Thanks for sharing this. I'm a fledgling writer so it's good to read about how experienced writers go about things. I find it really hard to put words straight onto computer, so I think I might revert to pencil and notebook more too. It feels more natural somehow.
Pencil and paper definitely works better for me. I have a stack of cheap A5 pads so I can grab one and jot down thoughts for later. That doesn’t really work on any electronic device. They are not the same.
Just find whatever works for you. We are all different.
It’s always inspiring to hear how someone approaches the creative process. I’m planning to use Substack to share mine - though I’ll probably end up boring people with it!
Like you, I try to fit in a good 3–5k walk on the mornings when I’m not at the day job, and that really helps kickstart my thoughts. Thanks for sharing your experience.
Nice one Nigel. We will all benefit from this approach/sharing.
I'm not very active on Substack at the moment, but I will be once past December and I will contribute as an indie writer who believes in helping other writers, and benefitting from the experience of others.
Me briefly: I have written around eight novels, of which two are self published, loads of short stories and a dabble with the BBC. I'm planner/pantser, early morning walker with dog. I write straight onto the PC. I love the moments of connection with plot and characters when buds open, sparks fly and connections are made. The struggle when everything seems to be worthless and rubbish are worth pushing through and make the journey worth while. Success is all about achieving what we value and recognising how lucky we are to have such aspirations.
Please do pop your rambling thoughts on here when you get used to this Substack thing.
For those who don't already know, I stumbled across Finn on a Facebook group and either volunteered or was volunteered to read his almost finished book, now published. It has been an amazing insight into how somebody else goes about writing, and the book in question is a top quality Viking era novel with all the ingredients readers of such things always want more of. To hear about how somebody else goes about the same tasks of writing, editing, the whole sausage machine, is about as good as it gets for learning how to rethink your own way of doing things and make improvements.
I think I have learned more in the last year or so from chatting with other writers in this way than I have from fifteen years of novel writing and more courses than you can poke with a stick.
Love this. Talking about the process of how we write is such an important part of the process. Personally, I don't think there is one "right way" to do it, but I've definitely learned what works for me and what doesn't throughout the years.
Through this reflection, Nigel offers permission. Permission to work without a fixed system, to move between tools and tempos, to treat enjoyment as a legitimate signal that something is working. He’s also offering community grounded in craft rather than self-promotion. For writers who feel pressure to justify their process or quantify their output, this piece lands as a reminder that writing is not just production but inhabitation. You can hear it in his closing note of satisfaction: the work is alive, and so is he inside it.
Reading this took me back to the one time I shared a glimpse of my own process, not the whole machinery, just a moment. I saw a woman crouched over, taking a photo of a mushroom. That small, ordinary act stuck with me. It wandered around in my head, changed shape, and eventually surfaced as a humorous piece imagining an ancient encounter between Man and Wolf. The final post bore no obvious trace of the mushroom, yet it was there at the root, quietly doing its work.
Thanks for sharing this. I'm a fledgling writer so it's good to read about how experienced writers go about things. I find it really hard to put words straight onto computer, so I think I might revert to pencil and notebook more too. It feels more natural somehow.
Pencil and paper definitely works better for me. I have a stack of cheap A5 pads so I can grab one and jot down thoughts for later. That doesn’t really work on any electronic device. They are not the same.
Just find whatever works for you. We are all different.
It’s always inspiring to hear how someone approaches the creative process. I’m planning to use Substack to share mine - though I’ll probably end up boring people with it!
Like you, I try to fit in a good 3–5k walk on the mornings when I’m not at the day job, and that really helps kickstart my thoughts. Thanks for sharing your experience.
You will not bore anybody. People love reading this stuff and there should be so much more of it on Substack.
Nice one Nigel. We will all benefit from this approach/sharing.
I'm not very active on Substack at the moment, but I will be once past December and I will contribute as an indie writer who believes in helping other writers, and benefitting from the experience of others.
Me briefly: I have written around eight novels, of which two are self published, loads of short stories and a dabble with the BBC. I'm planner/pantser, early morning walker with dog. I write straight onto the PC. I love the moments of connection with plot and characters when buds open, sparks fly and connections are made. The struggle when everything seems to be worthless and rubbish are worth pushing through and make the journey worth while. Success is all about achieving what we value and recognising how lucky we are to have such aspirations.
So, good luck all and keep writing.
Finn
Please do pop your rambling thoughts on here when you get used to this Substack thing.
For those who don't already know, I stumbled across Finn on a Facebook group and either volunteered or was volunteered to read his almost finished book, now published. It has been an amazing insight into how somebody else goes about writing, and the book in question is a top quality Viking era novel with all the ingredients readers of such things always want more of. To hear about how somebody else goes about the same tasks of writing, editing, the whole sausage machine, is about as good as it gets for learning how to rethink your own way of doing things and make improvements.
I think I have learned more in the last year or so from chatting with other writers in this way than I have from fifteen years of novel writing and more courses than you can poke with a stick.
Love this. Talking about the process of how we write is such an important part of the process. Personally, I don't think there is one "right way" to do it, but I've definitely learned what works for me and what doesn't throughout the years.
Through this reflection, Nigel offers permission. Permission to work without a fixed system, to move between tools and tempos, to treat enjoyment as a legitimate signal that something is working. He’s also offering community grounded in craft rather than self-promotion. For writers who feel pressure to justify their process or quantify their output, this piece lands as a reminder that writing is not just production but inhabitation. You can hear it in his closing note of satisfaction: the work is alive, and so is he inside it.
Reading this took me back to the one time I shared a glimpse of my own process, not the whole machinery, just a moment. I saw a woman crouched over, taking a photo of a mushroom. That small, ordinary act stuck with me. It wandered around in my head, changed shape, and eventually surfaced as a humorous piece imagining an ancient encounter between Man and Wolf. The final post bore no obvious trace of the mushroom, yet it was there at the root, quietly doing its work.