Another example – I remember thinking, why would I ever write something freehand again, when electronic typing is so convenient? But it certainty has its uses.

Back when I were a gnipper

I remember I used to like writing everything freehand on a first draft. The moment I changed my mind was when I had to copy up an overdue essay for school. Time was precious, and typing the whole thing up was a real chore.

I vowed never to do it again.

Since then writing electronically has become more and more useful. All my drafts are done on a word processor (I actually use Writeroom so even the distracting clutter of word processor writing is gone); my blog posts are written on my iPod Touch, and some of my notes are too.

Yes the convenience of writing something and being able to change it and move bits around is invaluable, and now it can go everywhere with you. I can’t imagine writing out a full draft and then having to copy it all out again. I find it hard enough to get things done as it is!

But you’ll notice I said (wrote, whatever), “some notes” earlier and not “all notes”. Yes, there are still some things that just don’t feel natural to type.

The freehand list

Freehand is still good for satisfying red pen action!

1. Editing. This is a numbered list because editing is the number one king of freehand uses. I have edited straight into my electronic draft, and I can do it. But I just love scribbling all over a piece of work, crossing great chunks out of it, writing notes in the margins. It’s just so satisfying, and it goes quicker too. Sure I have to copy up those changes again and that’s a drag, but it’s worth it.

2. Notes as you type. Some people use freehand for all their notes. For me it depends on the writing I’m doing. If I’m making notes to get me out of a hole, I like to write in full paragraphs, and I’m aware that I might use some of it later. That’s for the word processor.

   But I always have a notepad next to me when I write in case I need it. It might be a note on an idea I’ve had for later in the story; something I need to research; an idea for another story altogether. I don’t want to change what’s on my screen though. I don’t want to start a new document or swap out to another one. It feels distracting. Jotting down a freehand note with one hand somehow doesn’t.

3. Journalling.This is a slightly odd one, because it’s hard to put my finger on why I do this and don’t type them. I have a journal that is strictly for new story ideas. One idea per tiny page. I love journals, but I actually had to have a long think about what I would use one for!

   Writing these ideas down freehand in the journal makes them feel special, and the space restriction is useful too (there is literally no space restriction in electronic work of course). I’m also worried about losing them amongst a virtual pile of folders. Most of all though, our ideas are personal, and freehand is personal. It feels good to keep these initial flashes in as raw a form as possible.

4. Planning and mindmapping. I actually don’t use freehand for this, but it gets an honourable mention because I know many people do. For mindmapping I use Freemind, because I like to put useful links and images in my maps. Bt there’s no denying the freedom of scrawling on a blank page, and the least resistance we can put between our brain and the outside the better. It can also be useful to shuffle things around quickly and easily to see how they look, and there’s no better toolset than a pen and some post-its for that.

So there you go. Freehand is not dead, and never will be, so I’ll hear none of this freehand goo-goo or ga-ga. What I will hear more of however is your own uses for freehand, so hit the comments with your ideas!

My train was supposed to arrive eight minutes ago, and is not expected to arrive for another thirty minutes. Welcome to the British train system! The company in charge by the way, is National Express, who are fine as long as nothing goes wrong, when they are terrible!

My hungry belly and annoyance aside though, this is a perfect opportunity to write another blog post. Let’s face it, time is at a premium for most of us, and we have to learn to take opportunities like this as they come.

It makes sense, then, that you should be prepared for those moments where you might unexpectedly find yourself at a loose end. For me, that means carrying around my iPod Touch. I have it with me anyway and the notes app is sufficient for the quick note or blog post (though if anyone has any suggestions of apps I should try, please comment, and
I’ll review my favourites). I have blogged before about how I use it.

But whatever you use it should be portable, and instantly accessible. Another advantage you might consider is the ability to move such writing to the place and medium in which you normally write. I am thinking in particular of being able to email notes to yourself or otherwise get them onto your computer (if that’s where you normally do your writing).

