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Moodling, NaNoWriMo and why creative writing really hurts

Moodling.

It’s a delicious, roll-around-the-mouth word, and I offer profuse thanks to Yvie, one of our new Island Writers members, for adding it to my vocabulary!

So, what is moodling? Put simply, it means mulling over ideas and jotting down anything which comes to mind. Unlike brainstorming, this relaxed thought process frees the mind to come up with unfocused inspirations on a range of topics – we can worry about what to use them for later.

But after years of moodling, Yvie has decided to use some of the many ideas she’s generated and take up the huge challenge of NaNoWriMo – the National Novel Writing Month. The idea is to write a 50,000-word novel during the month of November.

Excuse me – write a whole novel in just 30 days?

Yup. That’s the challenge. 1667 words, every day for a whole month. Gulp. And only about 10% – 15% of participants make it – but even for the majority who don’t quite succeed in finishing during the time limit, it’s a fabulous spur to achieve a major chunk of that novel they’ve been moodling over for years.

Yvie’s latest blog update says she’s already written 20,000 words, so she has a good chance of making it past the halfway mark, at least. That’s a lot more than I’ve written all year!

Over 400,000 writers tried their hand at NaNoWriMo last year. So, why don’t they all keep on target? (Apart from, of course, that it’s nearly impossible?)

Yvie’s found one answer: creative writing hurts. Writing – good writing – is an emotional affair. Creating a novel based on past experiences can mean reliving heart-wrenching emotions we thought we’d locked away forever. Some days it feels like peeling off your skin to let outsiders look underneath. Fortunately, if you love writing, it’s worth it.

So we can only wish her luck – and leave some supportive words on her blog to help her along.

Want to try NaNoWriMo?

With just a few days to go until the end of November, we’re too late to join Yvie this time, but if you’d like to try completing a writing project in one month and you don’t want to wait until next November, check out Camp NanoWriMo – it looks fun!

Meanwhile, I intend to moodle as often as possible. Preferably while munching my way through a tub of Cadbury’s Roses. That’s the kind of emotional experience I can really go for.

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Surfacing from our second meeting

It was great to see so many of you again at the second meeting of Island Writers, and some new faces, too – Angela, Yvie and Mike.

Our writing topic this time was Water. I asked you to write about someone or something underwater, and it was impressive to see how keen you were to wade in and respond to the challenge. Some pieces were dark and brooding, others playful or intriguing, with settings ranging from waterfalls, rivers and canals to the sea and even a bathtub. I’m hoping some will appear on our blog soon.

We spoke about beta-readers, and I noticed some of you were unfamiliar with the term. It’s used to refer to someone who will read and critique your whole manuscript, whereas your first reader (alpha-reader) might look at it in parts, as you write it. Here’s a link you might wish to explore about the difference between alpha- and beta-readers.

If you have a book or any other piece of writing that’s ‘kind-of-finished’ and you’d like a first critique of your writing, I’ll be happy to give you my suggestions, whether you want to call me an alpha-reader, a beta-reader, or a @!?&# pain! You don’t have to follow my advice: the important thing with sharing our writing is that we have the humility to listen to other people’s opinions – and the confidence to decide our own way is better.

I’m still working on the ‘humility’ bit!

Our assignment for next time is a piece of writing including (or inspired by) the phrase, ‘Swept by the tide’.

See you on Tuesday 4th December.

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Eek!

pixabay-mouse-3194768_1280Just a quick post to remind you all that the next meeting of Island Writers is next Tuesday, 20th November.

And we WILL be asking you how much writing you’ve done since we saw you last!

Eek!

Time to get your mouse moving – or your pen.

The assignment prompt from last session is: “Just before nine o’clock…”

It could be just before 9am, and something happens to cause a memorable day. Or just before 9pm, and the first sign that the evening isn’t going as planned.

