Tips to keep yourself writing
1. Set a specific amount you will write every day. I call this the Terry Pratchett method. Set a goal you know you can do. This isn’t to stretch you, this is to get you into a routine. Pick something you can do every single day without burning yourself out. Sir Terry wrote 400 words every day. Pick something that’s easy for you. You can always go over that amount but you want an amount you know you can reliably hit over and over again. The trick isn’t the amount, its the Every. Day. part. Every day, at some point in the day, sit yourself down and write your amount. Every. Day.
2. Don’t beat yourself up if you have to skip a day. Life happens. Sometimes - life happens a lot. I skipped an entire week around Fizz dying. Beating yourself up for missing a day, or days, will actually make you feel less like getting back into writing. You’re human, let yourself be human. That said, you’re writing the set amount so that it will become a habit for you. Get back in the saddle once you can. Don’t skip for reasons that you know don’t merit skipping. Don’t give yourself ‘skip days’. Write. Write every day. Force yourself to push out your small amount of words even if it means you spend more time wandering around and playing on the internet than writing. Don’t stop until you’ve written your allotment for the day. Every. Day.
3. Pavlov Dog yourself. I like to play soundtracks in the background while I write. I have no variety and usually play the exact same soundtrack over and over. It’s gotten to the point that, if I can’t seem to focus on writing, I can put on the soundtrack and suddenly its easier to get writing. Find something routine that you can do that will help trigger you into Writing Mode. A specific cup of tea, a scented candle, a background noise, a time of day, a ‘I’m preparing to write’ routine, whatever. Find something that helps you set the mood and do it repetitively, even on days you think you don’t need to. Because there will come days when you DO need to and that’s when you’ll be glad you’ve already clicker trained your brain to respond.
4. Stop writing before you run out of ideas for where your story is going. If you’re only writing shorts this doesn’t apply as much but if you’re going Long Haul with a story, stop writing before you get to the end of your idea. For myself this works like - write a scene, know where the next scene is going or at least starting, stop writing before I hit the next scene. This way I am not going to get hit with writer’s block the next time I sit down to write. I already know where I’m starting from. Its tempting to rush ahead and just write down everything you can think of in one sitting but you don’t want to lose your groove. You’re writing every day. Leave yourself something to write tomorrow. If you’re worried you’re going to forget, make yourself some quick notes but the whole point of stopping before you hit An End is to let you keep your momentum when you pick up writing the next day. You’re in this for the long haul, there’s no need to rush.
Obvious disclaimer that these are things that work for me. They won’t necessarily work for everyone. But if you’re having a hard time writing (and I did for over a decade) give these a try and see if they help.
ps. feel free to add your own additions. The more people have to chose from, the more likely they’ll find something that grooves with them.
gummygunk
dailybridgerton
vaporwave
titsay
annaxmalina
kaledo-art
stormborns
