Daynote - Fri 21 Feb

Yesterday, Arcadia Abroad posted the author talk that I gave to the exchange students there earlier this month, along with a very kind blog post from Dr Hamish Thompson about my visit. If you fancy an hour of me yapping about my journey to publication, answering questions from the students and providing entirely too much detail about my writing routine, there's a video at the link above.

And I'm back in town today, for my second day at Napier University's Creative Writing MA. Today we're going to be looking at the persistent myths about the inherent loneliness and isolation of writing (which are only true if you let them be), the importance of community and friendship to a happy and successful writing career, and how to start and run effective critique groups with other writers.

This is a dual workshop with my friend and critique partner Nick Binge and it will be the fourth time we've run it - the first time was at Napier last year, then at last year's Cymera, again at Glasgow Worldcon and now we've come full circle. It's also a workshop that has grown and changed as we've presented it and as our our understanding of community-building and critique has changed. It's a very fun workshop to run and the folk who have attended in the past have told us that it's inspiring and motivating, not least because it reminds them they don't have to do this thing alone. If you're interested in having Nick and I present this workshop at your event, don't hesitate to get in touch.

ON DECK: A Big Fat Zero words today (so far) as I'm prepping for the workshop and writing this very post. But I'll be hanging about before and after the workshop to get some words down, so I'm hoping to maybe inch over that 90,000 word mark. That would be a significant stretch (a little under 4,000 words) but we'll see how we go.

TOOLS AND PROCESS: On days like this, when I'm out and about, I often think about Cal Newport's book DEEP WORK. There's a part in it (which I think is honestly underexplored - like many self-helpish books it suffers significantly from spending its first third convincing you to keep reading by hinting at how amazing the rest of the book is) about different styles of deep work which really stuck with me.

Newport basically makes the case that while the goal should be to create optimum conditions and habits for focused work, rather than scattered, distracted work, the methods can differ significantly. For some people it's the big screen, scented candle, uninterrupted four hour work block and background music. For others it's a focus on contingency and learning to drop into the focused deep work state as quickly as possible, regardless of where you are. He calls this last method the 'journalistic' style of deep work, inspired by itinerant newspaper writers and broadcasters who develop the skill to sit down and rapidly write copy because, essentially, they don't have the option or luxury of waiting for perfect conditions.

As I noted in last Friday's post, I like to try and cultivate both skills - the long session in perfect conditions at home, and the 500 words in a half-hour train ride or while waiting for a friend in a cafe. I'm waiting for Nick right now, and this post will probably end up about 900 words. Sure, it's not a novel, but I will be working on the novel later, and I'm hoping to hit similar numbers. Will I make 90k by the end of the day? Tune in next week to find out!

LISTENING: I hugely enjoyed the latest episode of the Page One podcast with Annabel Campbell, another writing friend of mine, whose debut novel came out earlier this month. I saw her journey to publication first hand (mostly through the medium of the group chat) but it was very cool to see her talk about it all with the benefit of hindsight. Plus Annabel is never less than charming and hilarious.

WATCHING: More of THE DIPLOMAT last night, which continues to perfectly ride that line between rapid-fire and often hilarious character dialogue, zany hijinks and then quite affecting overall plotlines. Great show.

READING: Roared through another half dozen chapters of THE TYRANNY OF FAITH last night - it's a very moreish book, both because of the vividness of the characters and the incredible sense of looming dread that pervades the whole book. I'm practically reading it through splayed fingers.

LINK: I really enjoyed this post from crime writer Heather J. Fitt about how the Harrogate Crime Festival changed her life eight years ago. It was my first time there last year and many of my experiences mirrored hers. Festivals like Harrogate (and local favourite Bloody Scotland) can be expensive and exhausting, but they can also be incredibly affirming and wonderful experiences for writers early in their careers.

UP NEXT: Nick has just arrived, so I'd better get on with prepping the workshop. And next week, hopefully, I'll get to my target wordcount for this book. Fingers crossed.

Onward!