Revolutionise Your Writing One Creative Step at a Time
Wendy H. Jones
May 21, 2019
Scott and Lawson
Blurb: Has your motivation to write flown out of the window? Do feelings of self-doubt creep in and haunt your writing day? Looking for a way to beat the doubts into submission?Award winning author and writing coach Wendy H. Jones shows you how, with 366 glorious exercises you can use to boost creativity and change the way you think and feel about your writing. Techniques that can easily be incorporated into your day, becoming part of your writing routine. It’s time to change the way you think and feel, in order to set your creativity free.
Buy Links:
Amazon | B&N | The Book Depository
At some point it happens to every writer: writer’s block. (Unless you’re Stephen King; I don’t think writer’s block would dare happen to Stephen King.) You go from being prolific to drought. Nothing helps and the longer it goes on the more self-doubts you have and the harder it it to believe in any of the words you put on paper. Why, yes, I am speaking from experience.
Wendy H. Jonses’ Motivation Matters intends to help with that situation.
Motivation Matters has 366 motivation ideas, some of which are directly related to writing and some nothing whatsoever. However, the ones that don’t have a direct relationship to writing are intended to generate creativity by exploring new places or paying attention to details in the world around you. Mindfulness matters.
While some of the ideas are ones that you won’t find me doing, I can see the idea behind them and substitute something similar. Some of the ideas are ones that you’ve probably read before and forgotten so it’s beneficial to be reminded. One of those is “write.” Write everywhere and whenever you have any kind of downtime. Except when you’re stopped in front of me at a traffic light.
One of the ideas that I’m personally intrigued by is using a prompt to write flash fiction in three different genres.
The suggestion is for you to try one of these exercises every day. That seems a bit overkill to me unless you are really, really struggling. I’m afraid that it would be very easy to substitute a writer’s block fix for actual writing.
Jonses’ writing style is humorous and direct, which makes for an easy read. If you’re like me, finding that the well is running a bit dry, you might want to give this book and its useful suggestions a try.
I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
rating:
4 butterflies and a ladybug out of 5 butterflies
Excerpt
Motivation Matters
What Motivates Us?
It is generally agreed motivation can be intrinsic (driven by ourselves because we find it gratifying) or extrinsic (driven by external factors such as reward). In the long term, intrinsic motivation works better. This is what allows you to keep going, even if book sales, and thus your income, fluctuate. It is what allows you to keep going when you feel like you are wading through treacle as you write.
Of course, external motivation is important. Getting a nice review on your latest blockbuster, pocketing a nice fat cheque, and a queue of people at your book signing is definitely enough to motivate you. However, these can also have the opposite effect. A lukewarm review, a lacklustre royalty cheque, or few people at a signing can be demotivating.
Therefore, intrinsic motivation is crucial for long-term success as an author, or indeed any other career. So why is your brain sabotaging a daily writing habit? Why is it coming up with a myriad of different excuses and finding other, more engrossing, things for you to do? This is the time when your house is spotless, everything is in its place and you’ve taken to playing online games “rather than sitting down at the keyboard, or with a pencil in hand, writing?Have you heard the saying, “If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got?”
Usually, we are demotivated because our brain is saying, it’s time for a change. Let’s shake it up a little and get this party jumping. This means you need to develop motivational techniques which will get your manuscript, or project, moving.
Luckily, you’ve bought this book and taken the first step. Now, follow me and let me lead you on a journey which will change how you think and drag your writing mojo back to the party, whooping and a hollering and raring to go. It’s time to fill your brain to overflowing from the creative river, starting today.
Sample Exercise
Music Madness
Music can get you in the mood, or help you concentrate. Depending on what you choose, of course. If you’re writing romance – listen to love songs before you start writing. Sing along to them and really soak up the atmosphere. Writing crime or thriller, crank up the volume and listen to some rock or metal. Once you’re in the right frame of mind, change to classical music playing low in the background. This is known to aid concentration and some studies suggest Mozart is particularly suitable for this. Who knew? One caveat – don’t let the music last so long you run out of time to write. After all, you need space for the creative side to strut its stuff.
Award Winning Author Wendy H. Jones lives in Scotland, and her police procedural series featuring Detective Inspector Shona McKenzie, is set in the beautiful city of Dundee, Scotland. Wendy has led a varied and adventurous life. Her love for adventure led to her joining the Royal Navy to undertake nurse training. After six years in the Navy, she joined the Army where she served as an Officer for a further 17 years. This took her all over the world including Europe, the Middle East and the Far East. Much of her spare time is now spent travelling around the UK, and lands much further afield. As well as nursing Wendy also worked for many years in Academia. This led to publication in academic textbooks and journals. Killer’s Countdown is her first novel and the first book in the Shona McKenzie Mystery series. Killer’s Crew won the Books Go Social Book of the Year 2107. There are now six books in this series with Killer’s Crypt being released in August 2017. The Dagger’s Curse is the first book in The Fergus and Flora Mysteries for Young Adults. This book is currently shortlisted for the Woman Alive Magazine Readers Choice Award Book of the Year. She is also a highly successful marketer and she shares her methods in the book, Power Packed Book Marketing.
