Good for:
* exploratory writing
* motivation to write
* overcoming writer’s block
* general learning
* beginning/er novelists
* those with up to 2 hours a day
Not for:
x planning your work
x technical advice
x detailed lessons
x experienced novelists
x those with less than 1.5 hours a day
In a nutshell
Ah, Jacqui seems like such a nice soul. I’m grateful to her for taking the initiative to write this guide, and the generosity to put it out for free. She is grateful for the encouragement that she received at the start of her career, and is aware that she could do the same for others. I like that this guide was more about how to get to, and stay at, the writing desk, than a recipe for writing a novel. It gives credit to writers to make their own writing choices, while dealing with some fundamental issues they may not have considered; why do they write and how will they get the best out of the writing life? I’m not sure that this course is coherent or focused enough to really tackle that — it was written as a daily blog, and I think this shows in the random organisation of topics — but it does raise the question, which is to its credit.
Course aim
To get words on the page, develop confidence, begin a writing habit, and think about what it takes to continue as a writer.
Specifically:
★ understand your own creative processes
★ know how to get writing, even when you don’t feel like it
★ gain self-confidence as a writer
★ have established your own voice
★ be passionate about your writing and enjoy the process
★ have experienced the discipline and enjoyment of working with a writing coach
★ have written 30,000 words of your book – a 100 page manuscript
My approach
I did 30 days weekly, rather than consecutively.
Recommended approach
If you have up to 2 hours a day, you could do this daily. Otherwise, I would suggest weekly. It can be intense and draining.
I would suggest following the course in order, as Jacqui builds on previous concepts.
I would also try writing the novel draft from the beginning onwards, to get the best sense of progress and the most challenge out of the prompts.
Favourite lessons
1. keep writing and editing distinct, even if you do each within the same session — one uses a creative mindset, the other critical — both are needed but they disrupt each other if used at the same time – e.g. trying to write “well” while also just needing to get ideas down
2. “there is a place for bad writing and that place is not the trash-can but the blank page.”
3. “the reader needs to know, at all times, why he or she should continue reading.”
4. use some of the time you spend worrying to observe the world and other people instead
What didn’t work for me
Workload and timings
The additional daily exercises were optional, but they added between 30 mins and 1 hr to the writing each day. Some days this was almost 3 hours.
I think that each element of the personal reflection task would have more impact if there was a day to process the previous one.
I think a good medium would be to either increase the length of the programme, or decrease the target word count for the draft, so that these journal reflection days can be done in between creative days.
Lack of planning
I struggled to write 30,000 words without knowing what the story was. I did not come to share Jacqui’s view that plotting can come later.
However, I did not write most of the draft sequentially (beginning onwards), so my experience might have felt more structured if I had.
Achievements
Did I achieve the course aims?
★ understand your own creative processes
yes, definitely — I differed from the course suggestion regarding planning and the was a solid thing to discover
★ know how to get writing, even when you don’t feel like it
yes, I broke through the barrier of not being “in the mood” or feeling stuck
★ gain self-confidence as a writer
yes, I came to understand my aims better, and felt more secure in my practice
★ have established your own voice
probably not, as my draft was unfocused and I did not know what I was trying to say
★ be passionate about your writing and enjoy the process
occasionally — some days I was on a high, others it was a drudge
★ have experienced the discipline and enjoyment of working with a writing coach
sort of — I liked the personal tone of the guide and it had the authority to keep me working
★ have written 30,000 words of your book – a 100 page manuscript
yes!
Personal improvements
> turning up to sessions where I felt tired or demotivated or uninspired
> building patience and resilience – not over-reacting to negative feelings – seeing writing challenges / obstacles as normal
> overcoming a missed week due to a motivation hole
> challenging my perfectionism – gradually bringing in more productivity and pragmatism
Give it a spin yourself! www.thewritingcoach.co.uk