Ian S. Bott's Blog, page 26
March 3, 2016
Music while you write?
The monthly round of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group, founded by the amazing Alex J. Cavanaugh, has been and gone. My blog feed is inundated this time of month by fellow bloggers sharing their insecurities, so I’m going to peek out cautiously from under my rock and whisper...
right now, I’m not feeling at all insecure.
In fact, things are going unusually well.
There. I’ve probably jinxed it now :)
Back in January I mentioned I’m dusting off my notes for The Ashes of Home, a sequel to Ghosts of Innocence. After some severe revamping of the overall plot and structure I’ve been writing steadily for about two weeks and keeping to schedule. I know there will be rough patches ahead, but right now, as long as I can picture a scene clearly in my mind, the words are flowing.
The really strange thing, though, is that I’ve been listening to music while I write. I’ve never done that before. Never been able to. Putting on music usually disrupts my thought processes as far as words go. Painting is different, I like music while I paint, but writing? It’s always been a no-go zone.
Until now.
What’s changed?
I don’t know if it’s because I’ve been wearing headphones to blot out sounds from elsewhere in the house. Ali says that listening to music through headphones engages the mind differently from hearing it played in the room. Maybe there’s something in that. All I know is that I hunt something down on YouTube, from Taylor Swift to The Stranglers to Tangerine Dream, put on the headphones, and away I go.
As long as it works, who cares?
How about you? Does music help or hinder your creative flow?
right now, I’m not feeling at all insecure.
In fact, things are going unusually well.
There. I’ve probably jinxed it now :)
Back in January I mentioned I’m dusting off my notes for The Ashes of Home, a sequel to Ghosts of Innocence. After some severe revamping of the overall plot and structure I’ve been writing steadily for about two weeks and keeping to schedule. I know there will be rough patches ahead, but right now, as long as I can picture a scene clearly in my mind, the words are flowing.
The really strange thing, though, is that I’ve been listening to music while I write. I’ve never done that before. Never been able to. Putting on music usually disrupts my thought processes as far as words go. Painting is different, I like music while I paint, but writing? It’s always been a no-go zone.
Until now.
What’s changed?
I don’t know if it’s because I’ve been wearing headphones to blot out sounds from elsewhere in the house. Ali says that listening to music through headphones engages the mind differently from hearing it played in the room. Maybe there’s something in that. All I know is that I hunt something down on YouTube, from Taylor Swift to The Stranglers to Tangerine Dream, put on the headphones, and away I go.
As long as it works, who cares?
How about you? Does music help or hinder your creative flow?
February 24, 2016
That all-important opening line
Denise Baer over at Baer Books Press had a brilliant idea for a blog post. Why not get a bunch of authors to share their first lines ... and then say why it’s a good opening line!
She collected a total of 21 opening lines and some of them are real corkers. I particularly liked #1 and #15 (and my own, of course :) )
You can read them all here. See what you think.
She collected a total of 21 opening lines and some of them are real corkers. I particularly liked #1 and #15 (and my own, of course :) )
You can read them all here. See what you think.
February 20, 2016
Sad times
People die all the time. It’s an integral part of life, but 2016 seems to have started off with a disproportionate number of prominent departures.
I was around in the 70s when David Bowie repeatedly unsettled the music scene with one tangential shift after another. Growing up in a house that revered classical, and recognized nothing more contemporary than the wartime big band sound, Bowie was a delightfully subversive influence in my younger years.
From the movie world, we mourned the untimely passing of one of my wife’s favorite actors, Alan Rickman. His dry, sardonic delivery made him an outstanding screen villain, but his characters were always deepened with touches of insane humor.
I suspect nobody this side of the Atlantic will have even heard of Terry Wogan, but he was a British institution and someone I remember with great fondness from radio and television.
Then, of course, I opened up my browser last night to the double whammy from the writing world - Harper Lee (To Kill a Mockingbird) and Umberto Eco (The Name of the Rose).
May they rest in peace, and may their work live on.
I was around in the 70s when David Bowie repeatedly unsettled the music scene with one tangential shift after another. Growing up in a house that revered classical, and recognized nothing more contemporary than the wartime big band sound, Bowie was a delightfully subversive influence in my younger years.
From the movie world, we mourned the untimely passing of one of my wife’s favorite actors, Alan Rickman. His dry, sardonic delivery made him an outstanding screen villain, but his characters were always deepened with touches of insane humor.
I suspect nobody this side of the Atlantic will have even heard of Terry Wogan, but he was a British institution and someone I remember with great fondness from radio and television.
