What this writer has learnt in 2016

Another year has almost been and gone, zoomed past. I’m sure someone is stealing days and weeks from me and replacing them with vague memories (perhaps there’s a story there.)  Anyway, as 2016 draws to a close it’s time to look back, before looking forward.  So, what have I learnt?  What sage nuggets of wisdom (and some not so sage) will I be taking forward into 2017.  Here goes:

1)  Planning

Earlier this year I paid some money and took part in the James Patterson master class series.  Was it worth it?  Yes, I think it was and one of the main things I learnt is the art of planning.  I use the Scrivener writing program, which is a good start and makes planning a lot easier.  Also, I already had an idea for a novel based on a few short stories featuring (my now) main character.  This was a great opportunity to apply James Patterson’s regime.  So, I spent more time on detailed planning than I have before.  I divided the story into many more chapters than I do normally which worked well.  I played with them, moved some a round, added others and took some out.  All this meant that by the time I came to writing I was confident with the plot.  Reaction by some early readers has been great and I will be publishing early in the New Year.  If you want to read more on the James Patterson methods I wrote a number of blogs on my experience, starting with this one: My writing - I'm going back to basics.

2)  I knew there had to be a reason:  Farting helps reduce high blood pressure and is good for your health.

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