Unusual Writing Help

By now, if you’re a writer or an aspiring writer, you’ve heard all the advice about what it takes to get your story down on paper. Write consistently, plow through a crappy first draft, toughen up and learn to take criticism and rejection, read a lot of other people’s books.

But people don’t talk as often about the weird-o things that keep the pages coming. When I wrote One Night Gone, my first novel, a suspense, cold-case mystery set in a beach town during the off-season, it was hard to find the time to write. I have a full-time job and an 8-year-old son, and I was a longtime editor of an online literary journal until very recently. Plus, you know, occasionally I like to sleep and watch a little TV or something. 

So I had to find the small stuff to help keep me motivated. Here are a few surprising things that worked for me.

A Long, Boring Commute

I live outside of Washington, D.C., and while I was writing One Night Gone, I was commuting by train into the city for my job. That gave me about 40 minutes each way during the week where I was stuck sitting with not much else to do. Most of the time, I decided to write. I drafted a good portion of my book on that train, and that long-ass commute actually ended up being forced writing time that I probably wouldn’t otherwise have granted myself.

Now I drive to work, and while I can’t actually type while commuting any longer, I still make the most of that time. I’m usually either listening to audio books in the car or thinking through plot points or character traits, running scenes through my head that I hurriedly write down as soon as I get where I’m going. I’ve even recently started dictating scenes with a recorder app on my phone and transcribing them later.

Long commutes might suck for road rage, but they can be good for writer brain.

A Really Good Printer

For years, I had a small home printer that either ran out of ink at the most inopportune moments, took forever to print out pages, or jammed pieces of paper so far up into its orifices that I felt like an OB/GYN doctor trying to get them out.

Sure, I can run to an office supply store and print up my manuscript, but when I’m sitting at home in my pajamas and just need to see what I’ve written in print, I’m too lazy to get dressed and drive somewhere to do that. So, I finally surrendered and invested in a more robust printer that can spit out a manuscript in less than 10 minutes. It was maybe one of the best writer-related purchases I’ve ever made. Highly recommend.

Regular Massages

Sitting, hunched over at a computer all the time is definitely a hazard of our jobs. I became a member at a local massage chain a few years back because of neck and shoulder pain, and I now consider it a necessity. But beyond helping me work out the knots and pain points in my body, getting a massage also helps me work out the knots and pain points in my plots. Sure, there are times when I just drift into a Zen zone, but I also like to use that time to let my mind work over a scene or two from my work-in-progress. I find more times than not that I leave the massage feeling relaxed and with several ideas to scribble down.

Lying to Myself

When I write a book, I set goals to keep myself on track. Currently, my goal is to write for 15 minutes at least four times a week. 

The 15-minute thing is a blatant lie to myself. I really need to write longer than that, and I know that, but if I told myself I have to sit down and write for an hour every day, I’d never write. An hour seems like an incredibly long time. But 15 minutes? That’s so easy!

The trick? If I start those 15 minutes, I usually go over that time, writing for 30 minutes or even an hour. And if on some days I don’t, well, at least I checked in. Met my goal. Every word counts toward that finish line. Bird by bird, and all that.

So why not lie a little?

Anything but a Red Pen

I highly recommend finding the fun in editing. Especially when that work can be tedious and frustrating.

My friend Shasta keyed me into my favorite pens in the world—they write fine and don’t smudge easily—and I love especially that they come in all different colors. When I print out my manuscript to make edits, I want to use any color but red to mark it up. Purple or green or a powder blue pen just make all those corrections look prettier. 

The Light of a Lava Lamp

I think it’s good as a writer to have a ritual, or at least an environment that you can recreate often, to help you get in the writing mood faster. My favorite time to write is while my son is falling asleep. He likes me to sit in the room while he’s going to bed, so I bring my laptop and type away while he drifts off to dream. In fact, I’m writing this article now in the peaceful darkness of his room, with only the sound machine humming and the slow, drifting wax of a lava lamp lighting the room. 

It’s a calming way to end a hectic day, especially for someone who has a hard time writing in a coffee shop (or anywhere, really), where there is noise and distractions. And when I’m feeling stuck, I can look up into that lava lamp wax and look for inspiration in the droopy drips.

Find Your Weird

Whatever works—a favorite playlist, a lucky charm, the smell of a particularly awesome candle—find it and embrace it. Like I’ve said above, writing is hard and frustrating, so any small pleasures we can find, any rituals we embrace, will hopefully make the process a little easier.

Now go, create worlds! I can’t wait to read them.

—

TARA LASKOWSKI is the award-winning author of the debut novel, One Night Gone, and two short story collections, Modern Manners for Your Inner Demons and Bystanders. She was the longtime editor of the online flash fiction journal SmokeLong Quarterly, is an Agatha Award winner, and a member of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America. A graduate of Susquehanna University and George Mason University, Tara grew up in Pennsylvania and lives in Virginia. www.taralaskowski.com Twitter: @TaraLWrites, Instagram: @beanglish

ONE NIGHT GONE

“A subtly but relentlessly unsettling novel.” —TANA FRENCH, author of The Witch Elm

It was the perfect place to disappear…

One sultry summer, Maureen Haddaway arrives in the wealthy town of Opal Beach to start her life anew—to achieve her destiny. There, she finds herself lured by the promise of friendship, love, starry skies, and wild parties. But Maureen’s new life just might be too good to be true, and before the summer is up, she vanishes.

Decades later, when Allison Simpson is offered the opportunity to house-sit in Opal Beach during the off-season, it seems like the perfect chance to begin fresh after a messy divorce. But when she becomes drawn into the mysterious disappearance of a girl thirty years before, Allison realizes the gorgeous homes of Opal Beach hide dark secrets. And the truth of that long-ago summer is not even the most shocking part of all…

“A heart-wrenching and suspenseful novel of betrayal and revenge. Stunning!”

—Carol Goodman, award-winning author of The Night Visitors

“Featuring a brilliantly executed dual timeline with two unforgettable narrators, One Night Gone is a timely and timeless mystery that will keep you obsessively reading well past your bedtime.”

—Paul Tremblay, author of The Cabin at the End of the World

 

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Category: How To and Tips