Screaming into the Virtual Wind

As promised, I have dutifully tried out Write or Die, a web-based programme designed by the aptly named Dr Wicked that claims to put “the ‘prod’ in productivity”. The verdict is… I rather love it, actually

The programme is really easy to use. You simply input how many words you want to write and in which length of time (I selected 2000 words in 2 hours), and choose from a selection of increasingly fiendish modes which include Kamikaze and Electric Shock. Kamikaze Mode is particularly evil as once the screen glows red, if you still haven’t typed any new words it starts to delete what you’ve already written. I used Normal Mode and a Strict grace period, which still makes the screen flash red if you stop typing but plays Rick Astley’s Never Gonna Give You Up over and over if you don’t continue – which in many ways is even worse than deleting your work (does this mean I’ve been Rickrolled?!). My husband hated it anyway, so much so that after the fourth or fifth blast of Rick’s dulcet tones, he had to leave the room (oops! Heh, heh, heh).

Write or Die really worked for me. Of course, I did discover it’s very easy to cheat just by pressing the space bar and making the programme believe you’re typing real words… but why would you want to do that, hmmm? The only downsides are you can’t properly format your work as you go, and you have to remember to copy and paste it into Word (or whatever you’re using) before closing the page down because it doesn’t do it for you (and I’d imagine if you lost everything you’d written after listening to Rick Astley multiple times, you’d seriously consider some form of self harm). But it’s free

Sooo… I promised to share more ways of overcoming maddening mental lethargy (or lazy blocked writerism). Some of these are things I’ve devised myself. Others are little tipettes I’ve discovered on my internet travels. Enjoy! And if you’re currently suffering from a crippling mental malaise, I sincerely hope one of these works for you.

* Spend some time writing something completely different, like a blog post or an article – if only to remind yourself that you can write. It’s also amazing what ideas can be shaken loose just by putting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard), whether you’re working on your novel/story or not.

* Put your novel down and read someone else’s. This might sound silly, but sometimes when you become focussed on finishing your own novel, you stop reading regularly. There’s a reason that the standard answer to the question “how do I become a writer?” is to read a lot and write a lot. Reading helps to inform our ideas about the world as well as about literature. It can inspire us and widen our vocabulary, thus making you a better writer (or at least a writer with more ideas and enough drive to finish their own damn novel).

* I like the idea of lucid writing – of sitting down for half an hour before you begin work on your current novel and scribbling down the first things that come to mind, just to warm up your writing muscles. I’ve always thought it’s a great shame to waste anything though, least of all something creative, whether or not it’s barely legible scribbling (if you haven’t noticed yet, I can be hideously anal). So why not take this idea and start a diary, instead? Write in it every day, or before every writing session, and get the words flowing ready to transfer to your novel.

* Don’t force yourself to be a certain type of writer, everybody does things differently. Some can write a consistent 3000 words a day and turn out two or three books a year. Some take lots of time out in-between projects to think about their story, to plan and research and take intricate notes. It takes time and lots of practice before you find out what sort of writer you are. Try different methods – write at different times of the day, set word limit goals and see if you can stick to them, make timelines and plans, interview your characters – find out what works for you and then be proud of your personal method, don’t listen to others if they try to tell you it’s wrong. If you write 500 good words a day, you’ll still end up with a completed novel eventually.

* Any fellow knitting geek will know the difference between an epic project and a mindless project. Epic projects take lots of time and concentration, often involving cables, intarsia or unusual stitch patterns. Mindless projects, on the other hand, can be completed in front of a book or the TV. They are simple, easy to remember patterns that can reignite the simple joy of knitting, of pulling one loop through another, when an epic project begins to feel impossible or endless. This same theory can be applied to writing. If your epic project (or novel) begins to feel like a never-ending odyssey, start writing something fun, even ridiculous. I took time off from writing my first novel, Dunraven Road, to start a novella about zombies in love called The Undead Alliance. I wrote it quickly because I enjoyed every minute of it, and I was able to remind myself why I had wanted to be a writer in the first place. Consequently, Dunraven Road was finished soon afterwards and The Undead Alliance was published by Twisted Tongue magazine.

Does anyone have any tips of their own they’d like to share? What gives you a mental kick up your back side?