I’ve gone on a bit of a rollercoaster of emotions over this birthday. I think most people do the same when they reach a new decade. So I figured, rather than do a philosophical reflection that’s all deep and meaningful, I’d just shamelessly confess all the dumb shit I’ve done over the last 29 years 11 months and 28 days.

MISTAKE ONE

When playing football indoors, don’t kick the door frame instead of the football cause you’re guna break a toe.

MISTAKE TWO

After an intensive night of drinking Sambuca shots, don’t assume that you’re safe to drive even at midday. You’re not safe. Especially not over road humps. Those humps make you projectile onto your windscreen. Five humps, five projectiles.

MISTAKE THREE

Don’t mistake mouldy cheddar cheese for stilton. Definitely not the same thing.

MISTAKE FOUR

When riding a rev and go scramble motorbike for the first time, it’s vital to know the difference between ‘accelerator’ and using the brake. Especially if you’re about to ride past a big ass mound of mud. Using the accelerator will cause you to ride over the mound and do some aerial acrobatics you really weren’t expecting.

MISTAKE FIVE

Don’t step backwards in a tree house unless you’ve checked the trap door is shut. Stepping back without checking leads you to fall out, scrapping several layers of skin off your ribs, and a rather peculiar monkey impression half hanging to the trap door and half hanging on to a branch.

MISTAKE SIX

When taking friends in your first car (a mini) remember it’s not a Range Rover, but a tiny car. Seven people do not fit into a mini. Seven people should also not be driven over speed bumps while in a mini. The resultant sparks from the rear of the car is your exhaust hanging off.

MISTAKE SEVEN

Learn the roads routes around your home. Because after 10 years of living in one area getting lost on a journey you’ve taken 3498589344528943789 times is frankly embarrassing.

MISTAKE EIGHT

If you’re allergic to milk, make sure you triple check the Starbucks barista is putting coconut milk in your coffee. Otherwise, ensure private toilets are in close proximity.

MISTAKE NINE

N.B. Jumping in driver side window of a moving car is dangerous.

MISTAKE TEN

When approaching the deadline for your university dissertation, ensure you haven’t partied all year and have actually done some work. Because turning up on Monday morning for your final tutor session, after having pulled an all-nighter and sheepishly handing over your dissertation will get you the following response: “I suggest you go get a coffee because you’re not handing this shit in.”

It will also result in a university sweepstake being set up with bets placed on how long you can stay awake and not leave the library for. To this day, I still hold the record for 52 hours straight. Got a First though! Muhahaha.

MISTAKE ELEVEN

MISTAKE TWELVE

When inviting your new colleagues out on a ‘let’s get to know you night.’ They don’t need to get to know you’re flesh. So don’t flash your naked ass cheeks at them. Monday is awkward.

MISTAKE THIRTEEN

Walk around with an extremely sore toe all day. When your wife suggests you pull the toe because it might be dislocated, don’t then pull the toe. ‘Re-locating’ you’re own toe is fucking painful.

MISTAKE FIFTEEN

If you have olive skin and dark brown hair. Bleaching it really isn’t sensible, cool or stylish. You’ll look like Spongebob Square Pants.

MISTAKE SIXTEEN 

Going out in see-through lacey tank tops – not cool. Ever. (and no, I am not sharing the photographic evidence of this one) Pervs.

MISTAKE SEVENTEEN – this one is for Geoff’s benefit.

MISTAKE EIGHTEEN

Don’t go on holiday to Italy with one of your besties, and have too many oranges juices:

You sleep on kitchen tiles…. and throw up in the middle of an Italian food shop. Apparently Italian’s don’t like lettuce with their vomit.

MISTAKE NINETEEN

Overachieve on your mid-life crisis, and have your existential at 25. The result is YEARS of pain, sacrifice and nights burrowed away behind a screen. Okay, I lied. Writing is awesome. This one wasn’t a mistake.

MISTAKE TWENTY

Don’t come out of the closet at 16, only to dive back in at eighteen and have to come out all over again at twenty-one. It’s just inefficient.

MISTAKE TWENTY-TWO

While in labour, remember that the gas and air is not for sale. So don’t repeatedly ask to buy it, or threaten to steal it while the midwife isn’t looking.

MISTAKE TWENTY-THREE  

Don’t smash your BRAND new glasses on your car door. It’s expensive.

MISTAKE TWENTY-FOUR

Smash a glass, drop the base on your toe and then wonder around the kitchen waving your toe (which is now pissing blood) everywhere. Applying pressure is much more useful.

