Thread by @thomasjbevan1

//THREAD\\ In which we discuss how to develop your talent as a #writer Part 3

(vital for all #writinglife #amwriting people, but applicable to anyone wishing to improve at a skill)

CC @pathtomanliness @@SamuelSThorp @CraigJamesTFA @samuelthews

H/T to @tellyoursonthis

This is day three of our analysis of our application of the lessons from Daniel Coyle’s work on talent to the discipline of #writing.

(Aspects of his number system are not relevant & will be marked N/A.)

Click link for day 1 & 2

On with the show...

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31/ To Learn A New Move, Exaggerate It

In #writing terms- if you are trying to imbue a scene with certain emotions or details and struggling

Practice by really overdoing it

You will go beyond the edge of what is needed and can use this as a reference point to dial back from

32/ Make Positive Reaches

This is a self-talk/ #Mindset tip that's applicable to everything.

Tell your self to reach for what you want to accomplish, not avoid what you don't want to do.

You want to right a scene that does x,y, and z

Not avoid doing x,y, and z

Big difference

33/ To Learn from A Book, Close The Book

Passively reading a book is a fairly effortless task.

Words merely wash over you.

This doesn't not put you in the sweet spot (See tip 13)

Remember, you don't learn if you don't reach.

Take notes, engage with the text, argue.

Reach.

34/ Use The Sandwich Technique

This is for Hard Skills and #writing is a soft skill.

On to the next...

35/ Use The 3x10 Technique

To learn something practice it three times with ten minute breaks in between each rep,

This can be combined with the next point...

36/ Invent Daily Tests

I set myself #writingprompt to practice certain elements of writing

For example, I might set a stopwatch for 10 minutes and try to form a narrative around a photograph

I will repeat this 3 times.

You'd be surprised at the benefits of this over time

37/ To Choose The Best Practice Method, Use The R.E.P.S. Gauge

R= Reaching and Repeating
E= Engagement
P= Purposefulness
S= Strong, Speedy Feedback

Let's examine each in turn...

Reaching and Repeating-

Does the practice have you operating in the sweet spot, i.e. at the edge of your ability.

Are you really having to reach for something repeatedly?

...

Engagement-

Is the practice immersive?
Does it propel you towards a goal?

#writing should do all of these things by definition.
If you are not experiencing this as you work-
either your environment is distracting (prob. internet)
of you are writing about the wrong subject.

Purposefulness

Does the task directly connect to the skill you want to develop.

Again, working on a manuscript should do this by definition.

But this is a very good question to ask when either journaling, reading or doing writing exercises

Strong, Speedy Feedback

This is hard to design into writing practice given its solitary, and highly personal and subjective nature.

You could in theory get a loved one to read your finished work each day but I am not sure that either party would benefit from this!

38/ Stop Before Your Exhausted.

A simple one, this.

Anyone but an extreme outlier has no more than four hours of deep work in them per day.

This is usually best performed in the morning when you are fresh.

Beyond four hours and the work will invariably be deleted...

39/ Practice Immediately after performance

In #amwriting terms this would be jotting down of what you did right and wrong during the days writing session in a writing journal

You could also have a few shots at a particular pivotal sentence in isolation but this isn't essential

40/ Just before You Sleep, Watch A Mental Movie

If you are a #writer you probably find that the best ideas come just as you are trying to sleep

It's frustrating. Play with the ideas and also imagine you writing them down perfectly when you're at the desk the next day

Visualise

41/ End on A Positive Note

End a successful session of writing with a reward

(I'm certain almost everyone does this anyway)

It can be a metaphorical reward or a literal one.

Reinforce good work

And relax afterwards

Real #Writing is mentally exhausting

42/ Six Ways to be A Better Teacher or Coach

N/A

This isn't applicable to our #amwriting discussion

on to the next...

43/ Embrace Repetition

Rather than a chore, see repetition as your most powerful tool.

Personally I regularly rewrite the same scene from scratch

I see scene like takes in a movie

The best of each is edited together in th final cut

I haven't heard of may #writers who do this

44/ Have A Blue-Collar #Mindset

Get up in the morning and go to work. Every day. Whether you feel like it or not.

'Inspiration' is invited in by this practice.

Bricklayers lay bricks. Carpenters saw wood. Writers write words.

It's as simple as that

45/ For Every hour of Competition, Spend Five Hours Practicing.

This off course, applies to athletics & music etc.

For writers I would say:

Spend as much time writing as you do reading. Do both everyday.

Reading improves your writing

And writing makes reading more satisfying

46/ Don't Waste Time Trying To Break Bad Habits- Instead Build New Ones

As true for #writing as it is for life

When yr so busy focusing on improving the good, vices and weaknesses have a way of falling by the wayside

Again it is that idea of focusing on +'ve rather than -ve

47/ To Learn it More Deeply, Teach It

Not 'Those who can't do, teach.' but

'Doers who teach do better.'

Writing on twitter is my only personal way of trying to adhere to this rule.

But it must be combined with the doing of the thing. Rather than mere theorising & speculating

48/ Give a New Skill A Minimum of Eight Weeks

Keep at it.

Good writing, the kind that seems natural and effortless, is not an easy thing to accomplish.

Because we all use language we can assume that good writing is innate

It is not. It is a skill exactly the same as any other

49/ When You Get Stuck, Make A Shift.

Routines are not set in stone.

Move your desk.
Write Outside
Go to a coffee shop if you normally get your work done at home
Eat different things at a different time

There are a thousand things you can vary and tweak should the need arise

50/ Cultivate Your Grit

This is what's gonna make the difference in the long run

Writers who succeed are invariably simply those who do not stop

If writing is your calling then keep going

Because really, what else is more pleasurable for us than those moments of being in flow

51/ Keep Your Big Goals Secret

Social media often kills this one.

People like to blab under a misguided idea of accountability

This might work for losing a few lbs

But big goals must be held close

I have goals that will take 5-10 years to complete

You won't hear about them

*LAST ONE!*

52/ Think like a Gardener, Work Like A Carpenter

'Think patiently, without judgement.

Work steadily, strategically, knowing that each piece connects to a larger whole.'

These are words to live by

One last thing before you go...

Thank you for reading this far & thanks to all of the new followers who have joined over the last few days.

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