the alpha state and boosting creativity . . . and the state of publishing from the authors' perspective

As requested, I have a few more contributions on the question of sparking creativity suggested over my writing retreat weekend . . . and see below an interesting (if sobering) survey of published authors, getting their perspective on the state of the industry.

Interesting to note that the majority feel that in 5-10 years they will probably be solely e-published and working without agent or publisher.

Jo tells me she has persuaded Kate Harrison to do a guest spot soon on the very topic of creativity at
http://notesfromtheslushpile.blogspot.co.uk/ so I will get her to let everyone know when this appears and won't try to put everything down from my notes here.

But as well as Kate's talk, Marcus, Lee (and also Ali Shaw at the AW evening recently) all had some good tips, which are definitely worth noting.

There are several things they all had in common - notably that their most creative periods are either when they first wake up and are still groggy from sleep - or just as they are going off to sleep.

Lee Wetherley even said she tends to go off to sleep and wakes and writes through the night.

But anything that you do without actively thinking too hard (walking, driving or repetitive activities) puts the brain into an alpha state, which is supposed to be the most creative state. So going off to sleep thinking of some knotty plot point means your subconscious works on it over night.

And then don't forget to write down those ideas.

The alpha state is good for ideas and first drafts, but not for editing (similar to Hemingway's 'Write drunk, edit sober' philosophy), so there seems to be general agreement that at  first draft stage you only worry about getting something written, trying to get inside the story - and worry only later about how good it is and being too critical at an early stage definitely dries up creativity.

Some of the tricks to keep you going include not getting to the end of a passage or a piece, even stopping in the middle of a sentence, so you leave yourself something very easy to pick up when you go back to it.

This idea of writing to a specified time seemed to also be a trend and here I pass on Kate Harrison's tip - she is a big fan of the pomodoro technique, which reckons that you are only able to concentrate for 25 mins and then need a break, so that you should break your task into 25 min chunks (eg 25 minutes free writing, 25 mins to answer your emails, 25 mins attend to any editing) and that this maximises your creative time.

Not for everyone I shouldn't think, but there is even a web tool that sets a time for you. Links here:

http://www.pomodorotechnique.com/

The Pomodairo timer, and you can download it/try it out here:

http://code.google.com/p/pomodairo/

And from creativity to the business end of things - thought you all might want to have a look at this, which is a survey of published writers - what they think of their publishers, how much they make and lots of good stuff like that.

I've put an excerpt here and there is a link to look at the whole thing.

About half our respondents reckoned communication was good to excellent. About half thought it was ‘always poor’ or ‘tailed off abruptly on publication.’

I know one author who published a book with a major publisher who had bought the manuscript in question for an excellent five-figure sum. The author’s last communication with his editor was about 6 weeks prior to publication. And after that: nothing. Not a call. Not an email. No report of sales. No report on the progress or failure of any marketing or publicity initiatives. Not even a call to say, ‘sales have been disappointing and we’re going to have to cut you from our Christmas card list. Sorry.’ In my view, such treatment is inexcusable. It’s also, as our survey shows, common.

The next question is also interesting. We asked, ‘Did you receive any formal guidance in the ways of publishing or guidance on how you as an author could add most value to the process?’  The purpose here was to find out whether publishers actually want authors to play an engaged and important part in the publishing process. After all, publishers are professional producers-of-books. An individual editor will publish, typically, two dozen books a year. Authors – particularly newer ones – simply can’t match that depth of experience. If you’re a debutant novelist taken on by a major publisher, you have already (presumably) got the writing skills you need to succeed but you know (again, presumably) nothing at all about how most effectively to engage with the publication process. Should you tweet and blog? Go to festivals? Seek out opportunities on local or national radio? Or in the press? Should you solicit puffs? Exploit contacts? Are there mailing lists, specialist media outlets or professional organisations that are relevant? What the heck should you be doing?

These things matter. The old industry structures are weaker now than ever. Bookstores are under pressure, book reviews scarce, and digital marketing is becoming absolutely crucial. Yet since readers don’t give a damn about what publishers think or what brand values publishers supposedly embody, the profile of the author him or herself matters more than it has ever done before. You’d think then that publishers would want to train authors in the commercial aspects of being an author.

But do they? Do they, phooey. Just 18% of authors report that they received systematic guidance in the ways of the industry.  A staggering 33% said ‘no, I received no guidance’. 

http://www.writersworkshop.co.uk/blog/do-you-love-your-publisher-the-results-of-our-survey/

Feeling like a real writer . . . well almost

So. My first writing retreat. A weekend of doing nothing except writing, mingling with other writers, and pausing simply to attend a lecture here and there and be injected and inspired with words of wisdom from other, more experienced (published) writers.

How could I possibly not return bursting with creative energy and full of essential know-how to turn my scratchings into a massive international bestseller ?? (Watch this space.)

Kate Harrison threw down the first challenge with suggestions of how to toss aside your own rule book with a bravura list of ways to kick-start your creativity.

