WriteFoxy Foxy Notes 20th January
Getting started, believing in your words and dreaming big
Hello, lovely WriteFoxy subscribers! Welcome to your new foxy writing year and thank you for joining me for a year’s worth of tips, advice and inspiration to make the most of your words!
We’re starting off with two weeks looking at GETTING STARTED - whether that’s starting your writing journey, beginning a new writing project or getting going again on a new year of writing. Also, NEW for 2025, are my Foxy Writing Prompts - there’ll be a new one each week, and I would love to know your responses to these in the comments!
So, grab a cuppa, a pen and a bit of paper, and let’s get going…
New Beginnings…
You might be starting out for the first time, having never written anything before. Or you might be about to start writing a brand new story. Or you might be returning to an existing writing project after a Christmas and New Year break. Wherever you are, we’re all in the same place: at the start of a new week, ready to write.
Here are some ideas to get you ready, cheer you on, and inspire you…
It’s all in the mind… sort of?
Mindset is really important when we write. As writers, our minds can be both our biggest supporters and our harshest critics. So much of writing is cheering ourselves on, making ourselves turn up to write. So try these ideas to help:
Tiny Tick-Lists - Make a list of what you want to achieve this week. It could be scenes you want to write, ideas for the start of a story, changes you’re making in an edit, etc. Now break each one down into tiny bits, with a tick-box for each part. So, instead of a list of big things that could take days to achieve, you have a whole heap of smaller goals to tick as you go. Smaller goals = more reasons to feel good about your writing!
Don’t just write - Okay, this is a writing resource, so why am I saying that? Hear me out: sometimes we can get round the fear of getting going by doing things related to the story. It’s fun to do and it tricks our minds into relaxing, while building up a lot of supporting information to inspire your story. So make a soundtrack playlist that captures the feel you want your story to have, compile a dream cast by finding photos of actors who match the characters and would play them in the screen adaptation of your story (see an example of mine in the photo below), or imagine a colour for each of your characters, to really get to the heart of who they are.
Give yourself time - Accept however many words you write each day. Don’t beat yourself up if you only reach half or a third of what you were aiming for. Some days the words flow; others they don’t. It’s just your mind working everything out. Reward yourself at the end of every writing session - even if it’s just a pat on the back, a nice cup of tea, or an episode of your favourite TV show. Celebrate whatever you achieve, whenever you achieve it, because writing is so much more fun when we aren’t beating ourselves up. (I will be banging on about celebrating everything all year, so you’ve been warned!)
NEW! This week’s Writing Prompt:
Every week, I’m going to include a writing prompt in these Foxy Notes. You can use it for one of the characters in the story you’re writing, or write about a brand new character.
Ready? Here goes:
Your character is going to a café. They need to get out of the house, to clear their minds. Where do they go? What kind of place is it? Is it somewhere they know well, or somewhere they’ve never visited before? What do they order? Where do they sit? Do they chat to the barista or hide away? What can they see in the café? Or out of the window? How do they feel?
Write a scene using the prompts above. You could just write a sentence per question, or let your imagination go to create a fuller scene. Remember, there are no right or wrong answers: it’s what feels right for your character.
If you’d like to share where you took your character in the comments below this post, I would love to see it!
That’s all for this week…
…but remember to give yourself credit for what you do achieve, give yourself grace for what you don’t and give yourself permission to have fun. We have a whole year ahead of us and so many wonderful words to come. Have a great writing week and see you next Monday morning for more Foxy Notes!
Happy writing!
Miranda x
p.s. For the first few weeks of the year, I’ll be making WriteFoxy Writer’s Den Deep Dives (usually reserved for paid subscribers) available for free for everyone. The first goes up this Friday, so watch your inboxes!
You must be a mind reader, I've just finished casting the novel I'm starting this month! Now to sort out the soundtrack...