Write More in a 15 Minute Session

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

My favorite way to write is in fifteen minute sessions.  That’s short enough for me to stay laser-focused on my story, but long enough to make some real progress.

It helps that I can usually write several pages in this amount of time.  This post is for anyone who would like to get more writing accomplished in short sessions.

Outline

This is a no-brainer, although I know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. It wasn’t my cup of tea until I started running into plot holes and also realized I wasn’t working as quickly as I could. If your story is already loosely mapped out, you’re going to write right out of the gate instead of trying to brainstorm every single writing session.

Note where you left off and where you want to pick up each day

This may seem to go along with outlining, but should work for almost everyone, even if you’re not usually an outliner.  If you make a small note at the end of every writing session stating where you left off with your story and where you want to pick up, it prevents you from wasting precious time rereading what you wrote the previous day.  (It also prevents you from going into left-brain, editing mode.)

Think about the story before you open your laptop

What do you do before you start writing?  If you write the first thing in the morning, you’re probably like me…brushing your teeth, walking downstairs, making coffee, feeding the dog.  While I’m doing those rote tasks, I’m thinking about my story and where I’m planning on going with it that day.  When I open my laptop, I’m ready to go.

Turn notifications off

If email or other types of notifications are distracting to you, turn them off.  Or disable the wifi on your laptop.

Use a timer

I love using a timer when I write because it helps me keep focused until it goes off.  Frequently I’ll find myself writing even after it goes off.

Be flexible in terms of when and where you write

This relates more to finding those fifteen minutes to write, but it’s important.  If you can’t write first thing in the morning, grabbing those fifteen minutes can be tough.  If you can be flexible enough to write on the go, in public, or at different times of the day, you may be more successful in establishing a writing habit.

Write daily, if possible, for easier sessions

This won’t work for everyone but, if possible, write every day, even if it’s just for 5-15 minutes. If you can do this, you’ll find it’s much easier to hop back into your story each day and that the percentage of easy writing days increases.

On those rough days where your session can only be five minutes:

You really can make progress on your story in five minutes time, if you make lists.  A short list is a quick way to brainstorm ideas.  The lists can be related to your ending, your middle, descriptions of important settings or characters, etc. For more ideas on using lists on busy writing days, see these three posts of mine: here, here, and here.

Are your writing sessions long or short?  How do you stay focused and productive (no matter how long they are?)

Tips for more productive 15-minute writing sessions:
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