Ever tried challenging yourself as to how quickly you can write 500 words? She urged us all to try something different that weekend – the night owls to get up early and the early starters to stay up late and there were lots of notes to self and resolutions to try out all her ideas. Scribble scribble.

 And she had a great list of downloadable gadgets to help you time your word counts if you like that kind of thing. Scary.

I think quite a few people staying at Dunford House carried out their resolutions as there were certainly a few folk around who looked a little sleep deprived. But that could just have been the all-night singing in the bar.

There was certainly a bit of experimenting with trying out different writing rooms in a bid for creative enhancement. One minute out in the sunshine with the view of the bluebell wood. Next, over here for a stint in the cool of the library. Which was better for getting those creative juices flowing?

Or was this constant movement less to do with following Kate’s advice than the quest for the holy grail, ie a place that had both an internet connection and somewhere to plug in your laptop? Every time someone’s battery went critical there was an unseemly scramble for an electricity socket.

Marcus Sedgwick, author of cool, dark gothic thrillers, such as ‘Revolver’ tried really hard to give us lots of rules about how to plot, and mesmerised us with details of his meticulous research and photos of his various research trips.

In all of the photos there was snow. Big drifts of snow, or small coverings of snow. What would have happened if the research for his first novel had taken him to somewhere warmer? Without the urge to return to a cup of cocoa and snuggle a rug over his knees, would he have bothered to get writing? Would have have stayed in The Maldives and become a cocktail waiter?

But despite all this impressive advice, even Marcus admitted that he tends to use his own rules for support and doesn’t actually stick to them. Even though he likes the comfort of having a plot first, occasionally a character will show up and demand to be written about. And he suffered from writers block for two years and has anxiety attacks whenever he delivers a manuscript to his editor. Where was all the confident advice on how to do this properly?

The effervescent bestselling Lee Wetherley took us down another dark, gut-wrenching journey into ‘Second Novel Syndrome’, which did its job and filled me with dread, even though I am still busy getting therapy to see me through ‘First Novel Syndrome’.

And Helen Boyle, editor of fiction at Templar, managed to be complimentary and uplifting as she had read a good deal of submission letters, synopses and first chapters of the delegates, she was kind enough to say that she felt the future of children’s writing was in good hands. (Luckily she hadn’t seen mine.)

Of course Dunford House itself provided the perfect setting for making you feel like a real writer. If I’d thought about it and taken my camera I could have had someone take one of those author photos you see in colour supplements and ‘Writing Made Easy’ magazines. Could there be a studio somewhere that has set up the perfect desk, in a bay window framed with sumptuous curtains and a view out into a colourful garden, ready for those ‘isn’t being a writer a perfect life’ shots.

When a press photographer visited my house when I’d won a writing competition I showed him Where I Write (between the archaic fridge and the toppling pile of on-its-way-to-the-wardrobe laundry and my enormous collection of PG Wodehouse, Jilly Cooper and Reginald Hill books). To which he took one look and said ‘Shall we take it outside then love?’

Of course the disadvantage of a rural retreat I discovered was when you suddenly go down with a head cold and you feel the need to venture into the nearest town in search of a chemist. A 45 minute walk later through some challenging countryside (it has rained a lot recently, hasn’t it), it was slightly dispiriting to discover that Midhurst doesn’t actually have a chemist.

It does, however, have a bookshop (joy), always a balm in troubled times. And a cafe serving a very refreshing cup of tea before I descended on Budgens to do a raid on their cold remedy department. And back to base in slightly less than three hours. I felt a bit like Marcus doing one of his dark research expeditions.

But I seemed to be finding it quite easy to get my brain to an ‘Alpha state’ (half-way between being awake and asleep, apparently) that Marcus and Kate were recommending. If in doubt you’ll find it’s quite easily achieved by a combination of a bad night and an overdose of Vick’s nasal spray.

Anyway. A fantastic weekend. Huge thanks to SCBWI, all the speakers, organisers and staff, as well as all the other delegates, who made the whole experience both fun and rewarding.

The best thing about the weekend wasn’t only about time to indulge yourself by writing loads and not thinking you should be cleaning out the hamster, but meeting all the other writers, all at different stages of their writing journeys.

Published, agented . . .  everyone seemed to be a lot further along their writing journey than me. A humbling experience, but I think I got away with it.

Kate Harrison is on a mission to do some market research into what makes readers want to read and enjoy books. We both agree that tastes are subtly changing all the time, but she is keen to find out more and has put together a survey.

If you are interested in what people read and why, please see if you can find a few minutes to go and complete her survey http://kate-harrison.com/news/reader-survey-2012-what-do-you-think-of-uk-fiction.

Pitch letters

Continuing our search for the perfect pitch letter - has everyone seen Nicola Morgan's blog 'Help, I need a publisher?'

This year she wrote a book about writing the perfect synopsis. She's about to do the same for pitch letters, and is researching by offering blog readers the chance to have their letters critiqued on her blog. Definitely worth a look: http://helpineedapublisher.blogspot.co.uk/