he secret to writing has long been known: constant practice, and yet
despite this seeming common logical notion, maintaining consistency has
been the challenge of many of today’s writers. And while many people
suggest “the one” strategy that will have you writing all the time, the
truth is different things work for different writers.
That said, we’ve listed a set of different suggestions on what might work.
Write here. Write now.
Stop beating yourself up over what you didn’t do yesterday and start working on what you need to do right now.
Try changing things up; if before you wrote on the computer, try
going back to basics and write with a pen and paper. You’ll be surprised
how liberating that can be. Alternatively, you could try printing your
work onto flash cards to organize your process of thought.
Temptations: take yourself out of the equation, which means
disconnecting from the Internet and turning your back to your ringing
cellphone. And if you combine this tip with the one above, you’ll find
yourself being a bit more productive too.
Nothing sets your creative juices flowing than a time limit. Put
yourself on the clock and you know you can’t give in to temptations
during the timer’s duration. Of course when it buzzes, you can stop and
start doing something else. If you start with 30 minutes of writing and
10 minutes of break, that’s a great way to set things up.
Making Writing A Habit
Set up a time to write; either it’s the first thing you start your
day with before doing anything else (aside perhaps, from caffeine), or
it’s another time but be consistent.
After you’re done writing, make a mental (or written) note on just what you will be doing in your next session.
Have a work desk where you do nothing but write, and set it up accordingly. This will be your dedicated writing space.
Focus more on how long you’re going to write for, as opposed to the
words or pages produces. What matters more is getting into the habit of
writing and thinking, because some days will be really productive and
some won’t. Don’t be disheartened, just keep at it.
Maintain a journal or a graph or a chart that tracks your progress;
this will help you know what you’ve accomplished along with just how
much time you’ve been giving to the craft. Maybe try putting it into
your day planer and/or calendar as an appointment. But be sure to keep
the appointment.
Try writing with somebody and make an appointment of writing at the
same time every day, which can be turned into a lasting commitment over
the phone, text or email after or before starting.
Finally, try writing down a list of things you would like to cover in
your work which doesn’t have to be anything fancy; it can be something
to help you keep yourself on track. When you’re stuck, try some other
point. Crossing a point of the list will give you a tremendous list of
accomplishment, trust me.
But whatever you choose to do, keep in mind that the most important
thing is that you keep writing. Don’t stop. Persistence is key.
