This rather clever photo was taken by image munky

Serial Sequential Certainty

Whenever I write something, I will get ideas for something else during the writing process. Just recently, during my current WIP first draft (a short-ish story. I have two on the go – one in first draft mode, one in editing mode), I generated an idea for a sequel of sorts, or a novel based around the world. It was done simply by thinking about my main character’s background. I decided he was part of a specific class of people. What would happen if these lone warriors, each with their own set of values and ways of getting things done, were forced to unite to defeat a common foe. The forming of this coalition and the internal conflicts would make an interesting novel.

Suddenly my short story is the background to a wider conflict. This gave my story more depth, and made the world more viable as the setting for a longer piece.

This is not the first time it has happened either. My other WIP, currently in editing mode (still. STILL!) gave rise to a sequel short story idea. This again came when fleshing out my main character’s backstory. I decided a story about one of the men in his past might be interesting to explore – et voila! A story is born!

The Writer’s Mindset

But it’s not just creeping sequelitis that comes from regular writing. I really believe that getting your brain into that practiced writing state can help generate new ideas when you’re away from the page. Writing stays with you, even when you’re not typing or scribbling. And the more you do it the more that state of mind infects the rest of your daily life. I am sure I have more ideas when I’m writing than in my periods when I’m slacking off.

Back to my teenage self. I thought about writing a lot. Hell, I even did some. I can’t say I did more writing then than I did now, but when I did it was not a case of trying to form a routine and get into the process. When I felt inspiration strike me, I wrote. It was part of my psyche, I guess; I had decided I was A Creative, sprung from the womb with an innate talent. I don’t believe in such things anymore. Instead I believe that if I’d put more work in then, my well of ideas would not have run dry. If I’d known what was involved to really become a writer, I would not have got out of practice.

Again this validates my view that writing is a kind of training, not just in refining your craft, but in mindset. That is, after all, the most important training you can give yourself – with the right mindset a person can achieve most things.

Do you ever run dry on ideas? What do you do to get yourself out of the rut, or is the answer always to write?

Not enough hours in the day

There really isn’t is there? I struggle to get projects finished and here I am thinking of something wacky (but kinda cool) that couldn’t possibly make it onto a bookshelf. Despite this I’ve decided to go ahead with it anyway, and although I’m not completely neglecting the other project I’ve got on the go, it’s fair to say that time has been taken away.

A welcome distraction

But what can I say? I’m a sucker for a funky writing idea (I wish I was even remotely capable of doing this), and at least this one is brief, and not an all-consuming über project.

But it is a distraction. How do I justify it?

• It’s fun. Yay, happy play time!
• It’s a new set of challenges. Although I believe any writing will improve your writing, it’s sometimes fun to look at something from a different angle and get different parts of your writing mind working.
• A change is as good as a rest. And sometimes you need a rest. A change of writing scenery can help you recharge your batteries.

How much is too much?

So you can see I don’t mind wandering off the path every now and again, if the project is exciting and brief enough. But it does rather pose the question, where do you draw the line?

I can’t really answer that. I can tell you where I think it is for me, but it might be different for you. How much do you want to have your “normal” book published? How much do you like experimental projects? Maybe you live for them!

As for myself, I’m making sure I still work on my other piece, even if time on it is reduced. I want to avoid that temptation of putting it away and working on something else proper. And like I said, this is a brief experiment. If after a couple of weeks I haven’t finished it, I’m just going to drop it – it’s not that important to me.

Have you got any writing experiments you’re particularly proud of? Is it online? If so I’d love to see it, and I’m sure others would too, so please post in the comments!

Adventures in SciFi Publishing

I was just finishing off the second draft of a 10,000 word story. The draft was mostly to get rid of some embarrassingly bad prose that I knew was in there. I was expecting to do a rewrite after I had had it back from friends, but realised that I was settling for a good story when what I need is a great story!

I’ve found a new favourite podcast. Adventures In Sci-Fi Publishing has some great discussions and interviews. On the February 11th episode was an interview with Ferrett Steinmetz. Although Ferrett calls himself a “beginning writer”, he’s good enough to be up for the John W. Campbell Award for best new writer, and is currently a slush reader for Apex Magazine.

Good vs. Great

Nobody gives a crap about good stories. They want great stories

Ferrett Steinmetz

Ferrett reads a lot of stories. He also reads a lot of good stories. That’s the first thing to note – there are a lot of good stories out there. Another good story is not going to stand out. As Ferrett notes, you will get to the end of a good story, but you won’t remember it.

