INKSPILL What We Get From Writing – Guest Writer William Gallagher

 Our final article from William Gallagher today is a great read and also a thought-provoking title. Let us know what writing does for you, what do you get from writing? Thanks William for being part of the 2nd INKSPILL Writing Retreat.

©2014 Lee Allen Photography

 

 

What we get from writing

Hand on heart, this is a tough one. I was very flattered that Nina Lewis asked me to talk to you for this Inkspill Writing Retreat but I was aware that my first thoughts to talk to you about were all about things that I do constantly. Things I know and care about and practice. I think the point of a writing retreat is to stretch you and I feel I ought to be stretched too.

This is me stretching. I’m not sure how much value that has for you, it feels like I’m doing calisthenics and you’re waiting there in your smart leotard waiting for me to get off the mat. You’ll be waiting a while. I’m very unfit.

And I don’t know what I get from writing.

I know that if you or I had any sense at all, we would have normal jobs and proper careers and we might even find a way to make that not feel ditchwater-dull and boring. I know that when we do have to juggle those normal jobs with a writing life, we are split between having to deep-mine our selves and our very souls on our own – and then bound off into social occasions with colleagues. Colleagues who we work with but who probably don’t get writing.

I was at a thing recently where some smart and charming writers were talking about why they write and a fella in the audience told them that it was because they wanted to make a bestseller. They wanted to make money. It took the speakers a beat to find a way to politely say no, that’s not it at all.

Bestsellers are great and the idea that I can reach out not only to you but to oodles of people is simultaneously exciting and terrifying. I prefer it when it’s just us, but if oodles of others come, well, you put the kettle on. I’ll get the extra biscuits.

It is possible to make a living from writing and I do, but the aim and what I think I actually get from this life is the opportunity to write better. Paying the mortgage and feeding myself is important, but the longer I can do that, the more I can do that, the greater my chance of becoming the writer I long to be.

So what I get from writing is writing. I feel I’m short-changing you there. I live for the moments – and it is only moments – when the world is forgotten and I am in my writing, I am working at my best and hopefully making that best become better.

There are only two things that improve my writing and the biggest one is time. Making more time to write and then spending that time writing, it’s crucial.

But the other is using writing to head out into unsafe waters. I interviewed a poet the other day and as delightful as she was, she also goaded and challenged me into writing a poem. It was dreadful. But the experience of writing in a new area, reaching for something new in me, that was electrifying.

So there’s the exercise. I am okay with writing you this personal blog chiefly because it’s you and you’ve got that kind of face, I feel I can tell you anything. But let me turn it into a writing exercise: I need to feel I’m giving you something practical that you can actually use. And I know this is practical, I know you can use this: write something new.

Really new. If you’re a poet, write a short story. If you’re a novelist, write a radio play. Go somewhere new in topic and in form.

There is nothing else that can stretch you like writing in new directions and that stretching, that’s it, that’s what I get from writing.

William

Buy Books By William Gallagher on Amazon 

 

INKSPILL – Free Writing – Activity

 

One thing I love about workshops & writing retreats is you end up with writing that otherwise may not have existed. Be as open as you can be approaching this activity and if you find more than one piece of writing coming through, then let it. Scribble pages of notes, work on it throughout the weekend. Let’s CREATE!

I am sure you know the term and have used automatic writing before, but just in case here is a simple definition:

Free writing

 

• Free writing is a prewriting technique in which a person writes continuously for a set period of time without regard to spelling, grammar, or topic. It produces raw, often unusable material, but helps writers overcome blocks of apathy and self-criticism. It is used mainly by prose writers and writing teachers.

  I often meet ‘why’ learners/ writers – people who need to know the reason behind what we are doing/achieving. Questions may arise about the calibre of writing we are about to produce… so here’s WHY.

  WHY?
• It makes you more comfortable with the act of writing.
• It helps you bypass the “inner critic” who tells you you can’t write.
• It can be a valve to release inner tensions.
• It can help you discover things to write about.
• It can indirectly improve your formal writing.
• It can be fun.