MISTAKE TWENTY-FIVE

When getting off a plane after extreme turbulence due to severe wind. Take the wind direction into account when strategically aiming your vomit. Otherwise, you puke up the back of people’s trousers.

MISTAKE TWENTY-SIX AND TWENTY-SEVEN

While sober, don’t assume people are drunk, grip railings and dance like a lunatic – people think you’re on drugs instead of water.

Don’t willingly enter a mosh pit – ribs usually get broken.

TWENTY-EIGHT

When taking the best man to a wedding abroad. Ensure you’ve checked the tickets for the airport information. Turning up to the wrong airport and you’re screwed.

TWENTY-NINE

When sleeping outside under the stars. Remember that if you sleep on a hill, you’re liable to roll…into the river at the bottom of the hill.

MISTAKE THIRTY

When pulling dumb faces, ensure that no sly fuckers have cameras.

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I love reading blogs written by other writers, editors, publishers and general creative bods. I particularly love reading blogs on ‘writing’ and how to write better. That’s why in my own blog I like to explore the lessons I’m learning as I progress on my writing journey.

But there’s a snag. In reading all those posts, I got myself caught up in thinking I should be doing something a certain way. Using a character template for example, and then getting caught up in which specific template I should use, whether I should be using one for scenes or settings, having to outline, or not outline, styles of note taking, pantser or a plotter, editing as I go or writing to the end and then editing… the options are endless and I wrapped myself up in a big knotty ball of stress trying to figure out which was the best method of writing to produce the best story. 

What happened was I ended up not doing any writing and just trying a ridiculous number of methods. This is what led me to start the author interview series. I was fascinated obsessed with other writers writing processes. I wanted to learn what their secret trick was. I was hoping for some nugget of inspiration or gem of knowledge that would tell me how I could write that best seller, or actually, and more importantly just finish my own god damn novel!

You know what I discovered…? There is no gem, no nugget and no secret. It doesn’t exist. And you know why? Because only YOU know how you write best.

I was busy interviewing Dylan Hearn on his writing process when I had an epiphany, a real one. It’s been known, and I’m always in the car.  Anyway, this epiphany came out of a discussion on his method for developing characters, without trying to give too much away from his interview, he develops them through edits, not necessarily before sitting down to write the first draft. Commence one of those, really awkward self revealing moments when I was all like:

‘Wait, whaaaat??? You mean you DON’T have to know every single detail about a character before you start writing?’ 

A hundred thousand pennies dropped at once, and all my weary up tight cogs clicked into place. It might seem obvious to you, but it wasn’t to me. I waS convinced I needed to have the perfect character before I started to write.

Apparently, you don’t.

(*$%&@##)

And you know what else? You don’t have to have a bunch of other shit sorted either. You could, if that’s what works best for you. But you don’t have to. YOU DON’T HAVE TO. F*** my actual life!

Why was that so hard for me to understand? I’m a grown adult for goodness sake. I guess I got caught up in trying to work out where I sat on the plotter/pantser line. I always thought I would be on the extreme end of the plotter continuum. But I’m not. I like a good solid outline, with a couple of sentences outlining each chapter, and that’s it. I don’t want anything else. It wasn’t until Dylan told me he edits the characters to perfection during the editing stage that I realised why I had been having such an issue just getting on. I thought I needed to have perfection before I started, but I don’t.

Dylan did something else pretty amazing. It might sound odd, but he gave me the best gift I could of asked for.

He gave me permission to do it my way.

To ignore everyone else, put the advice to the side, and just figure out my own process. It was an odd realisation that I needed someone else to give me permission to do it my own way. I don’t really consider myself a conformist, in fact I revel in breaking the rules. So it was a shock to me that I couldn’t just give myself permission. But I couldn’t, and I suspect I’m not the only one. I guess because writing matters so much to me, I wanted to be sure I was doing it right, and writing the perfect way.

This epiphany leaves me in somewhat of a pickle, because now I don’t really know what my writing process is, I’m back to square one and half way through a book. But that’s ok, there’s nothing better than an adventure into the unknown, and I don’t imagine I will get it perfect on book one anyway.

I want to give you the same gift Dylan gave me….

I’M GIVING YOU PERMISSION

I’M GIVING YOU PERMISSION

Put the advice blogs down, put the writing technique books away, sack the ‘rules’ off and back away from any words of wisdom.

Get messy, get frustrated, get upset, get emotional if you need to, but do it your way, and enjoy working out what that is. I know I’m going to.

***

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