Sticking To A Writing Routine
Welcome. Today, I will show you how hard it is to stay on track with writing and the ways to overcome it. Here at home, I will currently express that I haven't written in a long time.
The trouble with that is that I really want to, and despite that, I am not writing. I have a hard time sticking to writing a little bit every day because I am worried about how I will finish my work and the work it takes to do my writing and then edit it.
People have different reasons why they procrastinate writing. For all of us, it doesn't mean we enjoy writing. We are just afraid of failure in some way. For example, for me it is the process of editing and how much work it is going to take. My brain tells me that I will never finish the editing process because it takes so much time. I want to do things that will take very little time.
The story I am working on is about an alien that joins his people's plans on wanting to invade planet Earth, but the alien doesn't want to partake in this mission, and meanwhile on Earth, a girl and her friend are desperate to meet a live alien. This is a novel that took me three years to write when I was a little girl. I have written the entire thing on paper and now I need to type it on the computer.
It is important to keep yourself accountable for getting the work done. I am on camera because I want to show you that it is possible to come and stay on track in the writing process if you really let yourself do this. There are different ways to hold you accountable. You just gotta pick the types that work for you because everyone is different.
-Make a schedule and stick to it -Make a goal and stick to it -Make a checklist and work on it for a duration of time -Make a sign in, sign out sheet -Set a goal for the day -Get someone else to keep you accountable -Dedicate a day for your tasks
What works for every single person is different, so it is important you find what works for you, whether it is something from this list or something you come up with on your own. What works for me is this (when I am disciplined): Setting a goal and using a day to accomplish it. Let me tell you how I found this. I was roaming through YouTube one day when I found an interview with Stephen King on there. I clicked on it because the title said he was talking about how he was making books so fast. He went into the conversation to mention that he sets the goal of writing SIX PAGES a day and then having the entire day to accomplish this. He also mentions that when he is being overcome with obstacles in writing, then he will use that time to take breaks, and what he does in those breaks is either eat a meal, shop at the door for things he needs or do a chore. He uses his breaks to do something he needs to get some practice in his personal life instead of being distracted by the phone and TV, which is really important to getting anything done. It is like being at school at home. Sometimes it makes it easier to think of it as an assignment he needs to get done. All these little things work as a motivator for him while he is working. Then he will start over the next day until he reaches his day(s) off.
This was inspiring to me because everyone else always came up with ideas that didn't work for me, such as the list above. For me, working under a time limit didn't work because I didn't know what to expect to come in randomly in my life. Others are able to work under pressure… It all depends on who you are and that you pick what works for you. As long as you pick something that is realistic to you, then you are on your way.
The last thing that you need to remember is that you need to start with small goals and just write! before you set yourself up with bigger goals and worry about editing, or else you will never get anything done because you are overwhelming yourself. We will overthink everything and then end up messing up our own stories.
