In another life, I’m a wannabe novelist who reads a lot. In my writer shoes, I know that reading a lot is one of the ways to become a good writer. From reading, you absorb what it means to have your own voice and style. Reading in your genre teaches you what works and doesn’t work. Reading also gives you a wide appreciation of the craft.

When I am working on a novel (which is pretty much at any given time) I am usually reading at least one book. It helps me to focus on writing.

Now picture me walking up the street to my place, shopping bag with fish in hand, and pausing for a moment as I have a lightbulb moment.

If I read fiction to keep the craft fresh in my mind and to help me stay dedicated to keeping up my writing, then what about the health side of things?

I had my lightbulb moment the other day and, while wishing I had thought of it much earlier, I went to the library for some books. I grabbed what I could find on emotional eating, body intelligence, basics of healthy weight loss, etc.

And you know what? It’s been working.

Reading these books hasn’t stopped me from doing some silly things or eating things I shouldn’t, but it has kept my health in the forefront of my mind. As someone who spent most of her life not giving a chicken’s butt about herself, I need help getting into the habit of thinking about me and my well-being on a daily basis. Reading books on health have helped.

The first book (review coming next week) didn’t really tell me anything I didn’t already know, but reading it every night before I went to be and sometimes during the day kept thoughts of a healthy me fresh in my mind.

In a strange way, it was a sort of accountability, too. I wanted a chai latte, but I felt a bit hypocritical having it and reading about how I should cut my sugary drinks at the same time.

Call it a weird strategy, but if you live a busy lifestyle, this could be the thing for you to do until you get in the habit of thinking of yourself every day…

Personally? I always used to be a note cards kind of girl, but that’s not working for me so well lately. I’m slowly moving over into a freer way of outlining/note taking, but I have yet to buy a whiteboard or get some butcher paper.

Whether they are plotters or pantsers, I don’t have any writer friends who don’t have some sort of note taking procedures they use when writing a novel. Some, like Kim and Fleur, prefer space to spread out. When I was younger, I liked note cards for the important bits that *had* to happen and I considered it to be my job to build the bridges that linked those concrete points.

What do you use for your writing? Do you even keep track of notes? (If no, then how to you make sure that Susie’s eye colour doesn’t turn from brown to blue three fourths through the book?) Do you prefer an open piece of paper or are you a little more organized with lined notebooks filled with notes?

I’m curious about the process for other people because it seems like I am finding my way once again for finding what works for me.

How do you encourage your stories to be unique and organic? Here are five tips on how you can encourage the full organic experience from your novel or short story:

Always carry a paper and pen with you. I know I always say this, but there is a reason I say it.

Write in different places. Comfort isn’t everything. Some writers need perfect conditions to write but that dramatically decreases the amount of time you can actually spend writing. It’ll be good for your writing for you to get out and about as well.

Let your novel lead. I said this yesterday and I’ll say it again: You never write a novel the exact same way twice. Don’t base decisions about your current work in progress on your last project.

Don’t be too controlling. Experiment or try things you. Even if you write yourself into a dead end or a place you didn’t expect, no material need be wasted. Maybe you can use it for something else.

Have fun. If writing is always work for you, then you’re doing the wrong thing.

Novel and short story writing is often taught, but any writer will tell you that there is no one way to write a novel. Some outline, some don’t. Some let the characters lead while others let the world be the dominant force.

No matter how you do it, I’m willing to venture you don’t write novels the same way twice.

I think of novels as a bit of a more organic thing than something I simply sit down and write. Each novel takes me in a different way. My current work in progress is presenting itself to me in little bits and pieces, none of which are in order. I have had novels keep me up at night because I simply had to finish writing that chapter or scene. I have completely outlined a novella before writing it, and I have also outlined absolutely nothing.

Sometimes the characters lead. Actually, with my work, the characters often lead, but even that varies from story to story.

As it should.

The organic novel is a good thing. It means that not every novel is the same in a very basic and perhaps even slightly subconscious way. The way your novel takes you in your writing it (by the hair, by the balls, or a more gentle approach) is often the way it will take your reader.

While your reader may not have to take a midnight cemetery ghost tour to really capture the essence of the book, the fact that your novel demanded that of you just goes to show that each one is and should be different.

Don’t resist where your novel takes you. Let it lead. You can always edit later.

But that got me wondering: What makes people shudder?

Horror movies these days certainly don’t give an answer about true horror; they’re all about making you gasp and jump. You’re not really scared but for the jump.

For me, there are two things that scare me the most:

1. The cosmic, cold intelligence. I actually have to thank a new acquaintance on Writing Discussions for bringing this one up because, while it is something that scares me, I don’t come across it very often in what I read or watch. Yet, there is something about the idea of an otherworldly force that humanity doesn’t understand – and has no hope to understand – that is scary to me.
2. Human evil. While it may sound cliché, the capacity of humans for evil acts is the scariest thing to me. Be it the child who kills, the adult who only knows how to dole out cruelty, or just the person you meet walking down the street who happens to have body parts in his/her basement freezer. There is just something about human evil that gets to me. Probably the fact that it’s possible for any of us…

Even so, those are only two examples of what horror writers use to get our hearts racing.

