BE SMART WRITING A NOVEL #3

I WANT TO WRITE A NOVEL # 3
Be SMART – You have no doubt seen this a thousand times but try it. But before we head to SMART and another little suggestion of testing your mettle with regard to writing, just take a few moments to read this:
 
Plan sensibly without becoming obsessed.
 
Find the time to write that doesn’t upset you or others! That’s important because a happy life is a healthy life.
 
Finding the right material that fires your imagination. You should have something you want to write not expect someone to give you the story for you to write. It really doesn’t work that way. Oh, of course, silly me, unless you are a ghost writer.
 
To be paid or not to be paid? If you want to write to be paid mega bucks, then I can’t help you.  
 
Write because you love writing or you find it makes you happy.
 
To continue with your writing, and writing it, you engage the reader,
 
Most importantly, it must be interesting to or you won’t be motivated. Obvious right? At the risk of boring you to death: Like what you are writing because you will fail at that first hurdle. It will become a chore and boring. You will see what I mean later.
 
All of that may or may not resonate with you, but these are only my thoughts so far. If you can set yourself a time and find the space that is uninterrupted then great. You have no need to read further. However, if this is becoming an issue, you will have to become ingenious in your goal setting.
 
BE SMART – and I don’t mean get dressed up in your Sunday best or wear a floppy hat and flipflops to write.
 
SMART as an acronym: Specific – Measurable – Achievable – Realistic and Time related. Okay, it’s an oldie, but a goodie!
 
Specific: What is it you’re going to write and where
 
Measurable: How many words do you want to try to achieve in a day or week or month
 
Achievable: set yourself a goal that is achievable – or you will fail
 
Realistic: can you really write 20,000 words in 2 hours? Just write what you can. Don’t push it.
 
Time related: If you have been given a deadline then you will need to work out how much time you will need to spend to achieve it. If you are setting yourself a goal, then make sure it’s realistic and achievable.  See where I’m going with this? Just do the SMART test.
 
Ask yourself when is a good time for you to be able to fit writing around your lifestyle?
 
End of Sermon.
 
If you are keen to write, you will find a way. I promise. I’ve said this a million times, I always wrote around the full-time paid job, in the morning, before I went to work, and if there was an ounce of creative juice left in me, when I came home, after cooking the dinner, putting the kids in the dustbin, and shampooing the next-door neighbour’s dog. Okay so I was tired a lot of the time, and I am joking!
 
Thank you for being here. I hope some of this has been helpful. I’m heading off to Frome Small Publishers Fair on Saturday 2nd July. I look forward to seeing you there if you are in the area. Just call by and say Hi.
 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

The impact of well-crafted website content cannot be overstated and can be the difference between a thriving online presence and a lackluster one.