FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What is my writing day?
I write in sessions - one for a short story, another for a radio script and a third for my novel. The sessions, due to family commitments, start during late afternoon and I work through the evening. I’ve discovered outlining what I’m thinking of writing helps clarity of thought and prepare a brief outline for a short story with a more detailed one for a novel. I write most days (with time off for holidays but then I keep reading and that is a writer’s background activity. You must know what you like to work out what you want to write).
I do write novels longhand and use the typing up of them as the first edit. Short stories I tend to write directly to screen but I always print out on paper as it’s easier to see mistakes then. I like having a variety of writing tasks as I never get bored with any of them and I’ve always got something on the go. Every so often I rework short stories turned down for competitions and send them out again. Again from time to time I try to have brainstorming sessions. Scripts (radio) I also write directly to screen. Poems I sometimes draft out on paper, sometimes type directly to screen. But whatever I write I always print out and edit on paper as I've found it's the only way of (a) spotting errors and (b) for me it doesn't feel like "proper" writing unless I am working with paper and pen somewhere in the process and (c) a paper printout feels like a "proper" read through. I find it easier to miss connections or where I've repeated myself directly on screen.
I write in sessions - one for a short story, another for a radio script and a third for my novel. The sessions, due to family commitments, start during late afternoon and I work through the evening. I’ve discovered outlining what I’m thinking of writing helps clarity of thought and prepare a brief outline for a short story with a more detailed one for a novel. I write most days (with time off for holidays but then I keep reading and that is a writer’s background activity. You must know what you like to work out what you want to write).
I do write novels longhand and use the typing up of them as the first edit. Short stories I tend to write directly to screen but I always print out on paper as it’s easier to see mistakes then. I like having a variety of writing tasks as I never get bored with any of them and I’ve always got something on the go. Every so often I rework short stories turned down for competitions and send them out again. Again from time to time I try to have brainstorming sessions. Scripts (radio) I also write directly to screen. Poems I sometimes draft out on paper, sometimes type directly to screen. But whatever I write I always print out and edit on paper as I've found it's the only way of (a) spotting errors and (b) for me it doesn't feel like "proper" writing unless I am working with paper and pen somewhere in the process and (c) a paper printout feels like a "proper" read through. I find it easier to miss connections or where I've repeated myself directly on screen.
