Some people say "of course creative writing can be taught", while others say the opposite. I take a slightly more nuanced view.
Read MoreStephen King
Can creative writing be taught?
Some people say "of course creative writing can be taught", while others say the opposite. I take a slightly more nuanced view.
Read MoreIs it possible to write better if you write faster?
I’ve been prompted to ask this question because I recently picked up, in a second-hand bookshop, a book called “No plot? No problem!”. The author is Chris Baty, who started the "Write a novel in a month” competition, otherwise known as “Nanowrimo”.
I haven’t read very much of it yet, but from what I have read I’m impressed.
The power of habit
True, it can help. I, for example, like to give myself a bit of extra pressure by trying to write articles in half an hour or less, using TimeLeft. I wrote about that in How to write an article in 30 minutes or less. Some people prefer a no-frills wordprocessor such as FocusWriter (see my Review of FocusWriter).
However, I was reminded by Stephen King in his book On Writing that the routine of shutting yourself away until you’ve achieved your daily writing goal is an excellent strategy.