Damon Yerg | Writing is a 24/7 activity

Writing is a 24/7 activity. You never know when or where inspiration comes to you. Be ready and be prepared for whenever that inspiration arrives.

Artists frequently carry a book in which to sketch scenes and outline elements for possible use in future works. They spend time capturing vignettes from their day — small tokens of experience or experiment.

Neither artist nor writer creates only when seated/standing at desk/easel. Once that creative mode is switched on, it is hard to find the off switch. Ideas constantly rear up unexpectedly, in need of immediate attention. Be prepared. If you are a writer who does not want to experience that sinking feeling when you realize you cannot recall a fabulous segue from one event to a seemingly unconnected other you put together on the bus, or a delightful word you read and carefully stored for later use, take a notebook along wherever you go. At the Author Gym on this site, we give your notebook and your writing a good workout in the form of ‘Field Notes’ — so called because they are mostly written en plein air, as an artist would tag it. Time will tell how your book best serves your personal demands of it.

Do you ever read a word that you just have to use?

Do you quickly, frustratingly forget that word before you can record it? Me too, although I am getting better at scribbling such delightful morsels into my Field Notes, ready for future reference. I find that writing/typing the word, frequently triggers a suggestive paragraph or two as it informs its status and value in a project. But ideas. Ah there lies the real value of Field Notes, every passing brainstorm dump solidly embedded on a page.

Books about creating art tell us artists view their world differently. Images they conceive when considering a scene emerge in ways a novice eye is not capable of conjuring up. It is not magic, nor is it something they are born with. It manifests only because artists are practiced at letting their eye delve deeper, extracting minute pixels of interest from a scene, rather than merely wafting over its surface.

JK Rowling — Notes for the Order of the Phoenix

Use your notebook to capture what your mind pushes in your direction

Sometimes a sketch may suffice, sometimes a mere scribbled word or fleeting line, even a wavy time- or location-pinned line. Your method may include colors, as mine often does. Do not try to be perfect but try to start a system that matches the way you develop your various works. As you move through daily life, let your mind dig behind what you see, join dots, insert a character or two, ask ‘what if?’. Whatever your genre — pour any images, words, places, characters, and all else that want to be pulled from the mundane muddle of life, into your Field Notes.

Enjoy the discovery of every key missing piece as your novel is assembled. Once your writing is underway, even beforehand, these gems will pop up everywhere. Public transport, waiting for a friend, out of town, eating breakfast, anywhere and everywhere at any time. Use your insight to create and develop shining masterpieces of script from the mud of the modern world. Discover how you can turn routine into a wild adventure or soul wrenching loss for your characters. It is all there. Seek it out. Look purposefully. It is all there for you to unlock.

The more directed your thinking, the more the world will offer up ideas for you to grasp, edit to your needs and place carefully, to be enjoyed by a future, captive audience. How do the plot lines react to a new intruder? Will the intruder disrupt the status quo? Will there be serious ramifications? Press it all into play, knead it all into shape. New chunks of story will ‘magically?’ appear. Enjoy.

Norman Mailer — Notes for Harlot's Ghost

Practice or you will forever be at a loss for ideas to thrill your readers

Work on perfecting notetaking and story development or readers of your final work will feel jilted and may not want to follow your characters through the till the final page. Instead, they will disembark at a station along the way, looking for new ventures. Immerse readers in the journey you have carefully carved out, persuading them come the whole way, hearts pulsating in anticipation at the turning of a page.

Below are some examples of extracts from well-known author’s notes. There is a wide range of methods writers use in putting thoughts to notes. Experiment with your notebook. It does not have to be perfect for you to produces mind stunning novels, as you can see from the few strategies shown here.

Have fun with your writing

Damon Yerg