Writing – Page 2 – Read ‘N Riot

A Love Letter to Notebooks (and 5 Ways to Use Them for Writing)

A picture of a pile of notebooks and a pen

Notebooks are your unjudgmental friends. They’re a silent partner in creation, allowing you to freely consider your thoughts and ideas and cringe at them later. Notebooks merely watch as some ideas sink and others float, only to resurface later looking renewed, and their unbiased acceptance is exactly what you need to organise your writing life.

What is there to Like about Writing?

For me, as with so many others, writing is a reflex. It’s not that I don’t actively make myself do it, it’s that I find it hard not to when I get the urge. Whether in my mind, on my phone, laptop, tablet, notebook, or scrap of paper, I’m always writing something. Like this blog. I try to upload weekly as a habit, but I was seduced by writing fiction last week and could not think about anything else, so I missed a week, but that was okay. It’s not like I wasn’t writing anything at all, I just focused my energy on something different.

Note to Self: Perfection is the Enemy

An image of two open books above a notebook open to an empty page with a pen in it, all arranged on a white sheet.

If inspiration is a summer fling and motivation a spouse, perfection is the enemy, the professional seductress that thrives on breaking up happy and settled relationships. At one time, you are so in love and then your eyes—almost without you noticing—begin to stray, your attention to falter. Seeking perfection makes you think of what could be. It is the harbinger of writer’s block, of self-doubt, of giving up.

The Pros and Cons of Fanfiction – Why I’m a Fan of Fanfiction

Fanfiction. If you liked reading or were (unhealthily) obsessed with something as a teenager and you have never so much as glanced at a piece of fanfiction, I implore you to let me know how it escaped you. On websites that offer the public an opportunity to share their writing such as the more generalContinue reading “The Pros and Cons of Fanfiction – Why I’m a Fan of Fanfiction”

Everything Is Fine (a.k.a Happy New Year)

Now that the festive season is over, normality returns with a deluge of reflection and a dash of hope. Part of normality to me is blogging and so I welcome you to the new Read ‘N Riot site, which is arguably a symptom of that New Year Feeling. There’s nothing like something shiny and newContinue reading “Everything Is Fine (a.k.a Happy New Year)”

I’m Writing a Novel

Or at least part of one… I hope. I’m taking part in NaNoWriMo this year. There. I said it. Now it has to be true. If you don’t know what NaNoWriMo is, it’s a non-profit organisation that supports writers and helps them to hone their craft. Each year, they host a challenge to write 50,000Continue reading “I’m Writing a Novel”