Increasing Your Writing Productivity

Sometimes people write to me and ask how to better their work. I'm always very flattered and most of the time, I'm very happy to respond with as much advice and/or brutal honesty I can muster. This one, from someone who has been kind enough to follow my work for a while, caught my eye. Given how much of a universal concern I feel this is for some writers, I thought I'd share both the question and response here.

I have been keeping a journal and am finding that the inspiration comes in jerks and sparks. Always writing a sentence here, a phrase there. I guess I need to channel it into a cohesive piece of work but, alas, there is the rub.

If you want to write in volume then you need to set aside a volume of time and make it a regular habit. You can't become a basketball player if all you ever do is shoot the ball everytime you walk past it in the driveway. It's tough work to discipline yourself to sit and write, which is why most people can't do it… but the only way to do it is to just do it… it takes time to get used to the routine but if you make it a regular part of your schedule to sit and just do nothing but write… even if the only time you can find is an hour on the weekends, then eventually you will find yourself connecting to that creative impulse for more than a fleeting moment or two here and there.