Hey Writer,
First off, I’d like to say I’m sorry for missing last week’s newsletter. I would like to say it won’t happen again, but that will most likely be a lie. The truth is, life got really hectic this past week and I’m still trying to get myself to write on the best of days. I did spend a lot of time thinking about writing (that’s the same thing as actually writing right?), and I definitely need to approach my craft in a new way. I have been telling myself that I need to complete a bunch of short works before I attempt a novella or novel but that’s not the case at all.
As a chronic underwriter, attempting larger projects terrifies me. I’m worried that I don’t have enough of a story and don’t want to fill the rest with fluff. I’ve been thinking about this short story that I want to expand into a novella and have been trying to figure out how to do so. I was thinking of introducing a subgenre and adding a bit of mystery to the story. I figured the best way to learn a genre that I’ve never written before is to study one of the best to ever have done it. That brings us to today’s author routine.
Agatha Christie- Listen More Than You Talk
Agatha Christie was an English author who earned the title of “Queen of Crime” due to her mastery of the detective fiction genre. Growing up, her mother believed that children should not be taught to read or write until the age of 8. Christie’s love of stories led her to teach herself how to read by the age of 4. Despite this affinity for stories, she never really felt the need to become a writer. This changed when she found herself bed ridden with influenza and her mother said that she should start to write the stories that she so was fond of. It was this and her sister’s challenge to write a detective story that would give birth to a successful career.
Christie took the advice “write what you know” to heart. She was always observing the world around her and often wrote about the different types of people who made up her family’s acquaintances. She also always made sure to have a notebook handy, jotting down potential plots and characters as they came to her.
Agatha Christie famously wrote the beginning and end of her stories before writing anything else. Once she knew those two points, she was able to lay out the clues that would lead to the reveal of her murderer. The actual writing was done through dictation. She would dictate the story through a dictaphone and then a secretary would type it up. She then took a month to revise them and then sent it out to the publisher. Before it was sent out, she often told her family the stories over dinner, chapter by chapter, further showing her love for the art of storytelling.
Writing Practice:
Bring a notebook with you wherever you go. Write down snippets of conversations you hear or any ideas that come to mind. Once you’re home, write a story based on these ideas.
Writer’s Block Autopsy: Lack of Ideas
Do you ever feel like every author you read seems to have an endless well of ideas and you just can’t think of anything? Instead of searching for ideas, you sit down at the blank page and try to force one to come to you. The problem isn’t that you’ve lost your creativity, it’s that you’re drawing from a dry well. Before you can write, you need to fill that well with inspiration. Luckily, we are not living through a creative drought, ideas can come from anywhere.
Ideas came easier to people when they weren’t constantly being entertained. At any point today you can be listening to music, a podcast, or even an audiobook. You don’t ever need to go more than five minutes without some form of entertainment. This can keep your mind occupied from the moment you open your eyes to the time you close them. Sure this sounds nice, but if you’re spending all of your time consuming other’s ideas, when can you come up with your own?
The trick is to embrace boredom. When other’s voices are coming at you from all angles, silence them and embrace your own. Next time you’re doing chores or something else that doesn’t take too much focus, leave the phone in the other room and let your mind wander. If you find yourself in a cafe, watch those around you and see what stories come to mind. The ideas are out there, you just need to be ready to receive them.
The world has an endless supply of stories, the only one missing is yours.
See you next week (For real this time).
-Mike