Anyhew, as luck would have it inamorata now on a train. Not my train, but a delayed one that should have left 50 minutes ago. So it’s all good, and I can go back to my laptop.

Happy time-filling!

The iPod touch (or iPhone of course) is just one option. Many handheld devices now include some way of recording notes. Or if they don’t, then more and more devices support a way of getting something that does allow it, like a downloadable application. If you’re desperate, even a mobile phone will allow you to type and save a text (even if it can be a bit cumbersome).

I like using the iPod touch because I find the touch keypad relatively easy to use, even for things that are longer than a few notes. Not only that, but it is also easy to move those notes to the usual place I store my writing – on my computer. I have to wait until I get home, but I can easily email my text to myself directly through the notes application. Ok, so it’s not as convenient as having Dropbox, like on my laptop, but it’s a lot better than having to type something up that I’ve handwritten.

Of course, some people will always prefer a notepad, and that’s fine – whatever works best for you. personally, I find the idea of copying stuff up, or keeping notes in separate places, a real waste of time. After all, there’s so little of it anyway!

Has anyone got any tips for recording notes you can easily send to yourself? Any app recommendations? Or do you find that only paper will do, and all this technology just gets in the way?

It was something of a mini revelation. Only a very small point, and very obvious, but one of those things that had occurred to my conscious mind before – it had never struck me (as they say).

It’s the closing chapter of the “CV” section of the book, and is entitled “what writing is”. In it he writes that when he is writing

I’m in another place, a basement place, where there are lots of bright lights and clear images. This is a place I’ve built for myself over the years. It’s a far seeing place.

I recognise this of course, as many writers will. There is a place you go inside your head to see the things you do, and it is from that place that paragraphs will form and travel down your arms, to your fingers, to the page.

It is a little beside the point, but after reading this I thought I would imagine my writing place. The image that came to mind was a warm dungeon, candlelit, and possibly with a well-stocked fireplace nearby. In it I’m writing with pen and paper. I don’t know why that image comes, although it might be to do with Stephen King describing his own place as being in a “basement”. It might be a fun idea to imagine your own writing place and picture it every time you sit down to write. Any ideas in the comments, please.

Anyway, where were we? The real point of this post is what Stephen King goes on to say about reading. He describes it as a similar place, and when I think about it, it does feel like that. It’s interesting to think of reading being the same “place” that writing comes from. I keep a wad of scrap paper stuffed into the back of any book I’m reading. If I feel I want to make a note, I take a piece of paper, write the page number on it (in case it falls out), and write my notes on that, putting it between the pages like a bookmark when I’m done. At this point I wrote:

Writing uses the same place as reading does. That semi-conscious, slightly dark and blurry place. Not like you’re looking at things through distorted glass – that’s too cold and distant. More like you’re submerged in warm water.

Weirdly, I never made the connection.

It’s a more “prosey” note than I’d normally make, but I was inspired – I’d never thought of it like that! Reading is easy for me. I enjoy it a lot. Seeing writing as very similar to reading (the same even), takes some of its intimidating nature away.

In short, I will try and think of writing as another from of reading. Instead of reading from the page, I am reading on to it. This change in attitude may make writing easier. What do you think?

A lecturer at uni once put it to me that the actual act of writing, of fashioning something creative with words, was done after some words have actually been put to the page. I’d like to add something to that as well – the part that comes before you write an actual paragraph.

To clarify, the bit before is the note-taking; the bit after is the editing.

Notes

Note-taking is really free and empowering. Try it – take a pen and piece of paper and scribble down some sentences or single words that begin to outline what you want to write about. As long as you don’t fall into the trap of spending too much time on each point and fleshing it out, you should find that the ideas flow quite freely.

And it feels creative, largely because it is so quick, and ideas are allowed to come thick and fast – not like the drudgery of churning out pages of text. And this is of course where a lot of the background to your story, as well as character profiles and important plot points might emerge.

