Writing tips: Routine

I have been writing for over 10 years now and wanted to share a few writing tips. As well as the comic, I have worked on comedy sketches, articles (both freelance and for media companies) and reviews. Over the next few weeks I will be posting videos and blogs about this, in order to help deal with a lot of issues people have with writing.

A lot of what will be on here will be covered in the video, but I find it helps to have something to refer back to.

Routine

People often have this image of writers suddenly getting bolts of inspiration. While this does indeed happen, in reality the best way to get the words done is to grind them out. In some ways it’s like studying, there are different methods and they can all work well if used effectively.

For example some people like to plan out before they write, whereas others like to crank out the first draft in a stream of consciousness, firing off ideas as they get them. Some people work better in the day, others are night owls. Whatever you choose, I personally find consistency is ideal, because you still need sleep, eating etc.

Breaks

Breaks should be scheduled in, as this means you don’t carry on too long or stop and then find yourself unable to carry on. Again, there is no definite way to do this, but personally I go out for coffee in the morning, work, take a break, then have dinner and if more needs to be done I make work after dinner.

Don’t beat yourself up

 

Some people use word counts or certain targets like writing a chapter or an amount of scenes. If that helps you focus, then brilliant. However, I would recommend focusing on what you are trying to do rather than an arbitrary number because the real progress should come from the project (again, this is personal opinion).

Especially at the first draft stage this should be about getting the idea down. It is hard but try not to editorialise too much when working on the first idea (we can go into more detail on this later). However if you don’t do what you intend to do, don’t panic. Unless you have a specific deadline just focus on doing what you can.

Any questions?

Do you have anything you want to talk about? If you have any issues with writing feel free to comment below or email reynardcity@gmail.com

These books are also great reference material and we will be discussing them at a future date:

Writing Down The Bones by Natalie Goldberg: Great creative exercises and how to approach writing

Story by Robert McKee: Ideal for screenwriters, brilliant for story structure and character development

The Hero’s Journey by Christopher Vogler: Based on Joseph Campbell’s monomyth theory, this is ideal if you are working on plotting out characters

Comedy Writing Secrets by Melvin Herlitzer and Mark Shartz: Great for budding comedians, some fantastic exercises but also with additional insight from some A-list comedians as well

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