Maybe it’s a flash of realisation, a spur-of-the-moment decision, a change in the weather, a meeting/ visitor, or a mysterious/ tragic/ delightful event. Anything from a parcel arriving to an attack by aliens!

It can be prose or poetry in any style or genre – whatever suits your subject and your preferred writing style.

If you still can’t think of anything, don’t drag out a piece you wrote three years ago that will do if you add “Just before nine o’clock,” at the beginning. The idea is to prompt you to feel excited and inspired to create some new writing, and definitely not to make you feel stressed because you haven’t dutifully ‘done your homework’!

Try writing a description of this mouse, or a poem about why mice have pink toes, or a letter complaining that this blog is infested with mice.

Just write something new. On any subject.

And we’re quite happy if you come to the meeting and say, “My novel was going so well I didn’t have time for the assignment,” or “I decided to write a funny poem about cucumbers instead!”

 

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Writers? Welcome aboard!

pixabay-ship-952292_1280.jpgOK, maybe I panicked.

Yesterday was the first meeting of Island Writers at Ryde Library.

And when I decided to form a new writers’ group, I had a severe lack of… well… writers.

We’d only moved to the Isle of Wight in January, and with various family crises to deal with, I had hardly left the house. I knew a couple of my Mum’s friends, and four people who lived in Freshwater and weren’t into writing. Great.

So I had this vision of myself marooned in a deserted library, surrounded by nothing but books, while Island Writers sank on its maiden voyage.  Frantically, I distributed leaflets, swamped the internet with listings, contacted other writing groups and everyone I knew. If I could just find a few people to start with…

I had hoped for a friendly crew of different types of people – and my wish was granted!

Ten of you turned up for our first meeting, we all had a terrific evening with a lot of laughs… and nine of you have already joined as members!

So Island Writers is launched and ready to sail on our voyage of discovery, and not a rock in sight, except the Needles.

If you couldn’t make it yesterday, there’s still space for a few more on board. No need to book – just turn up at Ryde Library at 7pm.

See you all at our next session on Tuesday 20 November. Don’t forget your assignment: a piece of writing starting with, “Just before nine o’clock…”

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Are you ready to write?

pixabay-cluttered-1295494_1280.pngYou finally get some time for creative writing, but…

  • Your pot of pens has mysteriously emptied itself, apart from the annoying green biro that doesn’t work.
  • Your desk is buried under a mound of papers you’ve been meaning to file, a few things you meant to list on Ebay, some letters and bills to deal with, a couple of empty coffee mugs and a random collection of household items which were left there ‘for now’.
  • The zip is broken on your laptop bag, so you haven’t brought it with you today.
  • You want to print some pages off to edit, but you’ve run out of ink. And paper.
  • You could write on the bus to work, but you can’t find the special hardback notebook you usually use.

Having a dedicated writing space in your home strengthens the feeling that you are a writer – creative writing has a high priority in your life. It doesn’t matter if your writing things are kept on a desk, or on a shelf, or in a drawer, a briefcase or a bag. As long as you’re always prepared to get started on your writing immediately, you won’t waste that precious creative time trying to fix the printer cable or searching for a pen.

Of course, having writing equipment ready may not be the only preparation to do. If it’s been a couple of years since you looked at your half-finished novel, you may need to reread the whole thing first if you can hardly remember your characters or plot.

There’s just one more week until Island Writers starts. Are you ready to get writing?

 

 

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Isle of Wight creative writers – it’s decision time!

So, tell me…

Are you getting enough creative writing done?

Is your writing or poetry already up to the best standard you could ever hope to reach?

Does anyone read your work, or care what you write?

Or do you need the support of a group of writer friends on the Isle of Wight, with a chance to develop your creative imagination with enjoyable writing activities and share feedback on current projects?

ISLAND WRITERS is a new creative writing group, starting on Tuesday 6th November 2018 at Ryde Library, 7pm to 9pm.

Get inspired to improve your writing!

Find out more here.