Wheels of Words

As a beginner, or even sometimes as an experience author, you might be unsure on how to approach a new project. At those times, it’s usually a good idea to get back to the basics. There are several options to refresh and brush up your writing skills. You could go to your favourite author’s blog and check out her advice for starting out, or join the National Novel Writing Month – affectionately called NaNoWriMo in the community – or you could sign up for a class.

I actually like to go with a combination of possibilities: I’m signed up to Writer’s Digest (http://www.writersdigest.com/) and get their newsletters which sometimes yields just the right amount of motivation to get me back on my writing horse, especially if given writing prompts. After all, practice makes perfect, so actually writing something is always a good start.

In November, I am usually in full writing mode, because the NaNoWriMo (http://www.nanowrimo.org/) challenges me to put 50,000 words to paper in a month. The goal in NaNoWriMo is neither structure nor form, but to build up discipline as a writer. After all, as a dedicated writer, you should write at least one to two hours a day. If you are stuck on your novel, then write in your journal, for your blog or start a short story. Anything goes as long as you employ your writing skills in a productive way. Since it is not November, or more specifically NaNoWriMo month, every month I usually set my own word count goals for the rest of the year. 

And finally to get my head back on straight concerning process and basics without having to pay a lot of money, I look for online courses on creative writing. One of my recent finds is the “Writing Creatively: Fiction” course offered by the Open University via iTunes U. It is free and features interviews with best-selling authors talking about their experiences and motivation as writers. It’s a great opportunity for new writers to get their feet wet and ideal for reflection for the experienced writer. I really enjoyed the course. 


On that note, I hope you are ready to jump into your next writing adventure ;)

-Vivienne

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One Response so far.

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