journal-writing

(Image from Flickr by erink_photography.)

Back in 2008 – 2009, I had two major strands to my writing: the blogging and freelance web writing that paid the bills, and the fiction I was writing as part of my MA in Creative Writing.

I felt uneasy, though. I worried that my paying work must seem hack-like to my fellow MA students – and that my fiction-writing would look indulgent and silly to the blogging world.

Of course, no-one was paying that much attention to what I was writing. My fears weren’t really about other people’s opinions – they were about my own uncertainty as to what “counted” as proper writing, and my inner critic’s insistence that whatever I was doing, it somehow wasn’t worthy enough.

And I know I’m not the only writer who feels that way.

Let’s take a look at some popular reasons why writers think their words somehow aren’t good enough to count as “proper” or “real” writing:

[click to continue…]

{ 7 comments }

freelance-writing

Ali: This is a guest post from Karol K. of Writers in Charge, who got in touch and offered to share these great tips with us. Like Karol, I started freelancing without really noticing. In fact, it was almost an accident: at the start of 2008, I got in touch with a blog to write a guest post, and they offered me a regular, paid position. I had no business name, no website, no plan, and no experience in running a business! If you’re in a similar position, Karol’s tips should help.

Over to you, Karol!

 

It took two months for me to realize that I was a freelance writer: I suddenly had three clients waiting for my articles, and there was a deadline to meet. Even then, it took a while for me to figure out a few things that make freelance life much easier.

[click to continue…]

{ 6 comments }

Working with your Inner Critic

 Image from Flickr by fakelvis

The real secret is that anyone can write a book. There’s no initiation ceremony. No dues to pay. You don’t need a special degree from a fancy school. Writing is for everyone, and this is your chance to scrawl your name across the page.

– Gennifer Albin (quoted here)

Writing is for everyone – but so many writers and almost-writers struggle against a little nagging voice that says it isn’t for you. That voice is the Inner Critic.

Your Inner Critic can be a hugely destructive force, sapping your confidence, encouraging you to skip writing sessions, and even making you think about giving up on writing altogether.

You don’t have to defeat your Inner Critic, or silence it altogether, though. Your Inner Critic is critical, in all three senses of the word:

  • It criticises you, telling you that you’re not good enough.
  • It critiques your writing – in the way that a workshop group would.
  • It’s a vital part of your writing.

[click to continue…]

{ 18 comments }

I used to have a lot of fuzzy ideas about the writing life. From my early teens, I knew I wanted a career as a writer … but I had no clear picture of what that involved.

Since then, I’ve slowly wised up to the realities (and the joys, and the frustrations) of writing; I’ve also heard a lot of other misconceptions from new writers.

I’ll start with one of my own… and the reality that I’ve discovered.

[click to continue…]

{ 15 comments }

Eight Ways Writing a Novel is Like Becoming a Parent

May 14, 2013

Kitty at one month. If you’ve been following Aliventures for a while, you’ll know that my husband and I have a baby daughter. She’s two months old now and, over the past weeks, I’ve come to realise that although parenting is an exciting new adventure, it’s not so very different from my life as a [...]

30 comments [ click to read article...]

What’s Been Happening … and What’s Coming Up Next

May 7, 2013

I’m back! And the picture above hopefully gives you some idea what I’ve been up to… Our little girl, Kitty (Katherine Constance Luke), was born on Saturday 9th March 2013, weighing 8lbs 6oz. She’s two months old now, and a big, healthy baby. I’ve been very much enjoying being a mum … but I’ve missed [...]

45 comments [ click to read article...]

Aliventures Break (While Ali Has a Baby!)

January 24, 2013

More bump photos here. As you can probably tell from the photo above, I’ll be having a baby soon (due date is 21st February). This is our first child; my husband and I are very much looking forward to welcoming her into the world. So I can concentrate on being a  mum, I won’t be [...]

15 comments [ click to read article...]

Six Inspiring Writing Quotes to Boost Your Creativity [Guest Post]

January 17, 2013

Image from Flickr by lethaargic Last month, I featured Six Powerful Quotes to Get You Writing from Barry Demp, who’s a great business coach from Troy, Michigan. Several readers mentioned how much they’d enjoyed those quotes … and I’m thrilled to be welcoming Barry back for a follow-up post. Do check out his site The [...]

17 comments [ click to read article...]

The Blogger’s Guide to Loyal Readers Released (By Popular Demand!)

January 10, 2013

If you’re on the Aliventures newsletter, you’ll have heard about this yesterday … my newest ebook is out, the fourth in the Blogger’s Guide series. Last summer, when I was planning what to write next in the series, I ran a survey here on Aliventures, and this was the most popular option. If you took part in [...]

4 comments [ click to read article...]

What Will You Write in 2013? Ten Mini-Resolutions to Get You Started

January 3, 2013

“This is how you do it: you sit down at the keyboard and you put one word after another until it’s done. It’s that easy, and that hard.” – Neil Gaiman Maybe 2012 was a great writing year for you. Perhaps you launched a blog, took part in NaNoWriMo, got placed in a short story [...]

32 comments [ click to read article...]