Then, of course, I opened up my browser last night to the double whammy from the writing world - Harper Lee (To Kill a Mockingbird) and Umberto Eco (The Name of the Rose).
May they rest in peace, and may their work live on.
February 16, 2016
Innie or Outie?
Following on from my last post, I’ve been reminded this week of the importance of the right kinds of time.
I am profoundly introverted, though you may not know it from meeting me. I’m not shy of meeting new people, in fact I enjoy it. At work I speak my mind in meetings, and I have no qualms about talking to an audience of 200 people. I even relish the opportunity and get a buzz out of it - providing the audience is friendly and the topic is something I know and care about.
What makes me introverted, though, is that all of these things exhaust the heck out of me.
That is the Jungian or Myers-Briggs view of introversion/extraversion. Where do you get your energy from? Extraverts are energized by interactions with others. That has the opposite effect on introverts, who are energized by their inner world.
My work involves almost non-stop interactions with people throughout the day. At the end of the day, and at the end of a working week, I depend on enough down time at the weekends to recharge my batteries.
Last weekend, my Division held an off-site all-staff conference. Non-stop networking - Yay! - then back to work Monday.
Don’t get me wrong, it was a fabulous weekend and a chance to hear perspectives from offices all across the province, but you can guess what this has done to my energy levels. I’m just about holding on by my fingernails until next weekend.
Time to retreat into my shell for a bit :)
So how about you? Are you an innie or an outie, or somewhere in-betweenie? Do writers naturally tend to be introverts? How do you cope with demands of life and work that conflict with your natural preferences?
I am profoundly introverted, though you may not know it from meeting me. I’m not shy of meeting new people, in fact I enjoy it. At work I speak my mind in meetings, and I have no qualms about talking to an audience of 200 people. I even relish the opportunity and get a buzz out of it - providing the audience is friendly and the topic is something I know and care about.
What makes me introverted, though, is that all of these things exhaust the heck out of me.
That is the Jungian or Myers-Briggs view of introversion/extraversion. Where do you get your energy from? Extraverts are energized by interactions with others. That has the opposite effect on introverts, who are energized by their inner world.
My work involves almost non-stop interactions with people throughout the day. At the end of the day, and at the end of a working week, I depend on enough down time at the weekends to recharge my batteries.
Last weekend, my Division held an off-site all-staff conference. Non-stop networking - Yay! - then back to work Monday.
Don’t get me wrong, it was a fabulous weekend and a chance to hear perspectives from offices all across the province, but you can guess what this has done to my energy levels. I’m just about holding on by my fingernails until next weekend.
Time to retreat into my shell for a bit :)
So how about you? Are you an innie or an outie, or somewhere in-betweenie? Do writers naturally tend to be introverts? How do you cope with demands of life and work that conflict with your natural preferences?
February 6, 2016
Too much of a good thing?
Time.
It’s something I see echoed by writers on blog after blog. Can’t find the time. I need more time. And I feel the pinch at both home - trying to squeeze an hour or so here and there for writing in amongst work, family, errands, after-school activities and appointments - and at work, where my calendar sometimes looks like someone’s tipped a box of Lego blocks all over it.
Then, after a particularly bruising couple of weeks, something odd happened. I found myself with a couple of days almost entirely meeting-free.
And I realized, you can have too much of a good thing.
Here was a golden opportunity to get things done. And I did. But it was utterly draining. Yes, I feel drained after a day rushing from one meeting to the next, while wrestling my inbox into submission in between, but having hour after hour with few interruptions is equally challenging.
I used to be able to focus for hours on one thing, but I find I’m become so used to interruptions and producing results in brief bursts of activity, that I now depend on that pattern of working.
In fact, there’s research to back this up. The Pomodoro technique of time management advocates breaking work up into roughly half-hour bursts with short breaks in between. The trouble is I am used to having my day broken up into bite-sized chunks for me, so I’m out of practice planning my time for myself.
I find the same thing happening at home. A day at the weekend with no specific plans? Should be a gift, and yet it happens so rarely that when it does, after a while I get restless and start needing something else to turn my attention to.
I never had this problem as a youngster. Before children came along and family dominated a large part of my life, I could keep myself creatively occupied for hours, days, weeks at a time. I look forward to retirement (a few years off yet) with thoughts of returning to that blissful state. And yet I wonder...
It’s something I see echoed by writers on blog after blog. Can’t find the time. I need more time. And I feel the pinch at both home - trying to squeeze an hour or so here and there for writing in amongst work, family, errands, after-school activities and appointments - and at work, where my calendar sometimes looks like someone’s tipped a box of Lego blocks all over it.
