Pomodoro technique (Mac, Win)

This is here because there are a couple if applications available to help you with the technique. Here is a quick rundown of what Pomodoro is:

• It is a well recognised fact that us humans have difficulty concentrating on anything for more than 20-30 minutes. We suck at focussing. This technique aims to help with this.
• It advocates you work in 25 minute chunks, each followed by a 5 minute break.
• These 25 minutes must be disciplined, focused work, and the breaks genuine breaks.

The pomodoro website explains more (though really, what needs explaining?), and there is a downloadable PDF, too. And here is a Pomodoro app for Macs, which has more features than is strictly necessary, and is definitely worth a look.

Focus booster is usually mentioned alongside the Pomodoro app. It allows you to set 25 minute intervals andshows a bar that counts down. Personally though, I don’t like clock watching and think it rather spoils the point if having an application to do it for you. But, it’s built on Adobe Air, so can be used on Windows or Mac.

Spirited away (Mac)

I have recently started using this app at work, where I can have upwards of five programs open at once. If an open app is not used for a set interval it gets automatically hidden, removing clutter without you having to think about it. You can exclude programs from being hidden with an easy icon in your top bar. Simple and very effective.

MinimOther (Win)

The Windows equivalent of Spirited Away, MinimOther minimises every window save for the one that currently has focus. It does this immediately rather than on a timed basis, so as soon as one window is selected, the others are gone! I recommend using the tab key to move to any other windows you might need rather than fiddling with your mouse (ooh-er).

Think (Mac)

Think is well known in the Mac productivity community, and has a similar agenda to Spirited Away and MinimOther in that it aims to let you focus on only the applications you need and hide the others. Think’s approach is to darken the rest of the screen, leaving only one app highlighted. There are lots of options and you can bring other apps to the fore temporarily if you need to.

Ghoster (Win)

Does the same, but for windows. It blacks out everything else, including the taskbar, which on Windiws 7 is all shiny and flashy and animated and distracting!

Writeroom (Mac)

When all you want to do is write, having a load of other programs hanging around can be distracting. Even the operating systems menus and widgets and doodas can be distracting. Even the buttons and menus if the word processor are unnecessary clutter!

Writeroom gets rid of all of that by just displaying the text. All else fades neatly away until you move to another program or quit the application. The only feature is a very useful word count, which only appears when you mouse over the bottom of the screen. Writeroom doesn’t sound like it should be as useful as it is, but once you start using it, it soon feels necessary, then essential.

You might argue that for such a simple tool it’s rather expensive, and I would not disagree. Still, for thosepeople who were not lucky enough to get Writeroom for free in a MacHeist bundle, there is another alternative called JDarkroom, which is set up as a free version of Darkroom (below), and is Java-based, making it cross-platform.

Darkroom (Win)

Does pretty much the same as Writeroom, but for Windows. I’m sure the green writing is only there to appeal to geeks and retrophiles, but it can be changed to black and white.

Freemind (Java-based)

I’ve blogged about this before, so follow this link for more on how you can use this excellent free mindmapping software. In some ways this is an anti-focus tool, as it allows your mind to wander freely over the “page”, but that’s just what you need when what you’re focussing on is generating ideas!

And there you have it. I’m sure there are many more tools out there, so I’d love to know what tools you’ve found that help you focus on your writing.

Automatic Writing

I must confess, I don’t always (read rarely), stick to my writing routine, but when I do I feel energised, and ready to write! Once I have had a good run of writing days, the next time I sit down to write is so much easier. At the best moments, it is near to automatic. Apparently, a similar effect may be possible through object-based habits.

Jack Cheng recently wrote an article about activity/object association. In it he describes a phenomenon that he calls “habit fields”. These fields are created by constantly reinforced association between an object, and an activity. You can shape the nature of the field, and in return, it can affect your actions.

Memorable Benefits

Neuron image courtesy of Patrick Hoesly

Now, when people start invoking energy fields and the like, a concept starts sounding a little “woo”. But don’t worry, it’s just a metaphor! What he’s actually talking about is the way memories are constructed. Specifically, there are two features of memory creation that are particularly important here: repetition and association.

