Stay in and write month (SIAW) in January 2011

January is a time for change, for inspiration, for doing something new – but it’s also cold, damp and dreary and the sofa is the place.

To motivate and help you, Stay in and Write will be 31 days of writing. Sign up and you will receive an ezine each day of January with angel-prods, writing exercises and inspiring advice from editors, publishers, agents and authors.  We’ll also dip into our writers’ black book of links to give you further information, resources and contacts.

Its completely FREE and is run by Jacq Burns and Kirsty McLachlan.

If you’d like to sign up to our SIAW, sign in to green box on the right – tick the SIAW box (and let us know if you are writing fiction or non fiction as the same time). If you are already signed up to receive ezines and news, you will need to sign in again so that we have you registered for SIAW.

With literary agents, Jacqueline Burns and Kirsty Mclachlan and leading publishers and published authors.

Get Ready:

Sharpen your pencils

1. Get your writing garb sorted – pjs, comfy trousers, whatever suits you best, and do try and have a little flair at the same time (remember not to be grey and dreary).
2. Have your tea, coffee and biscuits at the ready – if you’ve drunk too much over Christmas, make it herbal
3. Organise your writing place – fill it with all things stationery, buy the much coveted black moleskine writing pads and diaries.
4. Get organised – go through all your half finished novels/short stories etc and decide which are worth keeping and which should be put under the bed.
5. Sing along sessions – some writers find it impossible to write with music playing but sometimes it helps to give you a sense of place or time. Create a playlist that will work for you
6. Be strict about timekeeping – commit to writing for a certain amount of time and set your timer – this can be 10 minutes a day but 45 works really well, you’d be surprised just how much you can do if you write every day for just a small amount of time. Don’t be silly and give yourself too much to do – this is not about word count, remember. And remember to turn off all emails/phones/Twitter etc when you are writing.

If you’d like to sign up to our SIAW, sign in to green box on the right or click here- tick the SIAW box (and let us know if you are writing fiction or non fiction as the same time). If you are already signed up to receive ezines and news, you will need to sign in again so that we have you registered for SIAW.