What scares you? What makes *good* horror?

“Well if even natives mix lay with laid and lie, there’s hope for me.

Now a bit more seriously, I think the whole issue has to do with money. An editor, obviously, isn’t cheap, and it’s very easy to have a panic attack as the costs of self-publishing rises and rises.”

I felt the need to bring this up because I thought I may have come off as insensitive to self-publishers who don’t have big budgets. The fact of the matter is that, when having the conversation that inspired the pet peeve, I mentioned money troubles as a possible reason for not hiring a professional editor.

First off, my complaint about lack of editing comes from self-published books that have glaring mistakes – beginner mistakes. I wouldn’t complain over mistake here and there; we are all human and I make mistakes in my writing, too. It is when you compromise the quality of the book (and of the industry in some cases) that I start getting fussy.

With things being as they are, money is the big issue on most people’s minds. However, that is no excuse to skip a crucial step in the writing/publishing process.

If looking at the prices of editors online starts to get you feeling down, don’t stop looking! The people you are likely to find first are likely to be the more expensive editors. Just keep looking and you’ll find someone in your price range.

I assure you that there are plenty of freelance editors out there who don’t have a lot of credit to their names just yet who will edit your manuscript for cheaper prices. Heck, I’m one of them. Talk to people, use your networking skills both offline and off to find someone who is right for you.

And who knows? Maybe a friend of yours has an editing fetish you don’t know about and is willing to offer you a deal because you’re friends.

There are plenty of options out there; you just have to look for them.

I won’t write in them.

There are no exceptions – at least, there hasn’t been so far in my life. I have given good attempts at writing in the fancy books I receive, but I never keep going.

Just give me a crap notebook and I’ll be happy.

No, you don’t need to run over a perfectly nice notebook just for me, but give me a lined, spiral bound notebook that you or your child would use for school and I’ll be happy. A notebook that will take more damage than an idiot driver in a little red sports car is just fine.

Why the crappy notebooks? Why can’t I write beautiful things in a beautiful notebook?

Well, I can. Or rather, I can try. But the thing is, I don’t write beautiful things from the first go. That’s why there are things called drafts. In my first draft? Well, that’s where I need to give myself permission to write the real crap. Let the hero save the princess just so I can get it out of my system and then go ahead and kill him when he finds out she’s been having an affair with his father in the next draft.

Crappy, cheap, plain notebooks give writers space and permission to get things – no matter how stupid, silly, whatever they are – out of their system. They can explore angles without having to worry about cleaning ripping out pages so they don’t show or scribble marks.

Save your fancy journals. Give me a crappy notebook any day.

Alas, when I get like this, I know what’s truly wrong… I haven’t been writing.

Well, I have been writing. I write every day because that is what I do to pay the bills. What I mean is I haven’t been working on my creative writing. The stuff that gets me out of my usual work of work, planning and to-do lists and into wonderful worlds I have created in my mind.

While I have known plenty of writers who become sad if they haven’t been able to write for a while, but I don’t know too many who become balls of stress if they have gone too long without

Mind you, I’m not talking about a matter of days here. It has been at least a fortnight – probably longer – since I last worked on one of my current projects. (“You really want to know why you haven’t published a novel yet, JM?”) But, noting my increasingly hostile mood and liking my husband enough to do something about it, I went to bed with my laptop in hand last night and got some writing time in.

Lo and behold, I find my mood and productivity levels greatly improved.

Am I surprised by this? Not really. I’ve always been happier when I’ve been working on something. As usual, the temptation is to let work rule my life and not get any creative writing done. Of course all that serves to do is grind on me until I become completely stressed.

So goes my punishment for forgetting to take my Artist Days.

Do you find you get cranky or stressed when you haven’t written something in a long time? Does it make you feel sad? Does taking some time to write creatively help improve your mood?

And he’s completely correct.

When it comes to writing day in and day out, there are a few things you can do – like taking a breath of fresh air – to help you get past the times when you’re just not ‘feeling it’, but that isn’t always the key that fixes all problems.

Sometimes it takes a bit more confidence. Knowing you’re being heard and that people are eager to listen. Having the confidence to stand up and say what you want to say with a clear voice.

Sometimes it takes just gritting your teeth and shoving through with all the will power you can muster inside yourself.

And yet other times, it takes a little community help and feedback.

If there is anything you would ever like to see more/less of here on InkyBlots, do not hesitate to let me know. I don’t bite (I might be reported to immigration if I did) and above all, I want this site to be great for you. You can contact me at any time via the ‘contact me’ button under the site description on the right.

I want only the best things for InkyBlots. I want to talk about things you want to hear about, to post listings for places you want to submit to and all the other things in between.

Let me know what you’d like to see from this site.