It’s obvious to anyone who’s learnt a script that repetition is a vital tool to lock down a memory. Behaviour can also be learned through repetition. Video games are especially good at teaching actions, for example. Combo attacks in games require a complicated series of button presses that bewilder at first. But, through repetition, a player soon learns to react to different situations with a variety of combination moves, without thinking about it at all. This is an example of “muscle memory”. Now extend this to less specific behaviours – to a state of mind; relaxed behaviour, productive behaviour, writing behaviour; all can be learned.

Association is even more fundamental. Memories are essentially a series of associations. These can also be learned, of course. You have probably had the experience of a particular smell reminding you of a person or place, even if you have not seen that person or been to that place in years.

Making the connection

Cheng’s idea is that “habit fields” (states of mind or behaviour) can be built around objects through repetition. Stay consistent with the objects you use for certain tasks and the association takes care of itself. Just like the gamer whose fingers perform instinctive button ballets when he sits in front of his console, you can slip into focussed productivity when you settle down in your designated work place to use your designated work tools.

In practice, this process is going on all the time, for better or worse, so you are using it anyway. Being aware of it will help you avoid the obvious pitfalls, and develop good habits. Don’t check Twitter on your writing laptop, or it will gradually become your Twitter laptop!

Think about it for a bit, and you’ll probably see areas in your own life where this already applies. For example, I used to try writing at weekends at my big desktop computer. I was often distracted, and found myself much more comfortable at the dining room table, using the laptop I also use for work.

Given a quick think, this is not surprising. I bought that desktop primarily for gaming, and that’s what I had been using it for previously. The laptop on the other hand is what I use all day for work, and because it’s convenient, I use it to write on the train. The habit field of my laptop then, us one of productive work, including writing. Well, mostly.

Jack of all Trades…

It’s a problem, as Cheng points out, that becomes more pervasive the more capable our tools become. These days every electronic device is a Swiss army knife of possibilities, and the problem becomes one of narrowing those down or restricting those options in order to focus.

Having a dedicated area to write, and restricting your writing to to just that purpose, could take you a long way. Read Cheng’s full article for some other ideas on how to do that, and pop back to getmewriting.com next week, when I’ll have a list of tools to help you focus on your writing. In the mean time, I’d like to know if you have noticed habit fields around the the objects you use.

Image courtesy of Chocolate Geek

This question was prompted by a book I’m reading, novel in a year, by Louise Doughty. The book is divided up into weeks, and every other week has an exercise. One of the early exercises is to sum up why you want to be a novelist, in one sentence. One sentence – that’s tricky.

The Love of it

I spent some time trying to think of some deep purpose to my ambition; something original, that might sound wise or insightful. But I kept coming back to the fact that I really like reading novels. I’ve always liked them. As far back as I can remember, I have enjoyed getting lost in another world. Novels are long enough to do that, and I find them much more absorbing than any other medium.

And what I enjoy, I want to emulate. Or, if not emulate (although there have been many authors I admire, I only want to sound like myself when I write), at least make my own version thereof.

My Readers Need Me!

No, I cannot pretend that I have some altruistic desire to share the pleasure I get from reading – to impart the same with my own work. In part, that would seem rather arrogant of me, I think. It’s not that I don’t believe that there are people out there that would enjoy my work, but I do not assume that the world is clamouring for a novel by Matt Roberts. And I don’t see it as my duty that I write for these people; that it would be a selfish tragedy to deny them such works of genius!

Apart from that, I do not require readers to want to write a novel. Without anyone to read it, I would likely still write it anyway.

Climbing the Mountain

The challenge might be another part of it, though. It’s a long old process, especially for those of us who can only write in small snatches. But I imagine a day when my novel is finally completed, and know that the relief and pride that come from such an accomplishment will be worth it. That is one of the things that spurs me on. Without relishing the challenge, I believe I would be consigned to writing quarter-finished pieces, constantly starting on the next project, but never finishing.

