Get Writing in 90 Seconds! Yeah, really.
Cos stories make the world go round, they're the threads that bind us and bring us closer.
Earlier this year I started an experiment on my Instagram page. The hardback version of my book had been out a year and the paperback had not long been released. I wanted an excuse to talk about writing and encourage anyone listening to put pen to paper cos I meet people who wish they were writing all the time. Hey, I wish I was writing all the time too. It’s not easy. It can often feel like there are so many things in our way such as time (where on earth do we find it?), inspo (where does it come from?), finding our voice (what does that even mean?!) the list goes on.
Stories make the world go round and are forming all the time. They’re the threads that bind us to each other, they help us relate, see ourselves in each other and bring us closer. Everyone’s got stories cos we’re all out here living our lives. Some of us don’t think we have the means to tell them but we all have language and all it comes down to is giving it a go. Not easy and it takes practise, patience and hard work but if you wanna do it then I want you to do it.
From August to October I posted 16 videos. Each just 90-seconds long cos I like to keep things tight. I’ve posted 10 of those vids on this page and linked to the others to where they live on Instagram at the end. Should say that these vids are about giving you a sense of things I’ve learnt from my own experience rather than expert foolproof advice (cos I don’t have any of that) to give you stuff to ponder and make your own if things fit for you.
I’m no expert but I have learnt a lot from my lengthy experience as a news journalist and through writing a book. I hope you enjoy them and most importantly that they might inspire you to start scribbling and fiddling around with words and yes telling stories : )
1. Start in the Middle
Writing is hard work and scary when we don’t think we can do it (which I’ve felt more times than anyone else will ever know). The hardest part is getting started. Honest. It’s true there are hard bits later as well when you’re stuck and don’t know what should happen next, but you cross those bridges when you face them. First thing is getting started, but how do you do that?
2. Inspo
It’s a common misconception that writers are walking around inspired all the time. I don’t think it’s true. So, inspo… where does it come from, how do you find it what do you do when it’s not there? Plus the difference betw inspiration and perspiration and how the latter is really where it’s at.
3. What Makes You Angry? (inspired by Toni Morrison)
If you’re feeling flat about a story it’s time to find the energy. Not suggesting you should write an angry story but if the anger helps get the words out of you - do it. Anger is energy. Anger can be a force for good. It worked for Toni Morrison. It works for me.
4. Time
This is a big one. So many people have said to me: “where’s the time?” Time is a precious thing; in many ways it’s a luxury and can often feel imposs to find. So what can we do? A key thing I discovered when writing the second draft of my book was that I did a lot of the writing when I wasn’t actually writing. Try it on for size, it might work for you.
5. Habit
Keep it regular but chill the hell out if you miss a sesh you planned. Little and often is a good way to go. Think of it like anything that requires consistent effort to build stamina. Like running, gym-ing, your yoga practise. Cos writing is a v physical thing in my experience; it can be exhausting and draining. Try not to overdo it or you’ll kill your love for it. Keep it small, simple, sustainable. Take rest days. And remember thinking about your writing is also part of the writing.
6. Tell Lies, Find the Truth (according to Picasso)
Okay so this is a wild card. It’s about playing with things; the form, the details; dissecting and distorting only to get to a bigger truth than what was there already. It’s inspired by Cubism (which I got mega into as an art student) and was something I returned to when writing my book. BTW, the last couple secs got chopped off. For clarity I say: “What could be more true than that?!”
7. Voice
This is the thing that makes your writing yours. It’ll change and evolve over time; becoming more of itself if my experience is anything to go by. My writing from decades ago looks familiar but it’s more polished these days; a voice that's done a lot of talking and writing since. I think that's what authentic voice is - a constant chiselling and honing and transforming but also in some ways staying the same. Finding your voice is a journey of discovery, a journey of finding out who you are. Enjoy the ride!
8. Shut the Door (inspired by Stephen King)
Write a scrappy version of whatever it is you wanna say. Pour it out; scribble it, type it, wherever. We can’t make it better until we get something down. Took me a while to learn, but once you get the hang it’s the most liberating way to go. Write badly; do your worst and enjoy it cos no one’s gonna see it!
9. Feedback
Writing can be intimidating and hard enough never mind getting naked (which is how it can feel) and showing what we’ve done to someone. It’s a crucial part of the process tho and key to making the work better. Choose wisely; someone you trust to hold you and your work. A person who’s gonna tell it to you straight. I also recommend picking someone skilled enough to tell you what’s working and what’s not - and most importantly who’s aware of the privilege it is to see anyone’s work in prog and therefore is capable of doing feedback kindly.
10. Panda Theory
This one’s inspired by a little fact about pandas and creating the perfect conditions for panda-mating and what that might tell us about writing. Find out what your perfect conditions are: you might need a hurley burley cafe, you might prefer the quiet coach on a moving train, the outdoors of a park, or to be locked away in a room in total solitude like me. Whatever is, figure it out and get the words down!
And here’s the rest…
What’s the Story?
This is the first question I’d ask myself when I sat down to write a news piece with a notepad filled with shorthand. Sometimes it’s the writing itself that’s gonna help you find it so get writing - anything, what happened today, what you saw, heard, felt, are grateful for - absolutely anything. See what comes. There might be nothing in it but if you keep looking you’ll find something.Writer’s Block
Block is every writer’s perceived nightmare. I get it. It used to be mine. But what if we made it not a thing? Or prepared ourselves for dry spells by expecting them to come along. And instead of giving up or fighting those days of drought, we found ways to respond to them?Notebooks
Bullet points, doodles, sketches, words, whatevs works for you. See anything interesting? Jot it down. Overhear someone say something that grabs you? Steal it! Recurring or random thoughts bouncing around like popcorn in your mind? Make a note! IT’S ALL POTENTIAL MATERIAL.Draft Zero
Ernest Hemingway v helpfully once said: “the first draft of anything is shit”. Once we get to grips with this there’s nothing for it but to write that shitty first draft. Still feel too daunting? NBD cos this is where ZERO drafting can be your even messier, scrappier and yet superbly helpful best writing friend forever.What Do You Want To Say?
Wanna get writing and don’t know what the heck to write? Pause; reflect, what’s on your mind? Write about that. Or write what you know. Personal stories often turn into the best things to read. Still no story? What can you see from where you’re sitting? Describe it. Does it remind you of something/someone/somewhere? Sometimes we have to trust that the story will appear if we create the conditions for them to appear, i.e. by doing some actual writing, sitting in a chair and not moving from the chair until we write something.Keep them on side and if we’re lucky they’ll still be there at the end of the story we’ve worked so hard to write down. Hold their hand, show them the way and chuck everything you’ve got at the thing you’re writing to guide them to the end. Look for unanswered questions you might have overlooked. Cos if we’re lost, the reader’s gonna be lost and if the reader’s lost… well it’s the end of days.*
WRITE! WRITE! WRITE!
*It’s never the end of days - cos everything’s fix-able, re-writeable, edit-able when you write with the door closed (see vid 8 above).