New writers are often given the following piece of advice: “Write what you know”. In other words, concentrate on the things you’ve observed and the things you understand about the world around you. If you’re a former journalist wanting to write a mystery, make your main character a journalist; if you’re a coal miner, write about the dangers and camaraderie of life down the pit.

Such first-hand experience can add verisimilitude to your fiction; but what happens if you’re trying to write genre fiction? What if you’re trying to write about a future society so far removed in time that they barely remember the present day? What if you’re trying to write about a supernatural horror preying on a group of cave divers, or a lone warrior on a quest across a mythic fantasy kingdom? In science fiction, fantasy and horror, characters are routinely put in situations in which it would be impossible for the writer to gain any direct experience. How then can you convincingly fill in these scenes using only your imagination?

Continue reading “3 Ways to Breathe Life Into Your Fiction”

Unless you’re fortunate enough to be independently wealthy, you’re probably going to have to get some form of day job to support your writing efforts. But what kind of job best suits a writer, and how do you balance its demands with the demands of your creative life?

Part time

You may consider part time work, in order to have as much free time as possible to devote to your next novel. But can you afford to work part time, or do you have a mortgage and four kids to support?

Freelance

You may decide to try working freelance, but beware: finding clients and completing projects will eat into your free time and, if you’re not careful, you may find yourself working longer hours than you would in an office.

Full time

A full time job will probably pay better than part time or freelance, and it’ll come with better benefits, such as health insurance and a pension. The regular salary will pay your bills and mean you won’t have to rely on your writing in order to make money, thereby taking some of the pressure off and giving you time to rewrite and edit your stories until you’re 100% happy with the, rather than rushing them out of the door because you’re desperate for whatever income they can generate. On the downside, long hours and a daily commute leave little time for actual writing, and if you want to start racking up serious word counts you may have to give up little luxuries such as watching TV and sleeping.

Level of engagement

Do you take a repetitive manual job that bores the pants off you, giving you time to think about your writing; or one that challenges you but leaves you too exhausted to pick up a pen in the evenings? Somehow, you need to find a balance. A boring job quickly becomes soul destroying, whereas a demanding job will drain your energy and creativity.

Some dos and don’ts

Assuming you find the right day job for your needs, you’re still going to have to find ways to juggle its demands with your desire to write. To help you, I present this list of dos and don’ts:

• Don’t write at work unless you’re really sure you can get away with it. And if you do, don’t use the PC on your office desk. Don’t leave any traces of your extra-curricular activity. Getting paid while you write may seem like a win-win situation, but its hard to mask the drop in productivity and concentration that will result; and if you get caught printing out your 400 page opus on the company’s printer, you’re going to find yourself in a whole heap of trouble.

• Do keep the story ticking over in the back of your mind. Think about it on the bus, or while you’re waiting for the photocopier. Let your unconcious mind pick away at the plot while your conscious mind gets on with putting bread on the table. Many writers will tell you that they have their best ideas while busy doing other things.

• Do keep a notebook handy. Keep one in your pocket or bag. If you have a sudden flash of inspiration, you can jot it down. If you hear a snatch of dialogue on the Tube, or want to record the way the sun shines in through the office window, you can scribble it down in note form and write it up properly in your lunch break.

• Don’t try to do too much. Accept the fact that you’ll be tired when you come home from work. Make sure you factor in some relaxation time, or you’re going to get too tired and your writing and work will both end up suffering. Not to mention your health.

• Do make time to write. In a previous post, I discussed my top 3 ways to make the most of your free time in order to increase the time you have available for writing. If you’d like to read the post (and I think you should), the link is here.

• Do keep plugging away. Stick to it and you’ll get there eventually. If you have a dream, work hard at it each and every day. Take small, positive steps. Don’t end up as one of those people who look back in later life and wish they’d tried harder.