And once you’ve done enough planning, you might feel you are ready to start ‘writing’. But the argument here is that you shouldn’t think of it as writing. You shouldn’t expect to have the finished article ready first time through, and very likely you know that. So don’t feel guilty if all you do is churn something out that follows your notes. Don’t worry if it’s rubbish. After all, that’s what editing’s for!

Editing

And here’s the last creative bit. You’ve got your raw material, and now you can start shaping it. This bit feels limp and lifeless, so jazz it up; the dialogue in this section doesn’t distinguish between each of the characters enough; do I even need this paragraph?

Reshuffling bits, redoing sentences, cutting (and more cutting) is actually a far more creative experience than simply putting words on a page. Thinking of editing as the important, creative part of the work that will get you your masterpiece means you are less afraid of that blank page.

Or that’s the theory anyway. It’s certainly an approach that I’m going to try and apply in my work, but I don’t think I’m quite there yet. It’s quite a shift in attitude and will take some training.

Time for a clumsy metaphor…

Okay, think of it this way. You’re a sculptor, and you’ve been commissioned to create a masterpeice.

First you prospect, looking for your subject, getting the pose right in your head, and looking for the material you’re going to use. That’s your note-taking.

Then comes the drudging, back-breaking work of digging out that piece of marble you’re going to use and dragging it back to your studio, or whatever. that’s your pen-to-paper stuff.

Then you get to chip away at your marble, and before your eyes carve your masterpiece from the unsightly block. Editing.

Okay, so it’s not the most poetic of metaphors, but you get the picture.

What do you think? What stage of the writing process do you find the most creative?

For me, I like to get a mindmap of the idea done as soon as I can. I am somewhat paranoid about forgetting bits, and like to get as much juice out of an idea as I can straight away. Part of that is the assumption that if I have just had an idea, it is likely that I am in an idea-generating mood, if there is such a thing. So, I want to take advantage of it!

This is my current activity when I get an idea. Of course, I’m not always at a computer, or it’s not always convenient to open my mindmapping software. So, if there is another way of at least capturing the idea, I will do that. A note on a scrap piece of paper is even okay as long as I can do something with it later (such as type it up or mind-map it or some other electronic method of recording it). If it is quick to do, I might email it to myself for later.

Why the preoccupation with electronic stuff? Well I tend to loose bits of paper if they hang around for too long for a start. Copying and pasting is good on computers too. And, a notebook has no search, so if I want to find a note later, it’s easier on computer. But I know a lot of people prefer to take their initial notes on paper, especially in the initial idea-generating phase. This is usually for the same reason that I like using mind-mapping software – it’s easy, flows, and is much more freeform.

What do you do when you get a new idea? What methods of capture do you use? Or, do you ‘capture’ it at all? Maybe you prefer to dwell on an idea over time, and let it form before you write anything down? Please share below.

In the early stages of a project it feels really creative to get some ideas down and start shaping the thing that’s lurking in your mind. And it’s most joyous when it is as instant as possible. It allows me space to think, generate more ideas and importantly, not forget any! (How many times have you been writing a paragraph where an idea to include in the next paragraph comes to you, only for you to forget it by the time you’re ready to write it?)

One fantastic piece of software I use for this is Freemind. It is a mind mapping tool, and although it is not hugely sophisticated or feature rich, it is incredibly easy to use and quite flexible with the kinds of things you can include on your mind map. The software is designed around generating flow between your brain and the ‘page’. So everything is quick and easy to do and you almost never have to use the mouse – everything can be done through the keyboard. A lot of people may not like this concept, but you have to write if you’re taking notes, and constantly swapping between mouse and keyboard wastes time.

As well as adding long bits of text as nodes, you can add notes (if you want to write a couple of paragraphs for example), links to pages on the web, images, and links to other nodes (drawn as arrows on the page). You can also add little pictures to nodes to indicate what they are for, or format the text.

Another great thing about it is that it is written in Java, which means it can work on any operating system. And best of all – it is FREE!

Download it here, familiarise yourself with the keyboard shortcuts, and have a go. Let me know what you think in the comments section, and if you know of any other great software for writers, let everyone know!