Then, after a particularly bruising couple of weeks, something odd happened. I found myself with a couple of days almost entirely meeting-free.
And I realized, you can have too much of a good thing.
Here was a golden opportunity to get things done. And I did. But it was utterly draining. Yes, I feel drained after a day rushing from one meeting to the next, while wrestling my inbox into submission in between, but having hour after hour with few interruptions is equally challenging.
I used to be able to focus for hours on one thing, but I find I’m become so used to interruptions and producing results in brief bursts of activity, that I now depend on that pattern of working.
In fact, there’s research to back this up. The Pomodoro technique of time management advocates breaking work up into roughly half-hour bursts with short breaks in between. The trouble is I am used to having my day broken up into bite-sized chunks for me, so I’m out of practice planning my time for myself.
I find the same thing happening at home. A day at the weekend with no specific plans? Should be a gift, and yet it happens so rarely that when it does, after a while I get restless and start needing something else to turn my attention to.
I never had this problem as a youngster. Before children came along and family dominated a large part of my life, I could keep myself creatively occupied for hours, days, weeks at a time. I look forward to retirement (a few years off yet) with thoughts of returning to that blissful state. And yet I wonder...
January 31, 2016
A new project for a new year
With the Critique Survival Guide now out in the wild, it’s time to turn to new horizons. I can finally get back to a project I’ve been longing to work on for ages - a sequel to Ghosts of Innocence.
I keep a small document where I summarize progress of projects through various stages of production. It was a shock to see that it’s been over six years since I last looked at this one. I had started it, drafted some scenes, made some notes, then set it aside to polish and publish Ghosts, then write and publish Tiamat’s Nest.
This is an exciting stage of a book. At the moment I have a lot of scattered characters and events but only the vaguest sense of direction. Looking back on my old notes I’m refreshing my memory on loads of ideas and plot twists I’d completely forgotten about, which is a strange feeling. At the same time I realize the whole story badly needs a strong boot up the ass. The high level plot and conclusion had always felt weak to me, which is one reason I set it to one side all those years ago, but I’ve now got some ideas on how to up the stakes to a more satisfying level.
I keep a small document where I summarize progress of projects through various stages of production. It was a shock to see that it’s been over six years since I last looked at this one. I had started it, drafted some scenes, made some notes, then set it aside to polish and publish Ghosts, then write and publish Tiamat’s Nest.
This is an exciting stage of a book. At the moment I have a lot of scattered characters and events but only the vaguest sense of direction. Looking back on my old notes I’m refreshing my memory on loads of ideas and plot twists I’d completely forgotten about, which is a strange feeling. At the same time I realize the whole story badly needs a strong boot up the ass. The high level plot and conclusion had always felt weak to me, which is one reason I set it to one side all those years ago, but I’ve now got some ideas on how to up the stakes to a more satisfying level.
January 22, 2016
The Critique Survival Guide
Is now published.
For free!
Right now it’s available in all popular formats (Kindle, Nook, Apple etc.) on Smashwords, and is finding its way out to other online stores.
It’s also up on Amazon but they don’t allow for free books so it’s priced 99 cents (the minimum I can set there). Apparently if enough people report that it’s available free elsewhere Amazon might get around to price matching in their stores. I would welcome some help there (hint, hint)
January 12, 2016
Writing goals
*Peers out from under rock* Is it safe to come out yet?
I don’t do New Year resolutions, and I’m not usually one for reminiscing on the year just gone, so I generally leave the blogging stage to those who like to do either or both at this time of year.
In my recent blog visits, I saw a lot of people talking about goals. This is not a post about my goals, but about goals themselves.
We hear a lot of advice about goals. Everyone says you need to set goals. If you don’t, how do you know when you’ve succeeded?
True enough. Trouble is, goals are tricky little beasts. Done right, they can motivate - which is the whole point. But done badly they can easily have the opposite effect. A poorly-considered goal can leave you feeling crushed and defeated.
No, I’m not going to start talking about SMART goals because that’s been done to death by people far more able than me. Instead, here are a few Alka-Seltzers for those January hangovers of missed targets and failed resolutions...
Know thyself:
Some people see an impossible goal as a challenge, something to conquer. For these heroic folks, a really way-out sheer cliff face of a goal towering impossibly overhead will inspire them to efforts beyond their wildest dreams. For others, it will just give them a nosebleed.
Where do you see yourself? Choose level of difficulty accordingly.