But this article is only the latest in a seres of articles on genre writing. If you enjoyed it, you might also want to read:

• Five Books That Changed My World, feature article for SF Signal, June 2010
• The Future Is Now, Irish Times feature article about the appeal and literary purpose of science fiction, May 2010
• How To Write A Press Release. A guide for writers and publishers, first published in Focus magazine, Spring 2010 edition.
• What Does Happen Next? An article exploring the lessons I learned from my first book launch, first published in Focus magazine, Spring 2010 edition.

Articles and advice.

***

• Steaming Back to A Retro Future, Irish Times feature article about the popular rise of Steampunk, Feb 2011.
• The Tightrope Act of Near-Future Fiction, Irish Times feature article about the appeal and dangers of near-future fiction, Nov 2010.
• Five Essential Rules for Better Writing A list of the five most important things for a writer to bear in mind while writing.
• The Global Future How geopolitical changes affect the business of predicting the future.
• In Search of the Archetypal Spacer Examining the fascination of the lone space trader.
  
• How To Write A Novel Synopsis Hints and tips for aspiring novelists.
• Balancing Writing With Your Day Job How to juggle the twin demands of work and creativity.
• 3 Ways To Increase Your Writing Time 3 strategies for increasing the amount of time you have available to devote to your writing.
• Stick Fighting, guest article for Futurismic, Sept 2010.
• Guilty Pleasures, guest article for Futurismic, Sept 2010.
• Advertising In Books, guest article for Futurismic, Sept 2010.
• 3 Ways To Breathe Life Into Your Fiction, guest post for the writing advice website Write To Done, July 2010.
• Five Books That Changed My World, feature article for SF Signal, June 2010
• The Future Is Now, Irish Times feature article about the appeal and literary purpose of science fiction, May 2010
• How To Write A Press Release. A guide for writers and publishers, first published in Focus magazine, Spring 2010 edition.
• What Does Happen Next? An article exploring the lessons I learned from my first book launch, first published in Focus magazine, Spring 2010 edition.
• Creative Writing Lecture. Some advice given to creative writing students at Bath Spa University, May 2010.
• Space Monkey. An appreciation of the punk songwriter Patti Smith, first published on the Sci-Fi Songs website, February 2010
• The Role of Science Fiction The text of a speech given at an arts event in Bristol, October 2009
• Should Writers Have Kids? Bringing up children takes time and energy
• The Difference Between SF and Fantasy A brief discussion of the relative merits of each genre
• A Small Con With Big Ambitions A review of the BristolCon 2009 conference for the BSFA online magazine Matrix, October 2009
  
• How to Communicate More Effectively Part 1. A series of articles first published in Futurismic, January 2009.
• How to Communicate More Effectively Part 2. A series of articles first published in Futurismic, January 2009.
• How to Communicate More Effectively Part 3. A series of articles first published in Futurismic, January 2009.
• How to Communicate More Effectively Part 4. A series of articles first published in Futurismic, January 2009.
• How to Communicate More Effectively Part 5. A series of articles first published in Futurismic, January 2009.
• How to Communicate More Effectively Part 6. A series of articles first published in Futurismic, January 2009.
• How to Communicate More Effectively Part 7. A series of articles first published in Futurismic, January 2009.

I am also a regular writer for Acoustic Magazine, and have contributed over 100 CD reviews and interviews since 2009, including interviews with Nils Lofgren, Charlie Winston and Iris DeMent.

This afternoon, Colin Harvey and I co-presented the 5pm creative writing lecture at Bath Spa University. There were around 20-30 students in attendance. I read a brand new short story called The Bigger The Star, The Faster It Burns, which seemed to go over well, and did a brief question and answer session. I also shared with the students the following five pieces of writing advice:

Continue reading “Creative Writing Lecture”

The following articles have attracted a lot of traffic. It seems they’ve proven useful to a lot of people. In case you missed them first time around, here’s a convenient list of links:

• The Role of Science Fiction
• 5 Useful Writing Tips
• 3 Ways To Increase Your Writing Time
• How To Write Press Releases
• What I Learned From My First Book Launch
• The Difference Between SF and Fantasy