The Writing Coach - Column from Woman’s Way Magazine

Week 2

While reading pay attention to the types of characters, the dialogue, the use of descriptive passages, the length of the book, the style of writing. Let the books you read inspire you but don’t on any account try to imitate them. It is most important to be original and to have an original writing voice. It is your own unique writing voice, like your own speaking voice, that will make your book stand out from the crowd.

Ideas and Inspiration

‘Where do you get your ideas?’ This is the most common question that writers are asked. It’s a difficult one to answer, as ideas come from all kinds of places: from magazines and newspapers; in shops and on buses; from people chatting; from travelling; from trying to imagine what would have happened if you made a different choice in your life; from books; from plays and films; from dreams and daydreams. Ideas are all around you, just waiting to be soaked up. The core idea for a book or a short story could stem from something that has happened to you or to someone you know. Many of my books are based on personal experiences, changed to fit the plot and suit the characters.

I’d suggest you keep a writing notebook to jot down ideas in as they pop into your head.

I picked up a copy of a recent Sunday Tribune Magazine and here’s some ideas I gleaned from that to give you an example - 
1/ A make up artist who travels with the stars and her experiences 
2/ A woman who works in a wax museum and ‘styles’ the wax models 
3/ A tattoo artist and tales from her/his clinic 
4/ An Irish figure skater and her Olympic ambitions. 
These are all based on real people’s stories. Feel free to use any of these ideas if you take a liking to them!

Is it’s a bit of a cliché, but begin by writing about what you know - that way you’ll be more confident about your subject.

Even if you think you know a subject well, research is vital to make your book realistic and authentic. Read all you can about your chosen subject eg ice skating - take out library books and study them and take notes. Scour newspapers and magazines for interesting articles and keep them in a research folder. Use the internet. Research is particularly important for historical novels and your local library will prove invaluable.

You will probably find you use a small fraction of your research in the actual book. Think of it as an iceberg - only the tip shows but without the mass beneath it would sink.

I’ve chosen my genre, I have an idea, what next?

First chose your setting. This could be somewhere familiar to you, Dublin or Cork for example. Or it could be a fictional town or village - you decide. People do love reading about unusual and slightly different things. For example I’m currently writing a book set in the world of Abba tribute bands. Other writers such as Marian Keyes and Claudia Carroll have chosen to set their books in glamorous worlds, LA and a movie set in Ireland respectively. Anita Notaro uses her RTE television background to make her own bestsellers both glam and authentic. In my books I have used lots of different settings that interest me - a kite makers loft, an art galleries, a wildlife park, a children’s bookshops, and a dummy dating agency to name a few. If you can’t visit the place where you want to set the book, interview someone who has, read travel books and watch travel videos or programmes.

So now you have your genre, an idea and a setting, all jotted down in your new writing notebook. Next week we move on to the most important element of all, the characters.

Happy writing!

 

Question from a Reader

Dear Sarah,

Last week you talked about making the time to write. How many words should I try to write every day? Or should I try writing for a certain length of time? Or just write once a week?

Mary, Dublin

 

Hi Mary,

Good question. It depends on your lifestyle and on how much time you actually have. Do try to write at least three days a week, otherwise you’ll lose momentum. Perhaps you could start off by trying to write 300 words three times a week, an achievable goal. If you are reaching this target on a regular basis, try upping the word count to 500 words. Writing is like exercise, a little and often’s the thing! And do remember to congratulate and reward yourself every time you hit your target. Good luck!

Sarah

This column first appeared in Woman’s Way Magazine in 2005