You want to write a story that people are going to be thinking about three days later

Ferrett Steinmetz

I also got the impression that a good story is written by a capable writer, but that it’s not the writing as such that’s the problem. There is a lot of talk about good stories having worthwhile prose and dialogue. But that’s not enough.

Thankfully, he does get specific about the difference between good and great, but before we get to that, I’d like to clear something up.

Why didn’t I know my story was only good?

I agree, it does seem silly that I should need a shove from a podcast to know that my story wasn’t up to scratch. But I do think it’s an easy trap to fall into.

Like so much in life, I think it came down to a subconscious decision I made.

I was concentrating on getting the story done. In enforcing this mindset, I had somehow made the decision that I was going to do a certain amount of work on this story, and that would be it, at least for a while, so I could go onto the next one.

What I hadn’t realised was that making the story great lay outside these perimeters. Hearing the podcast allowed me to take a different view – one where I was looking down at the story from above, rather than looking out of the story from within.

What distinguishes a great story?

Anyway, back to the main event. We have already seen that a story can be good, but it’s not necessarily the writing that makes it great. There’s some discussion about the central idea being the distinguishing factor, but even that won’t satisfy Mr. Steinmetz:

… a lot of it is not only just having that idea, but finding away to focus it, so it’s really interesting…

Ferrett Steinmetz

So it seems an idea can be good but not great, as well. Fair enough. So what is it about an idea that can be great and really elevates your story? Ferrett Steinmetz calls it specificity.

[...] if I tell you, there’s this guy and [...] he’s gonna be stuck in a haunted house for a while, that’s not really gonna stick with you. But suddenly you take, here’s a recovering alcoholic, he’s previously abused his family, he’s got a son who has problems and his wife’s passive aggressive, and they’re gonna go to the overlook mansion where they’re gonna be snowed in [...] that specificity brings you to [...] the Shining.

Ferrett Steinmetz

When put like that, it’s easy to see how specific details create a situation that’s unique to your story and that is far more interesting to explore.

There are many more points raised in this podcast episode so I encourage you all to go and listen. Even if you’re not interested in Sci-Fi specifically, their discussions are broadly about writing anyway and you are sure to get something from them. For example, this particular episode also features a discussion on how many drafts you should do (also of particular interest to me at the moment).

How I’m making my story great

So, back to me.

My story was good(ish). Its themes were well-realised, but what it really lacked was heart – an “emotional centre” as Ferrett calls it.

Here we go again! Image courtesy of Sharon Drummond.

My central character was an observer only, pretty much. No one reading the story would truly care what happened to him, because even though he witnesses what takes place he didn’t have much to say or do about it. He was bland.

Also, the antagonist in the story does things that are not altogether explained and the reader can be left wondering what exactly his motivations were (in a bad, confusing way rather than a good, thought-provoking way).

The answer? Specificity!

So I wrote out a series of questions about these characters that I would have to answer. The theme of these questions was basically, “why the hell should we care”? Which itself boiled down to, “why does this character care?” What is it that ties them painfully to the events and themes in the story, what drives them to do the things that they do?

Free-writing the answers to these questions gave me a rough backstory that I could draw upon. Now I’m ready to hack away at it again.

Incidentally, freewriting is a great way of world-building. I am constantly surprised at what I can come up with by giving myself a few prompts and then just bashing away at the keyboard. I am now adding this method to the prep I do before writing a story. I addition to this freewriting, character/world-building exercise, I will also ask myself the following questions:

Is this a great story idea?

• If I were to read it, would I give a crap?
• Is the idea specific?
• What is the emotional centre of the story?
• Have I picked the right moment for the story to take place? What are two other moments where it could take place, and are they better?

This is a list I will likely add to over time, and it’s worth pointing out that I may not have all the answers before I start writing. So much that is new comes out of the process of actually writing the thing, and I don’t want to bog myself down in prep, just get myself to think a little more deeply before I begin.

More important, is what my answers might be at the end of a draft. So, I will ask myself the same set of questions at the end of a story, too, and see what’s changed.

That’s it for this week. I hope you get a chance to listen to the podcast (I mayself am going to slowly make my way thruogh the previous episodes as well). If you’ve listened to it already (or even if you haven’t), I’d love to know your thoughts on this topic, so comment away! There’s a few useful links below.

