Progressing in Fits and Starts

It's a well-known educational truth that people's learning doesn't follow a nice, even, upward line. We often progress in fits and starts. Sometimes we'll seem to be making really good, fast progress, then suddenly we'll appear to get stuck at a certain level for a while, then again we'll start to progress rapidly.

It's a bit like the way children grow. Any parent will know that sometimes a child's clothes will seem to last for ages, then all of a sudden they outgrow everything. I see that when I compare my son with his contemporaries. For ages, my son will be the tall one in the group, a good half-head taller than his friends. Then I'll see them all again a couple of months later, and they'll have nearly caught up with him.

Progressing in fits and starts can be a little bit disconcerting when you're trying to master a new skill. It's all very well when you feel as if you're making rapid progress, but it can be really frustrating when you hit a patch when you appear to be stuck or, even worse, when you appear to be sliding backwards. It's especially worrying when you don't understand why you've ended up in this stuck patch.

This is something that affects creative people too, both when we're learning our new craft and when we're practising it professionally. It would be lovely if everything were predictable and we were so in control of our creativity that we could maintain a steady output, nicely spread over the year, with spaces for holidays.

But in real life, it just doesn't happen like that. All we can do is be grateful when things are going well, when we are full of ideas, when we are working fast and delighting ourselves by our output. And when we hit a plateau and things aren't going too well, the best thing to do is not to worry about it.

Remember that change is one of the constants of life. Our mantra for the tough times must be 'This too will pass.' We will become more productive; the barriers to our understanding will be lifted; eventually, we will be on an upward trajectory once again.

Have faith - and trust in your creativity!

Don't Write Alone- Get Yourself a Support Network

One of the hardest things about being a writer is that it can be a very solitary experience. Reporters get to meet colleagues in the office and go out and about where the news stories are. But if you're a freelancer working from home, as I do, you can quite easily feel as if the walls as closing in on you and the only sensible conversation you've had that day is with next door's cat.

It isn't just full-time professional writers who feel this way. If you're just starting out and writing in your spare time, you can feel as if you're working in a vacuum. Wouldn't it be nice to have somebody to share your concerns with? Someone who can tell you if you're on the right road or getting hopelessly lost?

I think for most writers a good support network can be a lifesaver. But how are you going to get one? How can you meet other writers?

Fortunately, there are lots of ways of doing this. Creative writing classes, like the ones I teach, are a marvellous way of getting advice and encouragement from an experienced professional writer and stimulation and support from your fellow students.

The money you spend on them will be a good investment. If you have a good tutor, you'll be shown not just how to write, but how to market your writing, so you'll have a chance of earning back your fees in competition winnings or commissions.

But more important than the money is the chance to share your writing with fellow writers who will be sympathetic and offer constructive criticism. Writing is a means of communication and it really comes to life when it's shared, even if all you do is read it out loud to the other members of the class once a week.

Lots of towns have writers' groups or authors' circles where people who write regularly can meet up to discuss their work, have competitions and workshops, and run competitions. These can be a good way of meeting someone who's a bit further on than you in getting published.

Groups differ in their entry requirements - for example, one of the ones that I belong to, Huddersfield Authors' Circle, will ask you to come along for one or two meetings to see how you get on. Then if they think you might be suitable, we will ask to see some samples of your writing. It isn't because we're elitist - it's purely because we're not a group for complete beginners who would be able to find more help and support at a writing class.

There are groups for people who have specific writing interests too, like Script Yorkshire, which is for people who write drama. And, of course, there are professional organisations such as The Romantic Novelists' Association, The Society of Authors, The Crime Writers' Association, and The Writers' Guild of Great Britain.

For those writers who are unable to get to a class or a group regularly, writers' conferences or holidays, like the ones at Swanwick or Caerleon, can be very exciting and stimulating, a great place to meet experts and to make friends with other writers from all over the country.

The Arvon Foundation also runs courses on specific themes, like Writing for Children or Television Scriptwriting. These are more intensive and more intimate than the big writers' conventions.

Don't forget that your own friends and family can also be a source of support and encouragement. But be careful who you share your work with. There's not a lot of point in showing it to someone who says that everything you write is absolutely marvellous, even if it's a load of rubbish. There's even less point in sharing it with someone who's going to tell you that it's a load of twaddle and suggest that you grow parsnips instead.

Why not sit down now and make your own 'Support Audit'? Work out what support you are able to receive as a writer and what steps you could take to get more, if you feel that's what you need. Then write down what your first step is going to be and a date when you'll have taken it.

Succeed as a Writer through Bounce-back-ability

Learning a Lesson from Andy Murray

I don't always bother watching the tennis from Wimbledon, but this year I decided to follow the progress of my fellow Scot, Andy Murray, the British number one tennis player. This evening he was playing in the fourth round against the Frenchman, Richard Gasquet. I should have been at salsa, but I watched the start of the match and it turned out to be so fascinating, I never set foot out of the house.

Andy Murray pulled off the most spectacular turn-around. He'd lost the first two sets, 5-7, 3-6 and when the third set got to 6-6, it looked as if he was just about to lose the third set (and the match). But he suddenly found his fighting spirit and wouldn't give up. Time and time again it went to deuce, advantage Gasquet, but he carried on pulling it back to deuce, staying in the match by sheer willpower. The crowd went absolutely mad and really got behind him.

Against all odds, he did it - he managed to win the third set on a tie-breaker, then it was a matter of whether he would manage to win the fourth set and have a chance of staying in the match. If I say he won the final two sets, 6-2, 6-4, it makes it sound too easy and gives no indication of the number of times things were going against him - lots more battles around deuce. His determination really won over the British people and made him the new-found darling of the crowds.

Bounce-back-ability - the Key to Success on and off the Court

So what has all this to do with writing? Quite a lot. The bounce-back-ability that Andy Murray showed he had tonight is one of the most important character traits a writer can develop.

Our path to success may be slower and less dramatic, but like him, we will probably experience a great deal of frustration and thwarted hopes along the way. Like him, we will need every ounce of determination, every ounce of resilience to keep on going when the going gets tough.

Tennis players have their duff shots, poor decisions, and badly judged decisions. They lose points, lose matches, fail to reach the finals, fail to win the trophy.

Writers produce poor work from time to time, find that people hate a piece of writing that they were really proud of, find rejection letters on the doormat instead of nice big cheques. We jump over hoops to second guess editors, meet the demands of editors or agents, nearly get that piece of work commissioned then find that the contract falls through at the last minute.

In short, we face a lot of the same pressures and disappointments that tennis players do, only we don't usually have thousands of people cheering us on. The tennis player may get that 'me alone against the world' feeling when he's out on the court and the match seems to be slipping away from him. It can be a pretty lonely business being a writer too and you've got no crowd behind you cheering you on - you don't even get the consolation of room-service!

Just as the top tennis player has to dig deep to find the strength of character, the mental, emotional and physical reserves that will carry him to victory, so we writers also have to dig deep to find a way to bounce back from setbacks and rejections and keep on till we get the result we want - and then we have start it all over again another time with our next project.

If you're dissatisfied with a piece of work or you're feeling battered and bruised after you've had a rejection, just think of Andy Murray and how he kept on slogging away until his luck changed, until he proved that it aint over till it's over.

Develop that winning mentality and you'll soon be enjoying a winning streak of your own.

Ten Top Books about Writing

Now that adult education and university courses are drawing to a close, I thought you might like some books about writing to keep you occupied over the summer. Here are some of my favourites.

1. The Artist's Way Julia Cameron The classic which got so many of us hooked on writing Morning Pages
2. Writing Down the Bones Natalie Goldberg A Zen approach to getting the writing out of you and onto the page
3. Becoming a Writer Dorothea Brand A timeless classic full of encouragement and wisdom
4. The Writer's Idea Book Jack Heffron A treasure trove of prompts guaranteed to get any stuck writer writing again
5. Creative Writing. A Workbook with Readings ed. Linda Anderson An Open University coursebook which provides more than two hundred pages of readings, as well as teaching and exercises
6. Your Writing Coach. From Concept to Character, from Pitch to Publication Jurgen Wolff A stimulating book by someone who understands the psychology of creativity
7. Writing Feature Articles Brendan Hennessy Full of practical advice to help you develop a professional approach to magazine and newspaper journalism
8. Taking Reality by Surprise. Writing for Pleasure and Publication ed. Susan Sellers Contains advice and tips from a number of leading writers
9. Creative Writing. How to Unlock Your Imagination, Develop Your Writing Skills and Get Published Adele Ramet An ideal book for beginners
10. On Writing Stephen King A classic, part memoir, part inspiration and instruction

I could continue with this list all day, but there is more than enough here to provide you with information and inspiration for many months.