Basketball requires discipline. So does writing. Basketball requires practice. So does writing. Basketball requires resilience. So does writing.

Angie Thomas

My year’s absence from Writeside Up hasn’t been a year absent from writing. I’m gratified to share that I finished editing three novels despite numerous roadblocks. The second party dissection of one’s work and its reconstitution is sobering, yet immensely satisfying.

As I’ve expressed before, creative expression is a wondrous endeavour. It is rife with bouts of insecurity, lack of inspiration, insufficient training, and/or knowledge gaps. Let’s not forget the emotional bruises left by criticism. However, successful creatives have egos small enough to keep striving for perfection, yet large enough to recognize their potential and withstand negative critiques.

I humbly assert that an ego suffering from a healthy dollop of self-doubt is a far more beneficial trait than an ego suffering from a blinding self-confidence. Wherever the size of your ego, Angie Thomas’ advice is sound. Discipline, perseverance, mental flexibility, and resilience are the keys to anyone’s success.

Purveyors of storytelling also know the crafting of a relevant yet compelling story is an arduous task. It requires a honed skill set regarding how to craft a story and execute it with creative flair. And guts. After a lengthy discussion about our writing journeys with a long-time writing friend, I experienced a refreshed determination to push forward with a laborious work in progress. The chat shored my commitment to heed some of the advice I’ve read over the years regarding instilling and practicing sound writing habits. These are what I considered the seven jewels of writing wisdom.

Find a distraction-free writing space that facilitates creativity. I receive a big tick of accomplishment here. I now possess a dedicated writing space. No sharesies required. I once shared a cramped writing space with my beloved husband. A big creative mistake. The love of my life swallowed physical space with his notepads, pens, coffee mug, elbows, and out-loud thinking. His incessant request for my opinion on his current work drove me out of the den far too often. Such interruptions to my train of thought proved debilitating.

Be prepared with a story outline, character profiles, scene notes, and research material. Decide on a specific objective. Know what you want to achieve that session. Enter a dodgy question mark for the first item on this list. I understand the necessity for a detailed story outline for a consummate planner, which I am not. But I am no longer a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants writer. I’ve evolved and religiously begin a new story with a premise-to-concept-to detailed synopsis exercise that sends my characters on a quest and arms me with a decent sense of direction. Without a sense of direction, the editing process becomes far more difficult. It pains the soul to toss out sections of work that in truth weigh the story down, confuses/distracts from the impetus the story should build.

A big tick for creating character profiles. My stories are character driven and steered by a psychological condition menacing their life. The mechanism(s) exerting the pressure may be intrinsic, such as one coping with synesthesia. Or the threat may be extrinsic, such as a paranoid schizophrenic neighbour convinced the main character is a threat to them. Thus, I create character profiles for my protagonist, antagonist, and a few major supporting characters.

My preparation of research material also deserves a big tick. Though fun, research is time-consuming. The search and selection of an interesting psychosis, house, street, or occupation etc. then discarding it and start again because the fit wasn’t correct. Time and place must be well-connected. What went on in the local newspapers, the music scene, fashion, shifts in civil disobedience or public opinion, and modern conveniences must fit the story’s time-period. My grandmother could not have purchased an iPhone or Fitbit and never watched Netflix when she was eighteen.

I conduct a detailed, twenty-five-question character survey that delineates everything from psychological and physical traits to favorite junk food and lost aspirations. I build my characters’ lives by first deciding their psychological traits and then figuring out how their social and environmental influences shaped them. It’s these details that bring them to life; allows them to breathe in my mind before they do so on the page. My biggest task is to create characters who are multi-dimensional forms; complex, alive, and flawed. Any additional characters must speak for themselves when they push their way into the story.

Scene notes are concise, two to four-line notebook entries outlining how new information added changes the character’s situation. A clue or problem the character must act upon. Another big tick for me. I relish these Oh damn! Surprise! Awe no! moments in the story writing.

Establishing writing rituals. Dedicate a time(s) to write and keep those writing appointments with yourself. Stay focused and keep at it. A three-quarter tick for me. I do put on my soundtrack, read the previous session’s work to refresh and stimulate my mind. But I do not set a daily word-count goal. The quarter percent tick loss I attribute to my failure to keeping appointments with myself. I answer the expected and unexpected calls. I’ve lost days and months of writing when responding, but I always find my back.

Avoid first-draft revision work. A monumental failure for me. Yes, I understand I should allow the story to flow or stumble onto the page. Accept the work is a flawed, terrible mess. If temptation wins, I must strike out the changes rather than deleting, as these first thoughts are often gems, unrecoverable once erased and the revision saved. Yup, I’ve suffered this faux pas several times over. Having regretfully deleted phrases and passages too soon, I now store removed passages or sections of chapters into a file of their own for later review.

People watch and master discrete eavesdropping. Not just a big tick, but a gold star awarded! Public spaces, restaurants and coffee shops, queues, and anywhere people gather are goldmines. My ears and eyes are unapologetically wide open. Make a habit of people watching and discretely listening to conversations. Absorb their interesting mannerisms in speech and action. Be aware of the setting details. Make note of intriguing innuendoes, moments of tension between two or more people, physical features, dress style, story ideas, etc.

Reward writing successes. Alas, my alter ego would be creative and have fun acknowledging such accomplishments, but this is a failure for me. We should acknowledge successes aloud. High-five ourselves in the mirror. Drop a coin in a The-End celebration jar. Grab a beverage and relax. Play music and dance like nobody’s watching because they aren’t! But I don’t find the need.  

Find a writing buddy or a flotilla of them. Besides reaffirming the need for beneficial writing habits, conversation with other writers reasserted that a writing buddy, or belonging to a writers’ group, is a lifeline. They encourage to remain on course; to question that course when the enthusiasm or story loses impetus; act as a sounding board. Though writing is a solitary task, it doesn’t mean we must remain isolated as writers. I can’t think of anyone better to understand a writer’s concerns and struggles than another writer. Right?

How about you? Can you add to this list? What is your best or worst writing habit? Do you belong to a writing group or have a writing buddy? What or who keeps you inspired?

Thanks for listening. Cheers.

S. C. Roberts