Notes to Self
The last time I wrote one of these newsletters, I included a short list of ‘things I have learned along the way’. Far and away, that was the most talked-about aspect of Edition 10. In a fit of ‘if it ain’t broke don’t fix it’, I decided to share what I have learned* over the past 8 months.
* This is not a recipe or a prescription; it is not a ‘you should do this, or that’ kind of list. It is my “well I never, look at me thinking like a writer” thoughts.
It is all about the words, not the numbers. I keep telling myself to focus on the quality of my writing, not the quantity of folk who’ve subscribed.
Keep a notebook of writing prompts.
Sometimes you can say more in 100 words than you can in 1000. And 50. But often you need more words to tell the story. Tell the story first, and count the words after.
Shout up for other writers. Tell folk what you love about their writing.
When the words don’t flow, step away from them. Give the words some space.
We are not just writers. Stay curious. Pursue other interests.
You can plan and tell yourself that ‘tomorrow is a writing day’ but be prepared to wait for another tomorrow.
Throw words at the page. They’ll usually sort themselves out. Or you can edit them into submission. But one of the secrets of writing is to write something.
There are always things to learn and someone to learn from.
You know that subject you’ve been avoiding, it might just be your ‘thing’.
Seek out inspiration from art, photographs, and other people’s ideas (don’t copy them, look at it from another angle, turn their story on its head).
If the story you have written doesn’t feel right, keep it as a draft. Come back to it later. See also: don’t be afraid to delete drafts.
Don’t publish something inferior just because it is ‘the day I publish things’. Keep the quality bar high.
Prod the reader’s imagination. You don’t have to spell it all out. Keep it subtle.
Enjoy being part of the community and celebrate words with others (I am super-excited to join the read-along of ‘Wolf Hall’ guided by
).Invest in yourself. I am booked onto a two-week online course with
to push myself to learn more.Invest in others where you can. I was thrilled to receive two books by
as part of my subscription, the perfect way to learn from a more experienced writer.Answer every comment; it is social media, not sales media. Get to know your readers. Deepen your connection with them.
Keep telling everyone you know that there is fabulous fiction here on
It is up to us writers to celebrate one another so other readers can find our words (PS, New Year's Resolution for celebrate even more of the small guys who are writing amazing fiction … add some extra fiction categories).Encourage people. Over at ‘Encourage Meant’ we are gearing up to host ten Encouragement Sessions in January 2024. There’ll be more in February.
Join in. I have had so much fun collaborating with encouragers like
and Find humans, act human, and become part of their community.Don’t be afraid to celebrate your own writing. You worked hard on it, you are allowed to be proud of it. On that note, I enjoyed writing ‘Waiting’ (a ghostly imagining for late Autumn), ‘Last Vestiges’ (art-inspired fiction), ‘Dear Diary’ (100 words with a twist in the tail), and ‘Homecoming’ (something a little bit grittier than my usual; it unlocked my ‘dark side’).
Have fun … it is meant to be enjoyable (play this one on repeat)
A writer is somebody for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people.
Thomas Mann, Essays of Three Decades, 1947
Quick Links
If you like the sound of a couple of the stories that I relished writing but you have got down here without reading them, fear not faintheart.
Here are a couple of super-easy ways of finding them.
Waiting
"The change of seasons announced itself with an icy whisper. It pecked at my weakened chest with each laboured breath. Mist swirled, lacing itself into the heavy boots issued as part of the uniform"
Last Vestiges
If a picture paints a thousand words, which thousand words should they be? There is so much going on in this painting Pollice Verso (Latin: with a turned thumb), an 1872 work by French artist Jean-Léon Gérôme.
"Get it down. Take chances. It may be bad, but it's the only way you can do anything really good."
William Faulkner
This week’s prompt:
Pop a link in the comments connecting us to some Substack fiction writers that you have loved recently. Celebrate the fiction community whenever you can. Thank you.
Until the next time, happy reading (and writing)
Barrie
So excited for next year! Oh, and (3) is so important: every story has its own length, and it is very often a lot shorter than you think!
This is an amazing list and I am glad to have been counted among such great lessons learned this year. I hope to keep up that level of influence and inspiration in 2024.