Don't Write Too Much

This may sound like crazy advice from someone who writes a lot daily, but I think for NaNoWriMoers and others who are starting out, it is actually useful.

I spend 3 hours a day at the keyboard. And then I leave it be. I may come back to check on email or to do other kinds of writing-related things, but pushing myself to write more words than I have to write only ends up in killing projects and any desire I have to work on them.

Set yourself a certain time to write. Be honest about it and don’t play around on the internet instead of writing. If you can’t think what to write, you can do things like writing notes to yourself or writing scenes that don’t appear in the manuscript to get yourself going.

But when you’re done, don’t fall prey to the temptation to make a good day an ever better one. I always try to write the first sentence of a new chapter or a new section before I leave for the day, and even if I have a mind brimming full of ideas for that chapter, I don’t write them down that day. I save them for the next day.

I feel like this is part of the reason that I can keep going, day after day. I never use up all my creative energy on one day. It’s like measuring out how much of a workout you can do each day without stressing yourself out so much that you end up overtrained and have to take months off. I always take weekends off, too. It’s good for my brain and body to recharge.

Try it. Try writing half of a sentence or just a little bit more of what you know. Then leave it and come back the next day. Always walk away from the keyboard when you have a little more energy. See if it makes a difference.

Of course, as always with writing advice from someone else, YMMV. If it doesn’t work for you, it doesn’t. There are plenty of writers I know who gorge on writing for a month and then have long, dry spells. That’s just not the way I work. If it’s the way you work, go for it and ignore me completely!