If you are a writer, then you know writing can both be incredibly satisfying and very frustrating when you don’t make the progress you are aiming for. This is an issue for almost every writer, and the problem is often getting into the creative mindset required to write.
Some like to record their process while others would rather free-write before beginning the actual writing. You may find yourself searching for the perfect app or tool to aid your writing and this is often just procrastination. Writing tools are incredibly useful for organisation and editing, but they can become distractions just as easily.
Below, I outline several different ways to streamline your writing time so that you will make good progress. The secret is not software or hardware, but in the way that you think about writing.
Contents:
1. Remove External Distractions
2. Make Writing the More Exciting Option
3. Develop a Routine
4. Freewriting
5. Tracking Your Progress
6. Just Write
Conclusion
1. Remove External Distractions
Writing is hard enough when we have time to ourselves and nobody to bother us, but trying to do it in a busy place can be near impossible. Peace is not always possible if you have young children, or move around a lot, but there is a lot to be said about finding that time by yourself to work on your fiction. I recommend letting your family or friends know that when you are writing, almost nothing is important enough to disturb you.
This goes for electronic devices too. Put your phone in a different room, or at least as far from you as you can. Turn notifications on silent and close every other tab. Simply remove anything from your reach that may distract you.
2. Make Writing the More Exciting Option
If you still struggle to sit down and write because you suddenly realise the washing needs doing or the plants need water, try to make writing the most exciting thing you could do in that space of time. Staring into space gets boring quickly, and suddenly you feel that writing is better than sitting, doing nothing. Simply, in the time allocated to write, you can either sit in silence or write.
3. Develop a Routine
Every night I sit down at my desk and punch out around a thousand words. Because I do it every day at a similar time, it seems a lot easier than if I just do it when I feel like it. You cannot rely on motivation every day, instead, develop a habit and stick to it. Try not to break it for more than a day as it then becomes a habit to avoid writing.
4. Freewriting
For some people, the best way to get into the writing headspace is to write words that don’t matter. Sit down at your computer and don’t stop writing until you feel that you are in the headspace you need to be in. It seems to ease my mind because the words can be deleted so I don’t have to worry about making them perfect. These words must be for you to throw away, as this takes the stress of making them perfect away.
5. Tracking Your Progress
The satisfaction of filling in a word count after the writing is done is enough to keep some of us going. Whether you record it in a spreadsheet or tick a box when you finish a chapter, these small rewards will help you reach the end of a novel and keeps you feeling satisfied. Thinking about it as a whole is often daunting but step by step, it becomes more manageable.
6. Just Write
If all of the above methods don’t feel work for you, the problem is likely to be that you are not writing. This sounds silly but writing involves time, energy and dedication to punching those words into the computer. It doesn’t matter if you write a hundred words per day, or a thousand, as long as you are making a little progress, you are doing well.
Conclusion
Writing is difficult, there is no doubt about that. But, you can make it marginally easier if you remove as much friction as you can from the process. I know I often have a hard time getting started, but it gets easier the longer I have been writing. Just don’t punish yourself for not reaching a certain word count or goal because that only makes the process less appealing. If nothing above works, then you may need to change up your process. If you want to read more on that see my blog post on finding your process here. Very often other things crop up and get in the way, saying that, the best way to make progress is just to write.