Useful Links

• Adventures in Sci-Fi Publishing
• The episode in question
• As Below, So Above by Ferrett Steinmetz
• Ferrett Steinmetz’s blog (not all about writing)

The Two I’s

So, what is the difference? I posted a few weeks back about Influence being a bad thing. And it can be, when it gets too strong. But what of Inspiration?

Well, let me highlight the difference, as I see it.

Influence is when you are (consciously or unconsciously) driven to emulate someone else’s work.

Inspiration is when you are driven to progress your own work after being exposed to, well, whatever source.

Yes, I know I’m making positive and negative distinctions here. Influence being negative, Inspiration being positive. But over the past month or so, this is how I have come to regard the two. Influence can be insidious, as I discovered when I realised that what I was currently writing could be seen as a rip off of the work of Neal Asher (though let’s be fair, if you’re going to rip someone off, you might as well rip off the best!) This sent me into something of a crisis, and actually put me off writing for a while.

But in that time I have been subjected to a great deal of, lets say Input, and I have drawn Inspiration from it. Whether its been watching Manga, or playing Mass Effect 2, or watching the new series of Spooks, the avenues of thought that have been opened up for me have been a revelation. And it’s not just big things, it might even be something as simple as a tiny idea which has caused me no end of grief in trying to explain away a plot hole, or giving me new opportunities to develop back story that make my characters feel more fleshed out. I know I’m not exactly making a strong case for originality here, but it can be the most tried and tested ideas that give us the biggest inspiration to do something new.

You want evidence?

OK, so I’ll take a simple example. A while back now, I spoke enthusiastically of my genre, science fiction. And about how dangerous it can be to get dated very quickly. I had to do a minor edit on a piece, just because it was set ten years from now, and one of the characters used a computer mouse. And current technological development indicates that mice will be obsolete in ten years.

Mass Effect 2 - best on PS3

Anyway, my first book, which I am forever redrafting is also in such danger. Due mainly to it’s heavy reliance of computer technology. How do you predict it though? Well, I’ve been having a few issues with how to develop the ideas of the technology without it becoming too ‘out there’. This is where Mass Effect 2 comes into play. Much can be said about the writing behind video games, but this is not the time or the place. The universe of Mass Effect is very rich and full of little details, and it was whilst reading through the many codex entries that are discovered in the game that kicked off a deluge of Inspiration for me. Now, if I were going to be Influenced, I’d have said ‘that’s a good idea, I’ll use that.’ But no, I was Inspired, which kicked off new avenues of thought, cultivated new ideas, and actually helped me solve some of the issues I’d been having.

The Moral…

I know it’s a bit of a no-brainer to say that you should absorb as much material as you can. Watching, reading, playing, whatever, are all necessary practices for developing as a writer (just so long as doing so doesn’t get in the way of, you know, the actual writing), but one must always be aware of the two I’s. Yes, draw Inspiration from whatever you absorb, just be wary of being too Influenced by it. Anyone have any thoughts on the difference between the two?

I’m sorry to whoever it was who tweeted, but I didn’t note who you were. I only saw it fleetingly, and it was not someone I follow. Bad Twitterquette, I know. I am ashamed. I have looked for the tweet since but cannot find it. To be honest, it could have been any of these people.

Thomas Alva Edison 1837 - 1941. Apparently he invented a couple of things once. Image shamelessly stolen from Wikipedia.

Anyway, here it is:

I never failed once. It just happened to be a 2000-step process

Thomas A. Edison

Quick disclaimer – although it seems widely agreed that he said this, it is often very difficult to say for sure. The sceptic in me would rather that I had a reliable source, but I don’t. So, if anyone out there knows of one, I would be most grateful.

Anyhew, it’s a great quote. It is often stated that failure is in fact an option. Many of the most successful people have failed several times, and rather than a career ending badge of shame it is actually useful. You learn, and every mistake you make is another one you can avoid in future. More than that – you are now ahead of millions of people too afraid to take the plunge in the first place. You may only be one mistake ahead, but you’re nearer to your goal than they are.

Thomas Edison went further though. This quote does not just remind us that failure is okay. It repositions failure as part of a larger process. In order to get to his goals, he states that part of the process is trying things out, failing, and trying something else.

