Off Grid – a freewriter’s journey

Do you get stuck in neutral? Can't get off a single line of readable narrative or dialogue? Well, it's called writers block and we all go through it. Take a listen - here are some ideas to break the logjam and get back on track.

If you have tried to write your novel on a traditional word processor I know a good psychologist you should talk to. There is a better way. This episode is all about Scrivener by Literature and Latte. Take a listen, then try a free trial. Your writing process will thank you.

Download the transcript for a link.

Editing is more than proofreading. Whether you self-edit or use a professional it is crucial to spend time polishing your draft before putting it out for editing - give your editor the opportunity to do their best work - even if you self-edit. Here are some ideas.

This pod cast is taken from Book 4 of The Juno Letters. It relies heavily on a rather long example so you may want to download the narrative and follow along.

Photographs can be powerful plot agents for your books. Here is one example ...

Here is another example from one of my books - The Hotel Lancaster. Tye podcast is about using objects you see in the world around you as plot vehicles. I suggest you download the narrative on this one and read along.

There are times when borrowing a scene from one of your own works can be a useful tool. Take a look at a couple of examples. I suggest you download the narrative and follow along as it uses examples from several of my books.

This episode looks at some of the methodologies to improve your writing at the scene level.

I recommend you download the narrative and follow along. The example sections are much clearer when you can see the placement of the sentences and line breaks.

We'v e seen some examples of plot development, so let's go back and talk about some of the writing principles mentioned in those episodes - DETAIL vs CONTEXT.

This is part two of the topic, Letters and Journals.

It is based on book #11 of The Jun.o Letters series, Murder on the Red Ball Express.

See how a bizarre real-life letter led to a plot of a timely story

This episode is based on The Juno Letters, Book 1 of the Juno Letters series. It uses examples from the novel to illustrate key ways a journal can stimulate plot ideas for an historical novel.

The transcript s also available here.

There is a lot to be said about creating your space and time to sit down and write. It is all about changing habits and relishing the creative time you have.

My own experience may give you some ideas. Take a listen and see.

Freewriting is a method that lets people like me who love to explore their creative side without the traditional constraints of that old high school writing class everyone hated. There are methods and practices I have developed over the past 13 years as my resolve to "write one novel before I kick the bucket" became 20 (as of this writing).

This episode is the first step, and is free to anyone. I hope you enjoy the ideas.

I’m L.W. Hewitt, and I’ve gone OFF GRID

It's a bit scary. You know a bunch of people who say they write, but never send you a copy of their work. You checked for them at Amazon ... no show.

You have a great idea ... but where do you start. Need a little push?

Listen to a few words of wisdom from someone who has been there. The first episode with "meat" in it follows this introduction - the first look at how I freewrite.

Watch for new episodes. I'm writing every day.

Thanks for listening.

PS - the audio does not include citations. Look for the transcript of each podcast beginning with "Freewriting" ... citations are included.

This is my first podcast upload and I am excited to bring my experiences in writing to you. I began my journey in 2012 when I said "good riddance" to the workaday world and the small technology company I co-owned. I went back to school to complete my master's degree then travelled to Europe to visit my daughter.

It was there I got the bug to write. One book. That was the plan.

I now have 20. I have spent quite a bit of time sharing my experiences here in town with friends, writer-candidates, and compatriots. So it was a natural extension to enter the realm of the podcast.

It's a new experience for me, so what you see here will change over the next few months. Come along for the ride. One never knows what excitement is just around the corner.

L.W. Hewitt