Jul 13, 2020
3 Hacks to Write More
I posted a poll on a few of my social media accounts asking what everyone struggles with.
No one said Point of View or how to build tension, although I’m sure that’s in the mix. The majority said “procrastination” was the main issue they had with writing.
Although that’s why I started this whole project, so I will keep accountable in my own writing, I skipped over this as an across-the-board problem most all of us have.
The only writers who usually don’t struggle with this are because:
- They have a publishing deadline
- They’re academics who have to get books out
- They are stuck at a job with a lot of time on their hands
- They are writing with a collaborator
I’m sure there are more reasons, but these all have something in common. There is an outside force. Even the ones who wrote at their jobs were sequestered to a desk, held down by an 8-hour day.
The world is a shitshow right now, so we might as well use some of that emotion and anxiety and let it fuel our writing.
3 Hacks to Write More
- Go to my favorite quirky, little place on the internet called Write or Die.
You can set a word or time goal for yourself. THEN, you can set it to do crazy things if it senses you stop typing. Alarms can blare. Cats screech. Monsters come out. You can even set it to start erasing a word at a time unless you get going.
2. Switch up your routine. If your routine isn’t working for you, put your laptop, or whatever you write in, next to your bed. Pull it out when you wake up or maybe late at night. Put your laptop or writing journal near your coffee machine. Put it on THE TOILET. You can pick it up and just say, All right, well, you know, my kids think I’m taking a shower. I only need to be showering every third day because no one’s going to see me so I’m going to stay in here and write for 10 to 20 minutes.
3. The third hack is something obvious, but one we don’t always do. Seek out accountability. That’s where the Facebook group comes in. We’re going to hold each other’s hands to the fire.
The outcome of what you write isn’t going to be perfect. Most of it might not be usable! But, what you’ll learn is how writing works and what your deficiencies are. Writing so much in a short amount of time will show you how you might avoid dialogue because you can’t make it sound natural or if you don’t write first thing after coffee your mind is too cluttered with other things. These things are important. They’re what professional writers know about themselves and what you can go back to later and work on.
