Write On
Here are
some tips to keep distraction and boredom at bay
I guess by now the whole
world knows that J.K. Rowling was a single mother on benefits when she wrote
the first Harry Potter book, the series that would later turn her into a
billionaire. But did you know that in those early days she would bundle up her
daughter into a stroller and settle down at a cafe, Nicolson’s in Edinburgh, to
write all day long? Over endless cups of espresso and glasses of water – all
that she could afford at the time – and with her daughter asleep beside her,
she would write the words that would resound across the world in the years to
come.
Sounds amazing, doesn’t
it? But if you are writing a book, or even an article or a blog, this approach
may not work for you. How do I know? Because when I turn a bit stir-crazy
sitting and writing at home, I have tried this whole working-out-of-a-cafe
malarkey and take it from me, it does not work for anyone who is not called
J.K. Rowling.
First off, this is India.
So, there is the noise factor. There will be people bellowing away into their
phones. There will be a couple breaking up or making up noisily at the next
table. There will be children running around madly, playing some mysterious
game of chase. So, it will be impossible to concentrate on the words you are
writing given that you will not be able to tune out the word soup sloshing
around you.
And then, there is the
fact that no self-respecting barista in India will allow you to linger all day
long if all you order is espresso and water.
So, what is the best way
to settle down and write, write, write?
Well, some would say, set
off for some scenic location. Hire a place that has a room with a view and get
started. But that would never work for me. I would just end up getting
distracted by all that beauty.
But there are some
writing tips that have worked for me. And here are some of them, in the hope
that they help some of you as well.
Sensory
deprivation.
Choose a place that has
no view. Where there are no books arranged seductively on shelves, tempting you
to delve in. And no paintings to distract you with their power. Ideally,
position your desk so that it faces a blank wall. You need your imagination to
focus on the blank page in front of you to the exclusion of all else.
No
distractions.
Make sure that there is
no TV in the room. Turn off the Wi-Fi on your laptop. Disable social media apps
on your phone when you work. Or better still, keep your phone in a different
room. You can check in on your mail every hour or so. But that’s it.
Don’t
keep going back to reread and edit what you have already written. Once
a chapter is written, print it out and put it in a folder. Only go back to it
if you need to double check something as you are writing. Otherwise onwards and
forward.
Put
your thoughts down on paper as they occur. Because often, when you
pause to rephrase them in a more felicitous manner, you lose your chain of
thought altogether. Just write it all down; you can always dress it up later.
Inspiration
can strike any time.
Always keep a notebook
handy so that you can scribble down your ideas as they pop up. If a notebook
isn’t your style, then just jot down notes on your phone and mail them to
yourself. Save them in a special folder, which you can consult at a moment’s
notice.
Don’t
give in to writer’s block.
There will be days when
words simply don’t come. Don’t get up and walk away from the desk. Get your
word count in even if you end up deleting it all the next day.
Keep to
a realistic word count limit per day.
Many authors keep
themselves down to 500 words, which seems rather paltry when you think about
it. But as anyone who has wrestled with a book will tell you, it can be a
struggle getting 1,000 words down every day. So, don’t get too ambitious
because you will only get depressed when you don’t meet your unrealistic
target. It’s better to aim low and hit your target than aim high and end up
feeling like a failure.
Set up
a writing routine, depending on what time of the day you feel at your best. There
are some writers who like to wake up at dawn when the rest of the world is
asleep so that they can write in peace. There are others on the opposite side
of the spectrum who stay up late when the rest of the family had retired and do
their finest work then. And then, there are those who like to carve out chunks
within the day when they can work undisturbed.
Devise
a ritual to separate your writing time from the rest of the day. Go to
the gym, take the dog for a walk, meet a friend for coffee, leaf through a
magazine or just watch a TV show. You can do anything so long as it is not
connected to your book. Your brain needs that respite so that you can come back
refreshed to your work.
By Seema Goswami
HT5MAR17
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