Gut feeling, maybe
A new outlining tool, authors on Instagram, joint writing sprints, editing advice, and a list of writing competitions.
I'm as surprised as you, but here we are with another Draft Mode newsletter sent by yours truly right here, Iain Broome.
Cripes – I currently have at least three things that I consider to be very exciting book ideas. I've been tinkering away on all of them while knowing that I should probably focus on the one correct thing.
But how do we know what the right thing to work on is? I have no idea. Gut feeling, maybe. Whatever gives you the most joy, perhaps. Either way, I am all for trying different ideas until you figure things out.
By the way, what are you currently working on? You're always very welcome to hit reply and share your work in progress. Ask questions. That sort of thing.
With numerous options,
Iain
PS The image above is Proust's notes from In Search of Lost Time, which I nabbed from a BBC article on the early manuscripts of classic novels.
Links of the week
Every issue I collect and share the best advice, apps and other shenanigans that I find on my internet travels. Find something useful? Subscribe for free.
Bike: an outlining tool for thought
This is a brand new app for outlining pretty much anything. I like that it is incredibly simple and having played around with the demo, it is super fast as well. It's made by Hog Bay Software, who also make WriteRoom, a distraction-free writing environment. Also very good!
15 authors who are great at Instagram
I've been following a few more authors on Instagram recently and there are some fantastic examples here. I reckon it is definitely much easier to get good at Instagram if you have a book to promote. But I also think the whole show your work approach is a great way to go too.
Just read about this in Anna Codrea-Rado's day in the life of a newsletter writer. For one hour every weekday, hundreds of writer join a video call and just sit there... writing together. The UK-session is at 8am, which is when I am effectively running a breakfast cafe and tearing my hair out because why are they not dressed for school yet? But you might find a time that suits you.
An editor's guide to editing your novel
Some good, practical editing advice from the Curtis Brown Creative folks. And I know it says 'novel' in the title, but a lot of this stuff applies to whatever you happen to be writing.
The Big List of UK Writing Competitions
Not much to explain here, apart from to say this is an absolutely fantastic resource from Neon Books. They also recently posted a big list of UK literary magazines too.
The Art of Noticing by Rob Walker
Super book. It's a collection of exercises and observations designed to get you thinking about where you put your attention. And to start noticing the marvellousness of everyday things.
You might also like Rob Walker's newsletter of the same name.
Tweets of the week
So many bad tweets. These are good ones. Follow @iainbroome on Twitter or @DraftModeHQ for newsletter notifications.
A lot of young writers have the same problem with their work. They forget the part of the story where a freak lightning storm brings an inanimate object to life.
— Geoffrey Golden (@geoffreygolden) May 17, 2022
A Sunday evening thread of random thoughts about being a writer and coping with rejection. And this isn't going to finish with "toughen up or you're going to fail". It's more about factoring rejection into your career as a writer. Because trust me it comes at EVERY stage. 1/
— David M Barnett (@davidmbarnett) May 15, 2022
You can write your novel 3x faster.
— Creag Munroe (@CreagMunroe) May 19, 2022
This 1 simple habit had the biggest effect on my words-per-hour. I went from writing ~500 WPH to 1500, consistently. I wrote half a novel the week after I started doing this.
Most people aren't using this strategy, but you can.
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