Wednesday Writing Tip - Writing Goals...

This week I was reading 9 Practical Tips For Writing by Jan Ellison (in the photo). 

I found the ideas in it really helpful, particularly this tip:

3. Set a timer for forty-five minutes, then take a fifteen minute break

This is a trick that emerged out of creativity research, and that I first heard about from another writer, Ellen Sussman. When you sit down to write, set a timer for forty-five minutes. Force yourself to begin putting words on the page immediately, and don’t stop until the timer goes off, even if you have to write about the weather. Then reset the timer for a fifteen minute break. During the break, don’t check email; do something mindless like dishes or jumping jacks or cartwheels. This trick frees your subconscious to tackle bigger issues in the manuscript. You’ll find that when you sit down again for another forty-five minute session, you’ll have made breakthroughs without even trying.

It seems like a good idea to try for any of you figuring out how to discipline yourself as a writer. When I’m writing, I try to write 1000 words in a day. But I like this notion of using time as a goal. Ellison goes on to say that she gets 15 work hours done a week this way and that’s how she knows she’s done her writing for the week (with four children). I think that especially when I’m editing, this 45 minutes on and 15 minutes off could be a great new way for me to work. Not sure I’ll manage the cartwheels, but hey… But before I get down to doing any writing today, I’m going to order her novel on my Kindle. If anything inspires me to write, it’s reading.