The Benefits of Writing for Fun

When you have deadlines, self-imposed or otherwise, working on anything but your WIP might seem like a bad idea if not a complete waste of time, but writing for fun can be extremely beneficial – to you as well as to your writing.

Writing for fun can include anything from a writing prompt to a brand new document where you just start writing and don’t stop until you’ve tired yourself out. Kind of like a child in a bouncy castle, but less energetic. More importantly, there’s no pressure to write well because you’re not ever going to show it to anyone! You can let go and write just because! How great is that?

If that’s not enough to convince you, let me try again-

I’ve said this several times on this blog already, but you’re not a machine. Chances are, if you continuously work on the same WIP without breaks, your mind will need a rest. You might feel like you should continue, but there’s only so much your mind can handle and forcing it to go on regardless is going to drive you into a deep pit very quickly. Now, you might not remember how to have fun, like me. But what if I told you that you can give yourself a much needed break from writing by writing?

Stay with me here.

Focusing on something different for a while gives your mind the break it’s earned, and it gets you away from your WIP for a bit – which means that, when you get back to it, you can see it from a distanced perspective.

What you write in that time can be the worst bit of embarrassing rubbish you’ll ever write – it doesn’t matter. In fact, that’s why you do it! To recharge, and go wild! You don’t even have to hang on to it if you don’t want to. I have a folder called The Trunk, where I keep everything I’ve written spontaneously which will likely never be read by another person. Or I hope not, anyway. You don’t want to see the abominations I’ve stashed away in there; the ones that put your 3am ideas to shame.

But sometimes, rarely, you find a gem. Sometimes you just start writing from nothing, and the nothing turns into something more. Something exciting. And before you know it you’ve got a 15K draft to come back to when you’re done with your current WIP (more on that next week… *ahem*).

Did I mention it’s fun to write without fear of being judged? Because it’s pretty fun!

Either way, writing just for yourself is a great way of recharging and giving your mind a rest. You’ll return to your WIP from a distanced standpoint, you’ll have untangled the knots that made it impossible to spot the paradoxes in your draft before, and hopefully you’ll have had fun doing it, too! Perhaps you’ll even have a new exciting WIP to come back to.

But that doesn’t matter. The only thing that does matter is to go nuts!

Have you tried writing just for yourself, only for the heck of it? How did it go, and would you recommend it to declutter your WIP-focused mind? If you haven’t- what’s holding you back? Make some tea, dunk a cookie, and let’s chat!

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For all of my other musings, click me!

For Cookie Break’s home page, have a look here.

Why Every Writer Should Read Theory

I don’t know about you, but I don’t believe in theory when it comes to creative subjects. Not to the same extend as with other subjects, like mathematics or quantum physics, anyway. Creative things, like painting or sculpting, are best learned by doing and making mistakes, and writing definitely fits that bill, too.

However, reading theory shouldn’t be dismissed entirely if you’re a writer. While I can’t speak for the painters or the sculptors amongst you out there, I can speak for myself – and I’m a writer who finds reading theory incredibly useful. Even entertaining at times.

I know, but bear with me.

The books which have taught me the most (and have made me laugh at times) are these:

The First Five Pages

A Writer’s Guide to Psychology

Save the Cat (check out the review here)

Self-Printed – The Sane Person’s Guide to Self-Publishing (read the review here)

There are plenty of theory books out there, but if you don’t know where to start then I hope that this short list can point you in the right direction.

The only other kind of theory reading every writer should do is to read everything. Not quite literally of course – but if you’ve read every single book ever written get in touch. We need to talk.

You can learn so much by reading other people’s books that it’s too valuable an experience to pass up. You learn what works for you, what doesn’t work for you, what you’re okay with despite every manual ever written telling you that it shouldn’t be done. It improves your own writing immensely. And who doesn’t love a good book?

Exactly.

But why should you read theory? Writing is an incredibly complex art form. If I live to be a hundred years old with one book written for every year that I’ve lived, I still wouldn’t know everything there is to know about writing. I still wouldn’t write the perfect book, and neither would you. And that’s perfectly fine, because something like writing can’t ever be perfected. There are too many genres out there, too many sub-genres, and far too many possibilities.

And yet I’d still pick up a good theory book when I’m one hundred years old, because I’ll always find something I haven’t considered before. This might be a writing technique to try, a writing prompt, a research idea, a new way to approach plotting my book, or something else I haven’t played with before.

Don’t think of reading theory as admitting that your writing is lacking. Think of it as a treasure cove full of useful information, which can only improve your writing. No matter how talented or experienced you are, you can always improve, so your current skill level doesn’t matter.

You should read theory because you might find a way to make your characters more believable.

You should read theory because you might learn a few tricks about world-building.

You should read theory because it might inspire you to try something new – which might then turn into your new favourite method.

You should read theory because your writing will profit from it.

Still not convinced? Pick up any of the four books above, and just read the first five pages. See what they can offer you.

What is your favourite theory book on writing? Which book has aided you the most, and maybe even still helps you today? Is there a book you keep referring to? Are you completely against reading theory and need a little more convincing? Grab a cookie and let’s chat!

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GIFs are from giphy

For all of my other musings, click me!

For Cookie Break’s home page, have a look here.