Look beyond the goal to the outcome:
A goal is just a means to an end, not the end itself. So, maybe your goal is to write every day. 15 minutes? A thousand words? A chapter? It doesn’t matter, that’s a measurable goal you can tell easily whether or not you’re hitting it. For some people that is enough. But if goals as such don’t inspire you then lift your sights and ask yourself why you set that goal. What is it leading to? To have the first draft of your novel by June? To have four books of a series published before you retire from the day job? To develop writing as a habit so you can overcome writer’s block more easily? If the goal itself starts feeling like drudgery, one foot in front of the other, then focus on the light on the horizon instead.
This is good for inspiration, but more fundamentally, if you have a goal but haven’t a clue what it’s leading to, then what’s the point of the goal?
Choose goals that support your outcomes:
Related to the previous point, a goal should support the eventual outcome and not lead you away from it.
Some examples are ridiculously obvious. If your eventual aim is to finish that first draft of your novel, then setting yourself a goal of spending more time on Facebook is unlikely to get you there. Instead, setting aside an hour a day for writing sounds more like a good idea. That only works if that hour is actually used for writing. And for writing your novel. It does no good if you spend that “writing” time on endless research, or drafting and redrafting the same chapter, or writing blog posts.
Remind yourself who’s boss:
For whose benefit are you setting goals? Who’s in charge of your life? Goals are meant to challenge you to succeed, but they are not meant to rule your life.
On the one hand, goals that are too tough, or that become unachievable as a result of unrelated events in your life, will crush you if you cling to them too tightly. Yes, they should stretch and challenge you, but not to the detriment of your health and sanity.
On the other hand, goals that are too easy will hold you back - the opposite of their purpose - if you just keep plugging away at them regardless just because that’s your goal.
Recognize when goals aren’t working and know when it’s time to revise them. Remember who’s boss.
I don’t do New Year resolutions, and I’m not usually one for reminiscing on the year just gone, so I generally leave the blogging stage to those who like to do either or both at this time of year.
In my recent blog visits, I saw a lot of people talking about goals. This is not a post about my goals, but about goals themselves.
We hear a lot of advice about goals. Everyone says you need to set goals. If you don’t, how do you know when you’ve succeeded?
True enough. Trouble is, goals are tricky little beasts. Done right, they can motivate - which is the whole point. But done badly they can easily have the opposite effect. A poorly-considered goal can leave you feeling crushed and defeated.
No, I’m not going to start talking about SMART goals because that’s been done to death by people far more able than me. Instead, here are a few Alka-Seltzers for those January hangovers of missed targets and failed resolutions...
Know thyself:
Some people see an impossible goal as a challenge, something to conquer. For these heroic folks, a really way-out sheer cliff face of a goal towering impossibly overhead will inspire them to efforts beyond their wildest dreams. For others, it will just give them a nosebleed.
Where do you see yourself? Choose level of difficulty accordingly.
Look beyond the goal to the outcome:
A goal is just a means to an end, not the end itself. So, maybe your goal is to write every day. 15 minutes? A thousand words? A chapter? It doesn’t matter, that’s a measurable goal you can tell easily whether or not you’re hitting it. For some people that is enough. But if goals as such don’t inspire you then lift your sights and ask yourself why you set that goal. What is it leading to? To have the first draft of your novel by June? To have four books of a series published before you retire from the day job? To develop writing as a habit so you can overcome writer’s block more easily? If the goal itself starts feeling like drudgery, one foot in front of the other, then focus on the light on the horizon instead.
This is good for inspiration, but more fundamentally, if you have a goal but haven’t a clue what it’s leading to, then what’s the point of the goal?
Choose goals that support your outcomes:
Related to the previous point, a goal should support the eventual outcome and not lead you away from it.
Some examples are ridiculously obvious. If your eventual aim is to finish that first draft of your novel, then setting yourself a goal of spending more time on Facebook is unlikely to get you there. Instead, setting aside an hour a day for writing sounds more like a good idea. That only works if that hour is actually used for writing. And for writing your novel. It does no good if you spend that “writing” time on endless research, or drafting and redrafting the same chapter, or writing blog posts.
Remind yourself who’s boss:
For whose benefit are you setting goals? Who’s in charge of your life? Goals are meant to challenge you to succeed, but they are not meant to rule your life.
On the one hand, goals that are too tough, or that become unachievable as a result of unrelated events in your life, will crush you if you cling to them too tightly. Yes, they should stretch and challenge you, but not to the detriment of your health and sanity.
On the other hand, goals that are too easy will hold you back - the opposite of their purpose - if you just keep plugging away at them regardless just because that’s your goal.
Recognize when goals aren’t working and know when it’s time to revise them. Remember who’s boss.
