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Day 2030 mins journal + 30 mins editing + 15 mins planning + 1 hr planned writing Today we are invited to consider writing integrity, which Jacqui interprets as being true to ourselves. Because we are human, that doesn’t mean being whole and knowing exactly you are. It means being true to the questioning and… Continue reading Day 20: A Writer’s Integrity

Day 1930 mins editing + 15 mins planning + 1 hr planned writing Make editing a regular part of your routine. Jacqui acknowledges that this week’s advice may be at odds with what she’s said previously about creating freely and never looking back, like some Thelma-and-Louise-themed writing drive. But that was just to trick us… Continue reading Day 19: When is the right time for editing?

Day 1815 mins planning + 15 mins exercise + 1 hr planned writing So far, Jacqui has advised against plotting your draft novel in advance. This is a course for people who find it hard to sit down and write, after all, and spending a long time plotting is an excellent way to avoid writing. … Continue reading Day 18: The plot thickens

Day 1715 mins planning + 1 hr planned writing The topic today is how signposting (non-fiction) and foreshadowing (fiction) can pull the reader’s attention in. Jacqui explains that foreshadowing is “the art of the well-placed intriguing comment”, such as ” . . . but little did I know then, how much I was to lose… Continue reading Day 17: The importance of the Signpost

Day 1615 mins planning + 1 hr planned writing This week invites us into the Right brain. The side of creativity and free-association. The Left brain, by contrast, being the side of logic and planning. And criticism.  This discussion reminds me of t-shirts I saw in my youth saying “only left-handed people are in their… Continue reading Day 16: Which side of the brain are you working on?

Day 1530 mins planning + 1 hr planned writing Today we look at how to find a sense of direction within an “organic” writing practice such as these 30 Days. The 30 Days is an organic method because the draft novel is not pre-planned or pre-researched; we are making it up as we go along… Continue reading Day 15: Write with a sense of direction

Day 1430 mins planning + 1 hr planned writing What to do when you’re feeling uninspired, flat, empty? Get away from the desk. Go to the things which you know – or guess – will inspire you. Books, music, places, people . . . Get some outside stimulus. This is Jacqui’s advice, and I think… Continue reading Day 14: Understanding your Inspiration

Day 1230 mins gathering books + 30 mins reading + 30 mins planning + 1 hr planned writing Today, we are looking at the “imaginative transformation of simple fact” — aka researching your fictional world. Jacqui begins with the observation that no matter the fictional world, it is our grounding in it which matters. We… Continue reading Day 12: What about research?

Day 111 hr writing-related walk (inc. planning) + 1 hr planned writing + 10 mins gratitude journal (last one) Part II begins with a dive into the question of inspiration. How does inspiration work?  Does it come to you, or do you cultivate it? Is it gifted, or is it found? What does it even… Continue reading Day 11: How to write when you’re not writing