So, why do I want to be a novelist, in one sentence?
I want to become a novelist, because I love novels, and relish the feeling of satisfaction I’ll have when I finally complete my own.

Perhaps not amazingly profound, but true, and motivation enough. Have you ever taken the time to consider why you want to be a novelist, poet, shirt story writer, script writer etc.? I’d love to read your reasons!

It's a hot seat. See what I did there? Courtesy of Dav

Why do I need a character backstory?

Let’s just go over, briefly, why that is so. Now it used to be that an author could spend pages describing a character and their history (or anything else for that matter. I remember reading a paragraph that lasted one whole page and was packed with dense description of a kitchen, or something. Not sure of the novel. Might have been Tess of the D’Urbervilles).

Not so these days. It’s the whole, “show, don’t tell” thing again. It’s considered much more effective to give an impression of the character through their actions and the way they perform them. Hints and clues. Less is more. This is a good thing as far as I’m concerned. Feel free to disagree of course, many do.

So it might be that a lot of the backstory of your character does not get put into words in your finished novel. Why should you bother developing one, then? I refer you to paragraph one. Writers often need something solid in their heads, or preferably written down, to get a real sense of the character’s motivations, and to know what they will do next. Armed with such priveledged knowledge, characters begin that process of “writing themselves” that we’ve all heard so much about.

So what’s this hotseat thing, then?

A few weeks back, I read a blog post that dealt with this issue. The author recommended a method I had used before, but not applied to writing.

As I commented at the time, this reminded me of drama lessons. The idea is based around interviewing a character. In the drama excercise, the actor sits in a chair in front of his or her peers. The actor is in character, having read the script and so armed with that knowledge.

They are then asked questions by the other people in the class and must improvise their character’s response. The idea is to fill in the gaps left by the script and gain greater insight into the character’s past and motivations, all of which can be brought to bear in performance.

In the writing exercise of course, you are both actor and questioner. It is your job to ask questions of your character, and also your job to respond as your character, by putting pen to paper. Again, you are improvising, or freewriting, and again, such freedom will give rise to unexpected events and reactions from your character. They will help make your character whole, and may even provide some future plot points for your story proper.

Some tips

Don’t be coy when asking questions. You want to ask those questions to which you don’t yet know the answer, otherwise, what’s the point? And to help keep the flow, why not write out the questions beforehand, so you don’t keep having to pause to think of a new one halfway through the process. If you think of new questions during the improvisation, well just ask them then and there, and answer them then and there. Just as long as you’re not interrupting yourself.

When the time comes to do the answering, take a moment to get yourself into character. Imagine a scene with them in it, and imagine how they behave from what you know of them so far. Then go for it! Make your character honest for this round of questions, even if they are not normally. You’ll get more out of it I’m sure.

Anyway, that gives you an idea of how it worked for me during drama classes, and what helped then. At the moment I’m concentrating on a short story, but I’ll run through this exercise myself as soon as I’m done. I’ll let you know how I got on, and I’d like you to do the same!

Image courtesy of Markus Rödder.

Now it could be that I’m just tired if the thing. It could be that I don’t have enough material in my head. It could be that since I decided the point where I was going to stop, my brain has taken the cue and gone into early shut down.

It could be all three.

In any case it seems pointless to bash my head against a brick wall for now, and while I’m kind of in the middle of a section, it’s probably a better place to stop anyway. Besides, if I don’t write anything else until this novel’s finished my portfolio will look rather starved.

So, decision made, I’m settling down to thrash out a short story I’ve had gestating in my mind for a while and now feels ready for birth. I’m really going to go for it! Hack away ’till done. Edit ’till done. Boom! It feels refreshing just thinking about it!

Then, rather than dive straight back into the novel, I thought I’d do a little bit of world-building. I’m thinking specifically of the characters. These guys aren’t exactly writing themselves here, and I don’t think I’ve got to know them yet. Rather than wait for the second draft, I’ll get a better understanding now, and apply that going forward.

I’ll update with a post about exactly how I did that when I get round to it.

For now, I’m hoping that a change really is as good as a rest, and the shift in scenery will see my writing instincts wake up again.

