Today is a 3 for 1!

I haven’t had chance to blog for a few days, but I have been busy scribbling away in my notebook. So here is my 3 for 1 post:

‘One cannot become a good writer without becoming a good reader.’

This is a truth that any writer should be happy to subscribe to.

So, what kind of reader are you?

I am a greedy, sometimes half starved eclectic reader. Or a binge reader perhaps? Actually I’m not sure how you’d describe a person who is half way through half a dozen books, each different from the next, who devours blogs on a regular basis, and scours Amazon like most women shop for shoes.
The only books I don’t really enjoy are Horror or a particularly harrowing read – perhaps ‘enjoy’ is the wrong word - lets just say they are not my cup of tea.

The exercise for January 5th was to think of one special book you remember reading as a child. Remember how it affected you, which characters meant the most to you and whether you learnt anything from it. Then re-read, so that you can relive the magic.

Mine was Enid Blyton’s ‘Magic Faraway Tree’. It really was magic to me and I have never forgotten it. I haven’t found my copy yet, so re-reading will have to be a task for another day.

Effective Titles

The exercise for January 6th was to brainstorm titles, for a piece you have recently begun, to be creative, and come up with a few to choose from.
I decided a mind map would be a good idea for this exercise. I find using a mind map really helps me to generate lots of weird and wonderful ideas. Obviously there’s lots of redundant titles left over once you’ve made your final choice but ‘Waste not, want not’ as the book says. Sometimes just having a title can inspire an idea for a story, so I’ve saved the leftover titles to use as prompts in the future.

Creating Characters

The exercise for January 7th is to write a one to two page bio for your character.
To understand what might make your character more realistic, think about some of the people you already know. How they behave, what characteristics they might share and which are individual to each of them.

You could include these attributes:

Physical or behavioural traits
Temperament
Beliefs or lack of them
Their fears
Their likes and dislikes
And their eccentricities.

How do you see your relationship to your readers...

...Teacher, entertainer, a voice for the Everyman?

Today I shall draft a poem or letter addressed to my fellow citizens. I will share one idea for making the world a better place.

Fred gives some suggestions; Civic responsibility, faith in a higher power, educational reform!

I smiled broadly when I saw that last suggestion, ‘educational reform’ now that’s something I can really talk about. In fact I may have trouble shutting up once I get started - it’s the one subject I have more than a just few ideas about.

... Well, it is good to be passionate about your subject. Time to put pen to paper...


You can find all the details of the exercises in this book;

Acting on Your Resolution

The exercise for today is to make time. Easier said than done, it’s already tomorrow and this is yesterday’s post. Still, make time I shall.

The idea behind the routine and making writing habitual is exactly what I’m aiming for. However, I was a little amused when it said you should “test the waters” for a few days, to see if you can actually manage four to five hours writing a day... WHAAAA – laughs raucously – I have a three year old!
'Maybe two would better for you'... frankly, even that is pushing it, but then 'pushing it' is usually a good thing. ;-)

P.S. You should decide what writing you'll be working on ahead of time - today I decided to use my 'time' to work on setting.

... Almost Forgot!

The exercise for today involved contemplating a work of art, then imagining myself within it. I've done a similar thing before which I think worked out quite well.

So we'll see if it works out this time...

A New Year Resolution

As its New Year again, I have a New Year resolution.

I will write every single day - for 365 days. Regardless of any obstacles or excuses that may seek to clutter my path.

I have already signed up to A River of Stones It’s a one month project and the aim is for you to really notice and note down one thing everyday – here are my small stones.

For my own project, which I’ll record on this blog, I’m going to work through the exercises in The Daily Writer.


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There are 366 exercises (meditations) in all. (Which is quite fortunate because I only managed to locate the book amongst the Christmas clutter today - Jan 2nd!) And What I'm hoping is that I’ll be forming a serious writing habit.

Apparently it takes only 20 times of doing something to form a habit, so by this time next year I should be completely addicted!