MY TYPICAL WRITING DAY.... JESSICA REDLAND
What's a typical writing day like for other writers?
Here's Scarborough author Jessica Redland's day...
The first thing to say
about my typical writing day is that there’s no such thing as a
typical writing day for me. Some writers talk about routines, about
writing every day, about not stopping until they’ve achieved
so-many-thousand words. It doesn’t work like that for me. I write
when I can, as much or as little as I can. Sadly, it’s usually
little.
My dream is to be able
to write full-time but, for now, writing doesn’t pay the mortgage
so I have a day job which has to take priority. I am, however, very
fortunate with the flexibility my job provides. Three years ago, I
stopped commuting and became a home-based Human Resources tutor. The
workload built quickly and I was soon working 12-16 hour days and
travelling on weekends to run workshops. Writing was a huge struggle.
I’ve managed to reduce it to about a 6-hour day over the past year
and the workshops no longer run so I get my weekends free.On weekdays, I try to stop working by 2pm so I can write. I’m studying a Masters in Creative Writing through Open University, though, so my writing time could be study time instead. I’m on the last leg with that, though. Only two more assignments to submit and I’m qualified. Yay!
I tend to be fairly
disciplined when it comes to writing. I don’t set myself a word
count for the day but I do tend to just get on with it. Four or five
years ago, I enrolled in NaNoWriMo (National Novel-Writing Month)
which is an international ‘project’ to get a 50k novel written in
the month of November. The idea is to just write and not try to edit
as you go. I used that approach to finish my second novel and start
my third one (timing wasn’t right for me with my works-in-progress
to start afresh on a book like they advocate) and it was the best
thing I ever did. I’d faffed about with my debut novel, Searching
for Steven, editing and re-editing every time I sat down to
write. NaNo got me into a rhythm of just getting on with it and
editing after I’d written a full manuscript. I’ve written all my
subsequent books using this approach.
Some days, I have my
procrastinating head on. Who doesn’t? And if that’s how it’s
going to be, so be it. There’s no point in forcing the writing if
it isn’t coming. Most of the time, though, I can just sit down and
write. I won’t always have the best words in the right order, but
the story keeps building and you’d be amazed how quickly you can
get to 10k words, then 25k, then 50k…
I like to keep a track
in my diary of how many words I write each day and then total the
week for no other reason than the feeling of satisfaction if I’ve
had an epic week. I had a couple of weeks in March where I wrote
nearly 17k words each week. Very satisfying! This is balanced by
weeks where I don’t write at all.
The start of a book is
usually my nemesis. When I wrote Searching for Steven, I swear
that there were forty or so different starts. And I mean massively
different starts. It became a standing joke that I had no idea where
the story should really start. Beginnings have troubled me ever since
although not to the same extent.
Beyond that, I often
find the first 10k words come slowly and I think this is because I’m
finding my way with the characters and the story. Somewhere between
10k and 15k words the story takes flight and comes together much more
quickly.
When I’m not writing,
I’m always thinking about my stories and characters. I’m a
pantser rather than a plotter i.e. I have a story in mind, I know
where it’s going to end, I know who the main characters are, and I
then let their story unfold naturally. It surprised me that this is
my preferred style because, in ‘normal’ life, I’m very
organised and quite a planner. I did try to plan my second novel,
Getting Over Gary. It didn’t work. Gary didn’t want to do
what I’d planned for him to do and neither did the other
characters! Never again. I create a basic profile for my main
characters, I plan a character arc for the protagonist(s) and then I
let them take me where they want, which can sometimes be in quite
surprising directions. I had a character who was going to be a
‘baddie’ recently and she didn’t want to be. She ended up
becoming a really lovely character but that meant someone else needed
to be the ‘baddie’; someone I hadn’t expected to be so devious!
What’s my advice to
anyone thinking of writing or struggling with their writing?
- If you want to write, write. You may not be great at it but you’ll never know unless you try
- If you’re thinking “I’d love to write a book but I don’t have time”, then stop right there. I didn’t have time but I made time. I stopped watching the soaps on TV, I stopped lounging around, I wrote whilst commuting to York, I developed ideas whilst in the shower. Very, very few writers ever had the luxury of time, but they had a dream and they made it happen
- Don’t feel you have to write every day. But do think about it each day. I often develop dialogue and plot twists while in the shower, out shopping, or when driving
- Learn how to write. Being good at writing in day to day life v writing a book are two very different skills. There’s a lot to learn but there are some amazing self-help books, courses, and qualifications out there to help. I spent ten years learning my craft whilst writing my debut. To be fair, I had a lot of years where I didn’t write anything as I married, had a baby, opened and closed a business and changed job several times during that time, but I never lost sight of that goal and never stopped learning
- Take the NaNoWriMo approach of just getting on with it. You can edit it later. You might ditch a lot of it later. But if you don’t get the words down in the first place, you’ll have nothing to edit
- Don’t write because you want to make a fortune. Most writers don’t. Most still have a day job. Some only make enough for a cheap night out once a month. Write because you have stories to tell and you couldn’t imagine not sharing them
- Keep a list of ideas. It could be a book title, a plot point, a piece of dialogue or a quirky character. It may not be a fully-formed novel just yet but it could become it one day
I hope you enjoyed my
little insight into the world of writing and that it might have
inspired you to crack on with that idea that’s been buzzing at the
back of your brain if you’re new to this.
As for me, what do I
write? I write uplifting stories of love and friendship set on the
stunning North Yorkshire Coast. I love Scarborough and the
surrounding area so where better to set my books? I’ve written
eleven so far and they’re all set in a fictional seaside town
called Whitsborough Bay, inspired mainly by Scarborough but also by
Whitby and Robin Hood’s Bay. So far, I have nine titles available
for download. I secured a publishing deal for my debut novel but,
four books later, we parted company because the company was going to
cease trading. With my rights back, I indie-released those books and
wrote several more. My next novel, The Secret to Happiness, will
be released on 3rd September this year. I’m thrilled to
have secured a 9-book publishing deal with Boldwood who are
reimagining publishing, releasing all titles as eBook, audio book and
paperback globally at the same time. I’m very excited to see where
they take my work and, hopefully, that dream of writing full-time
will come true.
All the best
Jessica xx
You can find Jessica at any of the following...
Twitter: @JessicaRedland
Instagram: jessicaredlandwriter
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2S9y9ON
Website: www.jessicaredland.com
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