I wrote my first three novels (one traditionally published and two self-published) while I still had a day job, and my writing routine was to write during my commute on the N.Y.C. Although many authors swear by the idea of “morning pages” popularized by Julia Cameron’s book The Artist’s Way, writing first thing in the morning doesn’t work for everyone’s schedule.Įxperiment. There is no right or wrong way to have a writing routine. This can be highly structured or more free-flowing, depending on your personal style and goals. If your goal is to write and publish books, you’re going to want to create a writing routine for yourself. Work backwards from your release date to determine when you’ll need to complete getting the book laid out, finalizing a cover design, sending the book to a copy editor, and so on. Try to avoid just setting one big deadline instead, create measurable, smaller deadlines leading up to that to keep yourself on track. This means setting deadlines for when different aspects of your book will be completed. To break yourself of a procrastination cycle, it’s important to create your own editorial calendar. Without a publisher dictating when a book must be finished, it’s easy for self-publishing writers to procrastinate. This kind of toxic comparison generally only encourages procrastination and discourages writing. Try to avoid comparing yourself and your writing process with any other writers. If you find yourself procrastinating, remember that this story you are working on is important, and only you can write it. Once you’ve got a draft, you can go back in to edit. Lower the expectations you have for yourself and concentrate on just putting some words onto the page. Try to avoid letting yourself get stuck staring at a blank page or worrying about getting the “right” words down. Instead of focusing on trying to write the perfect sentence, paragraph, or chapter, focus on just writing. Using your reading time strategically can help make you a more productive writer and help you to make the most of the writing time you have.Ĭhasing perfection in early drafts can be another type of procrastination, but the great thing about first drafts is that nobody but you has to read them. Select books to read that are comparison titles for your work in progress, or nonfiction books that are about a particular time period, place, or other important detail you’re including in the book.īy selecting leisure reads that connect back to your creative work, you’ll help yourself to keep thinking of these themes even when you’re not actively writing. Try to use the reading time that you have to your advantage for your writing. Not only does reading make you a better literary citizen but it also can help you to hone your craft as a writer. The best writers are those who are also active readers. Experiment with setting a timer for just 20 minutes and see how much writing you can do during that short period of uninterrupted time. If you find yourself getting distracted, put your cellphone on airplane mode, close your email and web browsers, and tell your family you need some uninterrupted writing time. Similarly, when it’s time to write, try to limit distraction-especially if you know you can easily get pulled away. By keeping an organized writing space, whether it’s an office, a desk, or a folder full of your notes, you’ll be helping future you get work onto the page. Writing time is limited, so don’t waste it looking for your computer charger or finding your favorite pen. Try to make it as simple as possible for yourself when it comes to writing. The key to finishing a book is to start writing.ĭisorganization can be a great friend of procrastination. Obviously, outlining and planning can be a vital part of writing, but it’s important to not let planning become procrastination. One of the most seductive forms of procrastination is to get stuck thinking about what you are going to write but not actually writing anything. Most writers must carve writing time into an already busy schedule filled with work, family, social, and other obligations. In most instances, you aren’t just going to get handed a lot of time and told to write whenever you want. Figuring out what time management looks like for you and your writing process is essential for cutting back on or eliminating procrastination.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |