Really glad it was helpful :)

Hi! Actually I try to switch off the critical side of my brain and just write. Write the story, however it comes out, without overthinking. Then later when I type it up, I'll edit it. Most of my notes are written as emails to myself on my walks to and from work. Hope your writing is going well :)

Best of luck :)

Woah, that is a lot. 500 seems really manageable, I think.

Thank you, I'm glad you've enjoyed it :)

Of course! Why didn't I think of that?

Glad it was helpful :)

Well you're very welcome. Best of luck with the novel :)

You're welcome, I'm glad you're finding them useful :)

I hope you find it useful :)

Hey, thank you :)

Glad I'm not the only one! Hope the hand written work goes well.

I love a bit of Dean Koontz. I especially enjoyed The Taking.

Speaking purely for myself, I'd have to say no. Other than the writing practice. But it was still an interesting experience.

That's amazing! Wishing you the best of luck :)

@@21stCenturyWriter I am especially pleased to know that there are other writers - writers who know more about writing than I do - who remain immersed in the work of selected “exemplary” authors. I go back continually to James Joyce, but only to certain short stories of his from the collection Dubliners. I wonder if I will ever be able to write 90,000 words that approach the elegance of “She sat at the window watching the evening invade the avenue” (from Eveline, Dubliners).

You are very very welcome. I'm glad you enjoyed it :)

You're welcome :)

Wow, I'm glad it had such an impact :) You're very welcome.

These points are so important. That's a really useful way of looking at it.

I'm glad it meant something to you :)

@@21stCenturyWriter so emotional

I've so funny that you've asked this because it's something I've thought about a lot recently. Check out a blog post I wrote on my website recently called "The Feel pt. 2" (bmreeves.com). Essentially, I think it's crucial to hold onto the "feel" of what your project is, at all costs. You can do this with notes, with music, and so on. However, I've also started to believe that the "feel" will inevitably fade the longer you work on the project. Because you're getting it out of your system. You're literally extracting that feeling from your mind bit by bit, and incorporating it into whatever you're creating. And this is okay. This is all part of it. You just need to keep going. Sometimes it's useful to look back on your favourite parts of the project, and try to create more of that. I've definitely started to lose the feel of the latest project I'm working on, but that's because it's nearly done. If I still had lots of "feel" left, it'd probably mean that I'm far from done. I just need to keep going. It feels a bit more like work now, but that's okay. It's all a part of the ride.

Thanks for the response, I will have a look at that blog and I totally agree about the feel and I’ll see how it goes 👍

I hope you find it as useful as I did :)

This is great to hear! I thought the same way about theme for a long time. But it can actually be a lot of fun to wrestle with, and I think it often results in a stronger book.

Thank you!

Thank you for this, John! Good luck with your writing, and I hope you find the videos useful.

Thank you! I'm glad you found it clear.

Keep on keeping on! Do you use the heros journey or Dan harmons story circle? I find that if you can figure out your major beats, it's easier to fill those small spaces in-between each one to make an outline.

You might be right there... It was a long time ago, but I believe I took the comments on board. Maybe I just wasn't a good enough writer to make the changes effectively. Live and learn!

I wrote my 1st novel 25 years ago and my house burned down and I lost it. Looking back it was such crap! Love and learn. Only thing you can do is keep trying

I'm glad you found them useful :)

You're very welcome, and thank you for sharing. I feel exactly the same way, especially with regards to social media. It's just not me. Best of luck with your second novel :)