 

RULES FOR FREE WRITING:

• Write nonstop for a set period of time (10–20 minutes).
• Do not make corrections as you write.
• Keep writing, even if you have to write something like, “I don’t know what to write.”
• Write whatever comes into your mind.
• Do not judge or censor what you are writing.
• If you can, let GO of punctuation – this will help your writing flow.
• DEFINITELY DO NOT WORRY about your spellings or handwriting!

A twinkling eye can mean many things – start with someone who has a twinkle in their eye and see where it takes you…..

 

 

 

 

Here are some more fun ideas if you want to keep writing or have some spare time this weekend …. don’t forget to go and grab some lunch though!

Other than using this picture of street food as a prompt;

• List 10 book titles you might like to write.
• Write an imaginary letter to an Agent, tell them how wonderful you are!
• Pick a book off your shelf (or kindle) at random, open it at any chapter. Write down the first line. Find another chapter, this time write down the last line of the chapter. Now use the opening line to start your story (you’ve guessed it) the endline should be the 2nd sentence you wrote down. Limit yourself to 1000 words.

 

REMEMBER If you do any of these exercises link back to your blog post or post them as comments here, we would love to see/read the results!

INKSPILL – Editing By Nina Lewis

This year I asked what you would like INKSPILL to support, editing was the focus.

EDITING

Good editing takes your writing beyond mediocre. A challenging skill to learn and as with writing, some people are better at it than others. If you have decided to self publish, a good editor can make a real difference to your manuscript. Proofreaders are skilled but editors know when the shape or feel of something is wrong or right and that equals sales for the writer.

Not everyone is working on writing projects with editors though and it’s hard to learn how to edit your work. Many of us spend more time editing than writing, it is essential to leave time in your writing schedule for the edit. Your writing, as you probably know, needs a few days (or even weeks) to rest and marinate before the edit!

 

TOP 10 TIPS

1) Finish Writing First

Now you may think this is an insane piece of advice as it breaks a natural pattern for many. Many of us edit as we go, I am doing it now. What this tip really means is keep it simple, deleting a typo or changing a few words as you get to the end of the sentence. It is natural (and good practise) to re-read as you write and you may see something you want to delete completely. Finish writing first and then go back to it. I sometimes use bold, italic or font colours to remind me where to look.

It is worth noting, I am not suggesting you attempt to write an entire novel without editing – although events like NaNoWriMo (you are not too late to sign up for 2014) encourage just that. To produce half a novel with no editing at all. A write or die approach. It is actually quite liberating, although the quality of the 50,000 words can vary.

 

2) Let the work rest

You should schedule time for the writing to be left as it is, with shorter pieces this may only be a few hours and with poetry I tend to write and re-write several drafts before the resting process. Saving all of them to file. Then leave it a day or two before starting the editing the process. With short stories this could be a week and novels longer.

The idea is it will allow you to see work through fresh eyes and should make the first level of editing (the slash and cull – yes you are going to be BRUTAL) a lot easier. Plus you will have strength to wield that sword now, unless like most of us, whilst your manuscript rested you carried on writing something else.

 

3) Slash and Cull

Become the slayer…. Costume on? Ready? Of course, a different wardrobe isn’t necessary, (although you could dress up as an editor if it makes you feel better). This first edit should be the easiest, you are looking for the big monsters.

The character that doesn’t quite fit, the chapter that is 7 pages too long, the description which needs to be tighter, plot holes, loose characterisation. You will be eager and fresh and should be able to tackle the manuscript with new ideas.

You may even enjoy this edit. I would advise with larger projects you do this chapter by chapter and even though you may have written in a different order it is paramount to edit in a linear way, chapter by chapter for chronology and continuity and also the reader experience.

As great writers have advised me – save each edit as new copy so you have the other versions to refer back to. Sometimes (especially beginner writers) can over edit and having copy saved may just keep the hair on your head!

 

4) Paper Wins

It is often easier to edit with a printed copy, physically reading and scribbling than to edit on the screen, even with new fangled editing programmes on the market. I know some writers who never use paper copy in this way, preferring e-readers or other tech. I find that I can spot things quicker on paper, it is how my brain was trained to read.