What do you do when you feel yourself flagging?

Such has been the problem for the last couple of weeks. I recently smashed my records for the most words written in a month and in a week. Woohoo! Unfortunately, rather than spur me on to even greater things, this has had the opposite effect. Something went click in my brain and suddenly I felt like I’d earned a break.

Well, no actually Matt, you didn’t.

This break was not a conscious decision. It was more like an attitude that seeped in. Of course, I should have confronted this head on when I felt this insidious seepage, but alas, I just carried on doing trickles of writing and feeling guilty. The result is that not a lot of writing gets done, and there is now a general lack of motivation. Bad! Bad! Bad! Two steps forward, one step back (at least).

So, what should I have done? I’ve prepared a short list that I think will help me in future:

• Set out your next goals. Let’s keep that motivation going. You (and I, too. Everybody!) should take a look at the stats and decide what you should be chasing next. What’s the next goal? Play about with it. If this goal is achieved, what does that mean, and what else might be achieved? These are the motivating questions that ensured the last milestone was reached, so they should not be ignored now.
• And if you must take it easy… Then decide to take it easy! Don’t leave it to chance, don’t lose control. Set the boundaries. Are you going to do nothing for a set amount of days, or have a smaller wordcount target this week? What are the exact numbers? Stick to it! And now that you’ve decided on the conditions of your rest, don’t forget to set some goals for afterwards so you’re not left languishing!
• Pay attention! Are you having an unscheduled break? Is your wordcount dipping below acceptable levels? Feeling demotivated? Don’t ignore it! Confront it! Set some new goals or schedule a break, but again, make the decision!

Hopefully I’ll be able to practice what I preach! Motivation is pretty much everything when you’re working on something alone, so it’s important to be aware and to take control! Now let’s get to it!

Of course, there is always a degree of hand-wringing self-doubt, but because I write so little, novel writing is a very lengthy process. There is so much more time for those pesky “what if”s to sneak in and resume their steady excavation of buried fears.

I have decided to write the first quarter of the book, stop, probably work on something else for a month, then read and edit before continuing with the second quarter. This is a carefully considered plan that allows for the fact that I will take a long time to write it, and therefore allows me to

• work on other things
• remind myself what’s happened so far
• review what will happen going forward

But…

What if it’s no good?

I haven’t read any of it back to myself yet. What if it’s completely useless? Well, this one is not such a mystery. I have pretty much accepted that the whole thing will be rubbish. That’s what happens with a first draft, so fine, whatever. Although I’m sure my first read will be a dispiriting event, at least I will have something I can work with. More concerning is…

What if I don’t know how to edit it properly?

Seriously, what if I can’t make it better, or everything a I do makes it terrible in a different way? This one does give me butterflies, I have to admit. I imagine sitting down to read it and finding that there’s not enough; that I have to pad it out where everyone else has to cut (cutting, I have no real with by the way).

I imagine that it reads too fast, that the pacing is all lopsided, that entire pages are devoid of detail, or are simply uninteresting; that I can’t build a scene, I can’t describe a place or a person, I can’t give someone a convincing voice… Can’t, can’t, can’t. On and on. And people say there’s no such word.

Which is an odd thing to worry about now that I think about it. I have never ever had a problem editing longer work from anyone else. In fact, I have found editing a much more enjoyable experience than writing sometimes. Again, I think the fear is that there won’t be enough there, or that it’s so bad that the whole thing has to be rewritten. Neither have been a problem when reviewing someone else’s work.

What if I never finish?

Yes, there is always the fear of abandonment. I am bucking everyone’s advice by deciding to stop at a “convenient” place and pick it up later. Maybe instead I should go on a little longer, or break a little sooner, so I can continue in something of a flow when I return to write fresh pages.

I will probably do that – it sounds like a good idea. But refusing to work on it for weeks could still lead to a catastrophic stall and so the fear remains. I shall have to leap straight in with both feet when I write the next part.

Well, I’m glad I got that off my chest anyway. It does help sometimes to acknowledge your fears, but I think that’s quite enough for now. Dwelling on them too long can be dangerous. If you have something niggling doubts why not share them yourself in the comments?