Sometimes, I’m sure, that can be a fail and forget process – one thing you try might having nothing to do with the next option you try out. But it still means you’ve ruled a method out. That’s still a worthy lesson.

Other times, one failure leads to direct improvement. You failed to reach your goal, but in doing so learnt that you could get there by tweaking your plan or methods.

Again, as I have mentioned in previous posts, you can see the advantage in failing quickly (not recklessly). The quicker you dive in and make those 2,000 errors (and take the 2,000 lessons), the quicker you can get to where you want to be.

Imagine a situation where you are writing short stories for magazines. Are you better off spending a long time on refining one story (with feedback from friends and the writing community), or taking the lessons learnt and writing 2 more stories in the same time, making all new mistakes (not to mention stories).

Which method do you think will get you a story published quicker? Which one do you think will make you a better writer quicker?

To wrap up, I’d like to leave you with a few more quotes from Mr. Edison. Turns out he is one of the most quotable people ever. Again, I cannot be completely sure of the accuracy of some of these, but they are all a great inspiration nonetheless.

Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work

Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.

If we all did the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves.

And of course…

Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration.

Mr. Edison, I salute you.

I won’t deny that I have experienced a slump in my will to write over the past few, years, let’s be honest. But these last few months particularly I have found it difficult to sit down and write.

Not Tron or Deus Ex, but a brillian cyberpunk image by Torley. Click to view more.

But it wasn’t just the inspiration of seeing both the film and the trailer that got me, it was the realisation of the maturity of my processing. I started writing my book ten years ago. Another project that I have on the back burner I originally developed the idea for when I was about 12. Now, back then, obviously, I wasn’t very worldly wise; I was brash and immature and, well, a male hitting puberty. So obviously my writing involved a lot of hot scantily dressed chicks either being in need of rescue, or wanting to get it on with the male lead (which at that point I obviously pictured as myself).

But my recent ‘thought draft’ (That’s the redraft you do in your head, without actually writing anything down. You know, lazy writing) of the project made me realise that the few ‘immature’ elements that I had in this project really need to be dropped. Not only because they’re lame, but they hold the story back. I have spoken before about needing to be unafraid of cutting huge swathes of material out of your writing in order to help it to progress. So out went the assassin who was in hiding as a stripper, and in comes the far more ‘acceptable’ agent (conveniently) in play at the location where the action takes place.

The Danger of Working in Genre

The other thing about Tron which dawned on me was just how troubling it is working in the genre of science fiction. I’m not talking about space opera here, but more the ‘real world’, cyberpunky kind of sci-fi. As I mentioned, I started writing my novel ten years ago, and while I finished my first draft rather quickly, I have been in editing hell for the past other years. The thing is though, the world has progressed greatly in that time and ideas that I had, which I thought were cool and cutting edge, seem rather antiquated.

Look at a film like Back to the Future Part 2. That is set in the year 2015. Granted, set 25 years after it was shot, in that future, they have flying cars, plastic clothes, hoverboards and lame 3D holographic movies. I really doubt we’re going to be seeing a lot of flying cars in four years time. Or hoverboards or plastic clothes for that matter. 3D movies may be all the rage now, but holographics are still a way off. And yet, there wasn’t a cellphone in sight. No personal computers either, no laptops, and no frigging iPods.

So what is my point? It is very difficult to get a correct balance with genre fiction, especially when you set it in the near future. Obviously it is impossible to accurately predict where technology will develop (unless you’re Orwell or Jules Verne), and if you play fast and loose, then you’re in danger of it becoming too unbelievable. Play it safe and you run the risk of looking antiquated.

The main issue I have with my novel is the idea of a virtual keyboard. At the time, the idea seemed kinda far out and cool, cutting edge, but now ten years later, when we have net books and iPads and other similar technology, the idea seems almost quaint. I still have characters using pc towers and mice for gods sake (both of which will be obsolete within the next ten years, yet alone a hundred, when the book is set.) So how can you counter this, without rewriting the book every ten years to keep up with the times? I’m not sure I have the answer. Obviously keep up to date with the latest in technology, and see what is happening in currently released sci-fi. And then write it better.

Resolutions

Happy new year everyone! Image courtesy of ginnerobot.

I suppose writing is a lot like any other resolution. It looks good in theory, giving up drinking, stop eating chocolate (twelve years and counting people), get to the gym, do more writing, but the actual practise is a little more difficult.