It can be useful to read it in its published form, which is why blogging platforms and emails often have a preview function. It is a good way to spot glaring errors including how the text will look on screen.

 

5) Have a PLAN!

You need an editing plan, just as you had one for writing. Section the manuscript, decide what to look for first, start with structure and content. What is known as ‘big picture’ editing. Find the chapters and paragraphs that need to be cut out, slash immediately. Find what works, have you missed whole areas of importance out? Do you need to write a whole section, chapter? Are there scenes that just don’t work, feel wrong, need a re-write?

Major cuts, rewrites and additions need to happen BEFORE you start polishing and editing sentences and changing words.

 

6) The bottom line is 10%!

Most of us are guilty of over-writing (this article was originally 1430 words)! We use more words than we need and our writing becomes weaker.

Do a word count and try to cut back 10%

Sounds impossible?

Look for these mistakes;

Repetition- trust your reader to get it the first time.

Un-necessary phrases, usually sentence starters such as I believe that… these can be cut and the writing will be stronger.

Despite everything we were taught at school, bin the adjectives. You needn’t use a whole string of them and if you have told us a character is shouting do we need to know how loudly?

 

7) Never Trust The Tech

By tech I mean our dear friend, the spellchecker. It will correct your mistakes but it is not a reader and will have no idea that when you wrote ‘she picked up the blank pen….’ you actually meant black pen. A grammar check won’t see this one either, but you can, so remember to use your eyes.

Other common mistakes our spell-check may miss are;

homophones, missing words. Sometimes your tech will have its own strange ideas about words, so make sure you are using the correct language setting and don’t just click OK to every suggestion.

 

8) Read Slower or from a different place

By now you will have edited this draft several times, you will know it. You will read what you think you see. It is so familiar it’s hard to spot any mistakes. Reading your manuscript out of order (providing you have numbered the pages) is a good proof-reading trick.

If reading out of order isn’t possible then remember how slowly beginner readers read. Read slowly. A good trick is to enlarge the font – you won’t see as many words on the screen or be able to scan read on.

 

9) Know when to LET GO!

When do you stop editing?

The time to let go is when you find yourself changing the manuscript, then changing it back again.

Most of us have ghost gremlins, even after we have submitted a piece of writing we feel ourselves filled with nagging feelings. Not feeling entirely confident until the work has been accepted.

Get used to this feeling.

Our perception of perfection may be different to the editor, market, it is something fictional, unobtainable… subjective… so let – it – go!

 

10) Pay

someone else to do it!

 

 

INKSPILL Writing Retreat – Your Ideas Please!

 Last year I discovered a phenomenal weekend retreat that took place in the USA at the end of October – it was pricey even without the added airfare – so I decided to create an annual event of our own… something to build on each year.

INKSPILL was born!

One day you may even have to pay but for now it is FREE and just for fun. That is not to say I haven’t improved the programme from last year…. because I have – firstly I have other artists/ writers involved.

Last year I opened requests up to followers of my blog – so now *IT IS OVER TO YOU!*

• What do you want to learn about writing? 
• Which elements are weaker, where could you use a little support?
• What have you always wanted to know (but been too afraid to ask)?

THIS IS YOUR CHANCE FOR SOME TAILOR MADE SUPPORT

Some of last year’s retreat posts are the most popular posts hit on this site each month and some have even been linked on academic websites.

We will run the retreat over 2 days – you can join in real time GMT – or dip in and out as you wish. The posts will be pinned for the weekend and then available through using INKSPILL in the tag search.

 

INKSPILL – NOT THIS WEEKEND, BUT THE WEEKEND AFTER! 25TH & 26TH OCTOBER – WITH

NINA LEWIS

WILLIAM GALLAGHER

CHARLIE JORDAN

HEATHER WASTIE

I will posts their BIOs later in the week.

FOR NOW LEAVE A MESSAGE ON THIS THREAD – WHAT DO YOU WANT TO KNOW ABOUT?