be elsewhere. Taking a note of this to try from next month.

Seriously, who can’t write two sentences every day? That’s all it takes to keep a journal for yourself going. Just two sentences. What’s stopping you from keeping a journal?

… and other writing tips from Explore.

via Explore

During November I took part in the annual National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo as it’s more commonly known. The aim is simple, write a complete work of fiction in 30 days and your work should be at least fifty thousand words in length. Sounds easy doesn’t it? Well I found out the hard way that writing isn’t just about putting pen to paper, or finger to keyboard in my case.This is just a few observations I made during my month of novel writing.

Plan ahead

Sounds simple advice doesn’t it? Well I didn’t plan ahead at all. In fact I didn’t know what I was going to be writing about until a week before I started. A few things kind of got in the way and I just finished those up a few days before NaNoWriMo started.Planning ahead for something like this is important though, so make sure you give yourself a couple of weeks to mould an idea for a story. Whether it’s an outline of your novel or just a list of events that will take place in your story, it helps to have something you can refer to during your writing.

It’s a marathon, not a sprint

Fifty thousand words in a month is a big ask, especially when there are other aspects of your life that need your attention. Family and work are two of the biggest things that you will need to balance during your time writing your novel.If the only time you can get to write is during the evening, then pick a time when you’ll be least distracted. Writing with a five year old running about isn’t going to benefit your focus at all. I usually waited until our son was in bed so that I could get a good couple of hours writing at night.I aimed for seventeen hundred words a day, but that isn’t always possible. During the week I gave myself one night where I didn’t have to meet my target number of words, but I always made up for it during the rest of the week. This was good as it gave me a little break from the routine of the week’s writing.

As for the weekend, I always found that writing first thing in the morning was the best time. I set my alarm for 6am, got a coffee and started writing. Before anyone in the house had woken up and the rest of my crazy day began, I usually completed at least two thousand words. Doing this on the both days of the weekend meant I could keep the weekend nights free.Finally there’s work. If you can get to your work half an hour early or an hour early, then do so. A quiet office is the perfect place to get just a few hundred words down, and even a couple of lunch hours a week can also be a good time to do some writing. I managed a few lunch breaks where I completed a few hundred words. It’s didn’t seem a lot at the time, but it did help.

Keep writing

The last bit of advice I would give is to just keep writing. Currently my novel has plot holes in it, both big and small. Okay, it’s not perfect but that’s why I am doing a rewrite of my novel later on. You’ll get to your rewrite in good time, but during your first pass at your novel, just keep writing.Plot holes, character inconsistencies and sudden changes of themes are things you might come across and you’ll be tempted to chuck the whole thing in at some point just because something in your novel doesn’t make sense. Don’t throw it away, just keep going. Keep writing and let your novel take care of itself.Once the month is complete, you’ll have plenty of time in the next year to pace yourself and do a couple of rewrites and fix these problems in your novel. For this month though, it was all about setting the foundations of the story. It was all about just getting a story down on paper and taking part in NaNoWriMo was a great way to do it.

Keep on being motivated

As for motivation, I continually turned to a couple of places that prompted me to write a novel in the first place and kept me on the right path.The first is Nicholas Bate’s blog. It’s not a specific blog on writing, but Nicholas has plenty of great tips on writing. It’s not what you would call a how-to blog in the typical sense of the word, it’s more about taking the first small steps in writing. I highly recommend you check out his writing category as it has some of the best advice and tips for getting started.

My second source of motivation was a present from my wife. After toying about writing for a few months, my wife bought me Stephen King’s book, On Writing. It’s a book of two parts.The first part is Stephen King’s autobiography. I thought a career in writing would be a fairly straight forward and easy career, but after reading Stephen’s account, I will never think that again. This month has shown me that there’s a lot more to writing than I first thought.The second part is practical advice on writing from Stephen. I found this part to contain some really good writing tips. I’ve been able to already apply some of these to my writing, but I think I’ll probably have to re-visit this book before I attempt any rewrites of my novel.

Achievement unlocked

I’m used to writing blog posts, but that’s the extent of my writing ever since I left school. Until I started blogging I didn’t write anything, so taking part in NaNoWriMo was going to be a bit of a challenge. In the end though, I managed to succeed and on the last day of writing, I wrote my last two thousand words to finish my novel.A minor win in the grand scheme of things some might say, but for me it was a big win. I love a good story, and every week I have an idea for something different. Despite all these ideas though, I never set aside the time to turn them into something.Taking part in NaNoWriMo was daunting at first but it has shown me that I am capable of writing something. It might be good, it might be bad, but it’s my first novel that I have written. NaNoWriMo was a great experience and one I hope to repeat in a couple of years.

And Nicholas Bate has just the thing if it’s your first time taking part in NaNoWriMo and you need a head start.

Me? I’m trying to clear some outstanding work so that I have more time for writing in November. Also I’m going to be using Buster Benson’s terrific 750words.com each day.