I am going to resolve to do this though, this year. I’m going to try my best to spend less time playing PS3, and more time writing. I’ve proven this year – with this serialised online fiction thing that I wrote that unfortunately didn’t pan out – that I can write what amounts to a full length novel in a little over seven weeks, if I dedicate myself to it.

So this is going to be my plan for next year, to write. To sit at this keyboard (which is thankfully not virtual yet), each day and try to blast through more of this book. At the rate that I’ve proven I can write this year, I should be able to get the first draft finished by March. I hope you set similar goals for yourselves, and make progress.

Wish me luck!

Image courtesy of Dvortygirl at Flickr

I was reminded of this by a comment on my last post, Excuses, excuses… from Rob. He suggested putting a random word in the centre of the page, and writing sentences up to that word and beyond. I elaborated by saying you could scatter several random words about the page and “join the dots” with your sentences. Being forced to incorporate the word(s) adds a restraint that can act as a creativity catalyst.

Suddenly I remembered a similar exercise I undertook with some unwanted email junk. There are many ways to spam an inbox, most designed to try and get past the sophisticated spam blockers we have nowadays. In amongst the adverts for viagra and penis-enlargement; the promises of desperate Russian women routinely mistaking the email address of someone they’ve met online with yours; the African professional who has accidentally inherited a fortune and inexplicably wants to give it all to you – amongst all this crap, is email that looks like the ramblings of a dictionary gone insane. And it looks something, like this:

Break the use trying her hand your normal catching him almost enough umpkinseed pie small ornate jewel set olie clung was alert membranes and open die big mushy diem had the grass ignoring her counsel could snake slithered disappoint him cocaine properly trained and listened vila was full basket risk passing clouds ahead amidst the clouds that disaster and hat will stepped off the security provide the arrow crawled cknowledge the the constructi skeletons assume have children better hear and plans…

That’s enough of that.

There were the names of some drugs amongst the words, but these have been removed to keep my blog clean.

So we have a collection of seemingly randomly generated words, complete with spelling mistakes (or at least, incomplete words). The aim of the game is to use as many of these, in order, as you can, joining each of them up with your own words. You do have permission to miss out some words, if it’s really difficult, and you can correct spelling errors, of course (how could you resist?).

Here’s how I got all the way to “alert” in the chunk above, using most of the words:

She tried to break the door, but it was no use. Trying had made her hand swollen already. This was clearly not your normal door, and she had little chance of catching him now. She had almost had him, but wasn’t fast enough. And with him went the Shanksbury Pie, a small ornate jewel set in a gold ring. But Olie refused to give up, and clung to the hope that her partner was more alert than her.

I didn’t quite include every word. There were a couple of drug names in the section I used above that I skipped over. But overall I thought it was a pretty good effort! If nothing else, I have a starting point for a story that I can develop further.

Why not take the rest of the spam quote above and see what you can make of it. Or, have a riffle through your own junk or spam filter to see if you can find writing inspiration in the madness.

If you’re feeling brave, you could even add your piece to the comments section!

This rather clever photo was taken by image munky

Well, the title of this post may tell you a slightly different opinion. 

I recently started reading Her Fearful Symmetry
by Audrey Niffenegger.  And what gets me most about this book is how easily it flows.  Flow is something that I’m obsessed with.  If you’re a “stutter” kind of writer like me (may work intensively on something for a few weeks, then fade out, or work on something else, and come back to it) then it can be difficult to maintain a flow.  I’ve been asking myself “If I can’t get into an easy flow in writing something, then how are people going to be able to get into an easy flow when reading it?”  It’s a good question.  Sometimes you can fake it.  I’ve done that by intensively working on smaller sections and fitting them together, smoothing over the seams, building a novel like you would build a wall.  At the end of it, hopefully, you have a nice, structured construct that is solid and sturdy. 

Lets leave the metaphors for now though, I’m not House.  I have read a lot of books that – no offence to the writers – feel like this.  Like I’m reading a wall.  Its not to say that they’re hard to read, or that they don’t flow, but more that they’re very solid pieces of work, and while it isn’t a slog to get through them, I can quite happily read a chapter, then put it down to pick it back up later. 

Going with the Flow

 
So onto …Symmetry.  I’ve been reading this and it is one of those rare books that flows so easily that I get swept up in it, like I’m floating down a river.  It flows so easily that I feel like I’m hardly reading at all, I’m being moved through the story using its own power.  I’m not saying all this in an effort to Kiss Niffenegger’s ass, but it almost feels like I’m being revitalised by this book. 