• How many people break their new years resolution, stop going to the gym after two sessions, fail their diet at the sight of a chocolate bar? Sticking something out requires discipline, and if it’s something you feel can be put off until the next day, it’s even harder. It will never be urgent.Sticking to a writing routine is difficult, especially when starting.
• There’s never enough time. We can carve out a little niche here and there for writing, but the truth is things will never get done quickly enough to keep us satisfied, and there are always other commitments gnawing away.
• There is a lot of competition out there. A lot. How many writing blogs are there by people who haven’t made it yet? How many fledgling writers reading them? It’s no wonder your story hasn’t been picked up. It’s going to take a lot of persistence
• First drafts look like crap. It’s easy for us to write and write and look back and think, oh God, I can’t do this, it’s terrible. It’s difficult to write well, and easy to dismiss something as rubbish and forget the whole thing. But almost every writer writes badly in their first draft. Chill.

So next time you feel like you’ve not done enough, remember that this is hard. It takes a lot of work and dedication. You should expect to struggle occasionally. But you’re still here, you’re still doing it. That kind of attitude is half the battle.

Now, the list above is rather short, there are bound to be many more reasons that you can think of. Share them in the comments, please. And remember, these aren’t excuses, but they are reasons to cut ourselves a little slack every now and again. Not too much. Just a little.

• How long do you spend at work, asleep, playing games, watching TV? It would only take a fraction of that time to write your novel. It’s estimated that on average a writer can manage a page in an hour. Write for just one hour every day and you have 365 pages done in a year. To some, that’s what you call a book.
• You want to write, yes? So, chances are you read a lot, you may have done quite a bit of writing in school. You were good, yes? You may have taken writing courses. You almost certainly have had good ideas worth writing about. You’ve got talent in other words. This is already something you’re good at!
• And have you remembered that you enjoyed writing in the past yet? You probably still enjoy it. Even better!
• You’re here, so you already know that if you’re struggling there is help. Plenty. Between blogs like this, online communities, books, writing courses, there is an abundance of help out there!

When you think about it like that, what’s so difficult, really? I want people to use this list as a little bit of motivation when they need something to help them pull themselves together. I’d like you to look at this list and think, that’s right – writing’s great, and I can do it, I have done it, it’s easy!

Has anyone got anything similar they tell themselves? Add it in the comments and it may make it’s way to the list above.

So, it’s a hot topic in the writing blogosphere. Do a check. The next time you read a writing blog, search on it for a post on finding time to write. It will be there (if the blog even has a search, which I found to be a curious rarity). It was one of the first entries that made it on to this fine blog as a matter of fact. And chances are that most if them will say pretty much the same thing.

So given the wealth of information, where should you go for the best advice? Well, I’ve subscribed to a lot of blogs, and I’ve done that very search on all of them, plus searched in Google for good measure, and I’ve made a list of five that are not only good, but hopefully offer something a little different as well. I know, I know, but there’s no need to thank me. It’ll only make my head swell.

Behold, five great blog posts on finding time to write!

In no particular order…

1. Chip on Your Shoulder – Time is on Our Side: Write to the Beat of Your Circadian Rhythms
   This post by Chip Scanlan actually doesn’t talk about circadian rhythms at all, oddly enough. But it does collect a few anecdotes about how published authors found time to write, and offers some sound advice to boot.
2. Writing World – Time and the Writer
   Here’s an idea, keep a diary of exactly where you spend your time, great if you’re really struggling.
3. Write to Done – How To Find Time To Write While Traveling
   A little different this. What about if you’re travelling about – on holiday for example?
4. essortment – Finding Time to Write
   For a more rigorous approach, read this article. Get a new hairstyle? Yes, really.
5. We The ’Bistro – Finding Time to Write
   Seven tips included in this one. This represents the typical advice you’ll find across the internet, but it’s good advice all the same. Although, I’m not so sure about the writing class, but whatever helps.

And if all else fails, you could always get someone else to write it for you!

Please let us know how you find the time to write – we need all the help we can get!