I wonder whether the popular Christmas song The Twelve Days of Christmas was an early listicle?
It’s the time of year when listicles pop up in the media. You know the kind of thing: 10 Ways to Avoid Killing Your Relatives at Christmas; 7 Steps to Crispy Turkey Skin, Top Ten Tips to Have a Joyful Festive Season Alone.
This is a perfect excuse to create my own – just for you.
As you know, I have been teaching a range of online writing courses online: How to Write a How-to Book; How to Write Memoir; Write Life Stories with SPICE; Online Writers’ Circles and even some ad hoc classes on Blogging and Formatting Your Manuscript in Word. For this listicle I have taken the top ten learnings that students have told me made lightbulbs go off for them. I hope you enjoy them too.
The Twelve Writers’ Tips of 2021
- Formatting and layout are almost as important as the text when you are writing a non-fiction (how-to) book.
- The size font you choose (12pt/ 14pt etc) affects the depth (known as leading) of blank lines too. In the text below, the blank line below the 14 point text is also 14 point and is deeper than the blank line below the 12 point text, which is also 12 point and so on.
- Sometimes your best writing will occur when you forget perfect formatting and spelling and punctuation and just go for it. As I told one student: “You just need someone to follow behind you with a dustpan and brush.” Trying to follow rules can stifle creativity.
- When you edit a piece of work, it’s almost impossible to spot all the errors at once. So go through once checking punctuation, again to check tenses, again to check voice and so on.
- Consistency is a minefield. Even if you are writing fiction or memoir, you still need to create a ‘style sheet’ where you make a note of how to write certain words and phrases, for example:
website/ web site/ web-site
part-time/ part time
2pm/ 2 pm/ 14:00/ 2:00pm
UK/ U.K.
Dr./ Dr/ Doctor - When writing conversations, the speaker and what they say need to come on the same line. I call this New Person, New Line.
- Subheads are signposts. If you are writing non-fiction, readers will use your subheadings to speedread, to jump to certain sections and decide if a chapter looks interesting without having to read it fully. Make the meaning of your subheadings clear.
- Book planning begins with a Table of Contents (how-to) or a list of stories (memoir). This may not need many words to write but does take many hours of thought and drafting. It’s organic. As the book gets written your contents may keep changing. Keep it updated and use it as the backbone for your book.
- Before you write a book you need to be clear WHY you are writing it. Starting with your WHY will help you to focus and all books need a defined focus. I call this The F Word. Earlier this year I held an In Conversation Masterclass with Sue Richardson of The Right Book Company, who talked at length about Finding Your Why. You can hear the podcast (number 4) at the Jo Parfitt Podcast.
- My memoir students learn that their narrative is made up of stories (I call them pearls) strung onto a necklace made out of major themes (I call these red threads). I talk about story arcs and pinch points and how to keep your reader engaged. In 2020 I held an In Conversation Masterclass with Anne Rainbow of Red Editing Pen. She talked about how to create a compelling story arc. Listen to the podcast (number 10) to find out more about editing. Find it at the Jo Parfitt Podcast.
- Few things help writers more than writing whatever comes into your head. Journalling is powerful. Speedwriting too. Put your pen on the paper and just go. In two separate In Conversation Masterclasses I talked to therapist Amanda Graham about the therapeutic value of journaling and to author and coach Carolyn Vines about how to write for self-reflection. You can find both their In Conversation Masterclasses over at the Jo Parfitt Podcast as numbers 19 and 17.
- If you want to find your voice, grow in confidence and get feedback on your writing for free then you need to join my Speedwrite Live session from 4-5pm UK on the third Thursday of the month. Sign up at www.joparfitt.com/virtual-events