I’ll explain.  When I read I like to alternate fiction and non-fiction.  Obviously, the non-fiction I read tends to be a lot of hardcore science, or social theory, which is all information overload, and takes me a while to trek through it.  Once I’m done, I can be a bit exhausted from reading, so I turn to fiction, which I find much easier.  It’s a way of taking a break from the heavy stuff.  And sometimes I come across a book which, like …Symmetry flows so easily that it recharges my batteries, and it is also an inspiration.  It reignites my spark, and drives me into the mindset to write. 

The Downside

 
So why do I call it despair?  Well, quite simply because – more so these days than when I was at university – writing doesn’t come that easily to me.  I still have floods of ideas, but getting them down is harder for me.  And while I am well aware that no book is easy to get written, no matter how easily it flows, it can put me in a bit of a downer when I read something so… light. 

Because that’s not the kind of writer I am.  I don’t write stuff that sweeps you up in the flow.  I tend to write things that are elaborate, with multiple storylines going on, and leaping back and fourth chronologically.  I write stuff that’s heavy (not necessarily in terms of subject matter, but in terms of flow) it’s similar to the difference between hard water and soft water.  Swimming in soft water is much easier than swimming in hard water.  And I feel like reading (and also writing) is the same. 

So this is where the despair came in.  Because I know I don’t – and probably never could – write something that flows as easily as …Symmetry.  And I’ll admit, I’m a little envious.  It isn’t however, making me not want to write.  As I mentioned earlier, it has sparked that fire of passion within me again (however briefly) and while I despair that I don’t write with that easy flow, I do write, and I like to think I’m good at it – with what I do anyway – and that is what has inspired me. 

I’ll cut it here, before I drown under any more metaphor…

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!

I’ve now had a look at each one of those sites to see if I like them, and have subscribed to a fair few. Guess what

Nooo! Its happening again! I know what you’re thinking -what’s Matt going to do? How does he know which ones to read? Surely he can’t read through all of them? Oh the humanity!

I know. Tense, isn’t it.

Don’t worry (as if), I have a plan! It’s something I heard on the Boagworld podcast and seems guaranteed to boost my blog subscription reading productivity (and other mouth-watering keywords)! In fact, my boss is using it to organise his subscriptions to business and marketing blogs (I’m currently subscribing to business, marketing, writing, science and videogame blogs, just so you know).

The trick is folders

A revelation, huh. Okay, not really. I had folders before of course, but I used to organise by subject. Now though, I organise in such a way that the ones I am most interested in get read first. This is lifted pretty much wholesale from the Paul Boag method, but here are the folders I’m trying:

Must read. My absolute favourites, that I just can’t miss out on, and where I will always go first.

Frequent posters. I like these posts too, but there are just too many of them! Still, once the count for Must Read hits 0, I can sift through these to find interesting entries. By the way, as I was adding to Google Reader, I saw that some bloggers post as frequently as 9 times a week! I mean, it’s just not happening, is it? What’re they trying to do to me?

Not too bothered. Let’s be honest, I am probably never going to read these, but they may very well be good if I am researching a particular topic and want some reliable sources to search through. Other than that, they’re not really on my radar.

Finishing touches

Now here’s the bit that makes it all work – my trusty iPod! The regular reader’s wifi enabled dream device (or at least, until the iPad takes off)! Want to read what you’ve subscribed to on the train; while you’re walking (watch out for that curb); while your other half has some godawful trash *cough*dancingonice*cough* on telly? There’s an app for that.

In fact, there are probably around fifty, but the one I use is MobileRSS, because it’s free, and I can save the money to buy games *cough*timewastersthatdistractmefrommywriting*cough*.

And what about ones I want to keep? Well, I also have an account with a handy dandy thing called Instapaper, which will strip my favourite articles of clutter, and allows me to store them in topic-based folders (because I’ve already read them, you see).

In addition, I can also save any individual article I happen to come across when browsing the web. And guess what, there’s an app for Instapaper too. And you can save to Instapaper directly from MobileRSS. Brilliant!

As I said, Paul Boag goes into great detail about these methods, to so you may want to check out the full article.

But there’s still the sticky problem of reading through 100+ blogs and deciding which folder they go in, so that’s enough rambling from me. I’ve got reading to do.