January 5, 2016
Lunching on leftovers
Sitting at home nursing a cold. Probably didn’t do myself any favors struggling into work yesterday, but I was stubbornly determined not to kick off 2016 on sick leave even though I’ve been fighting off this darned bug since Friday.
I don’t know why, but I usually feel much better after a morning’s sleep (why can’t the overnight variety work the same wonders?) and am now foraging.
Mmmmm...leftovers!
We love leftovers in this household, but this time of year especially ’Tis the Season of Leftovers.
Yes, the Christmas turkey did its traditional triple-duty, reincarnating itself with fries and salad, then as turkey noodle soup, but that’s long gone.
The remains of the New Year’s Eve Chinese vanished the following day (that never lasts long) and it looks like Ali’s taken the last of the chicken curry I cooked on Saturday. I always go out of my way to do extra these days. Should have done one more portion. Oh well...
The New Year’s Day ham reprised turkey’s act - fries and salad, then soup. There’s still ham and potato soup left but that is doing nothing for my taste buds right now.
Aha, a little bit of ham left over for sandwiches.
Screw sandwiches! Ham, egg and potato patties it is.
Happy New Year!
I don’t know why, but I usually feel much better after a morning’s sleep (why can’t the overnight variety work the same wonders?) and am now foraging.
Mmmmm...leftovers!
We love leftovers in this household, but this time of year especially ’Tis the Season of Leftovers.
Yes, the Christmas turkey did its traditional triple-duty, reincarnating itself with fries and salad, then as turkey noodle soup, but that’s long gone.
The remains of the New Year’s Eve Chinese vanished the following day (that never lasts long) and it looks like Ali’s taken the last of the chicken curry I cooked on Saturday. I always go out of my way to do extra these days. Should have done one more portion. Oh well...
The New Year’s Day ham reprised turkey’s act - fries and salad, then soup. There’s still ham and potato soup left but that is doing nothing for my taste buds right now.
Aha, a little bit of ham left over for sandwiches.
Screw sandwiches! Ham, egg and potato patties it is.
Happy New Year!
December 23, 2015
A writer’s Christmas wish list
Dear Santa,
I’m sorry I trashed a planet and killed all those people. I know it wasn’t very good of me and I’m probably on your naughty list, but I’d like to make a special wish list for writers everywhere.
I know you and the elves do a lot of reading up at the North Pole, in between toymaking and annual deliveries. So, if you enjoyed a good book, the best gift you can give any writer is to lead others to discover them.
Here’s a few gift ideas...
Reviews: Reviews on well-traveled sites like Amazon or Goodreads are vital for getting work noticed by a wider audience.
Social media: For example:
Right now I’m reading Revenant by Kat Richardson and really enjoying it. I’ll have to look out for more of the Greywalker novels. There, that was easy, wasn’t it?
Word of mouth: Do you know a friend, relative, or work colleague who you honestly think would enjoy that book you just finished? Don’t keep it to yourself, mention it!
Posters: Do you have somewhere at work, at your local supermarket or bookstore or gas station where advertising is OK? Try contacting the writer and see if she has a promotional poster she can email you.
Libraries: Ask your local library to stock that book you enjoyed. All libraries I know of welcome suggestions from their community to add to their shelves.
I don’t do resolutions, but my promise for 2016 is to do more to help other writers along. I hope that makes up for at least some of the grisly deaths I’ve caused.
Happy Christmas!
I’m sorry I trashed a planet and killed all those people. I know it wasn’t very good of me and I’m probably on your naughty list, but I’d like to make a special wish list for writers everywhere.
I know you and the elves do a lot of reading up at the North Pole, in between toymaking and annual deliveries. So, if you enjoyed a good book, the best gift you can give any writer is to lead others to discover them.
Here’s a few gift ideas...
Reviews: Reviews on well-traveled sites like Amazon or Goodreads are vital for getting work noticed by a wider audience.
Social media: For example:
Right now I’m reading Revenant by Kat Richardson and really enjoying it. I’ll have to look out for more of the Greywalker novels. There, that was easy, wasn’t it?
Word of mouth: Do you know a friend, relative, or work colleague who you honestly think would enjoy that book you just finished? Don’t keep it to yourself, mention it!
Posters: Do you have somewhere at work, at your local supermarket or bookstore or gas station where advertising is OK? Try contacting the writer and see if she has a promotional poster she can email you.
Libraries: Ask your local library to stock that book you enjoyed. All libraries I know of welcome suggestions from their community to add to their shelves.
I don’t do resolutions, but my promise for 2016 is to do more to help other writers along. I hope that makes up for at least some of the grisly deaths I’ve caused.
Happy Christmas!
