10 Ways to Become a More Productive Writer!
Embrace the words, or let them embrace you like a Facehugger*!
*If you’ve watched Alien, you might know what they are, if not, click the link for the image. You can thank me later!
In the age of the internet, productivity and procrastination come hand-in-hand, they’re the angel and devil, they’re the two wolves and the one that lives is the one that you feed, and all that jazz. I’m a notorious procrastinator; I pin things on Pinterest, I queue Netflix on my iPad, and the worst culprit is The Sims 4, I will play that game until the Grim Reaper has arrived and I try get the last remaining character into a relationship with them.
Procrastination knows no bounds, so set it some boundaries. There’s no problem with relaxing and playing games or watching films or Marathoning an entire season of a Netflix original, but priorities are important. If you’re new to writing or a seasoned writer looking for new ways to write more, this is for you. Writers get sh*t done! Become a more productive writer right now!Click To Tweet
I’ve compiled a list of ten different points I use to be a more productive writer, and they’ve made me a lot happier having the list printed out as daily reminders that I can be productive, and you can too! No excuses now!
1 Schedule Your Time!
The most important currency we have in this world is time. Everyone pays in time, and all time can be utilised through prioritising and maximising what you’re doing. Schedule time to write, and stick to it. Psychologists say it takes on average three to four weeks (21 – 28 days) to develop and form a habit, so stick to writing at a set time and soon your time spent writing will be worth more.
2 Write in Short Bursts!
It’s important not to burn yourself out. Writing several thousand words all at once is great if you’re looking for quantity, but the likelihood is, you’ll burn yourself out and only have those words because you don’t feel like writing. It’s happened to me. I’ve written over 10,000 words in the space of a day, only to find myself suffering for it the next couple of days.
How to Write in Short Bursts: set yourself a timer of 30 minutes, with the goal to write constantly for that allotted time. There are other ways of setting this time and encouraging people from Twitter by using the hashtag #1k1h – this tweet is for people who are aiming to write 1,000 words in 1 hour. These are writing sprints and are a world of wonder when it comes to getting engaged and connecting with other writers online. Between short bursts do something, I like to keep myself busy whether this is tidying my workspace and living space, light exercise; yoga, etc.
3 Turn the Internet Off!
Easier said than done, but it’s the easiest way to get anything done. If the internet is off on my laptop, there is literally nothing else I can do. I guess that’s the same for many people. Most of the time spent on laptops, tablets, and mobile phones is using social media and/or games that require the internet.
Yeah, turn it all off. Maybe wait until you’ve finished reading this list, but paired with writing in short bursts and you’ll be surprised about how productive you actually are.
4 Keep Goals & Track Them!
Being a writer in any capacity, as a hobby, self-employed, etc. means that you’re in charge of your hours, and what you need to achieve that day, week, month. In order to get the most out of your writing time, you need to keep goals, measurable goals that you can tracks. For me, it’s about the word count, I aim to write at least 500 words per day, often times it’s more than that but knowing the goal is low means it’s easily achieved, and once I’ve hit that mark, I’m often already writing a scene that I bypass the mark.
I have a spreadsheet where I put the word count for the day. It’s useful for me to have because it totals the numbers in any given week or month. Goals are good, having a goal is different to a deadline; goals are what you want to achieve, deadlines are set.
5 Reward Yourself!
Whether it’s a writing reward or rewarding in general, once you achieve a goal, make sure to give yourself something. Maybe it’s another cup of coffee, maybe it’s a jog, or even a weekend away from the interwebs!
For me, rewarding is about time, I reward myself spending time on different things. I’m a huge TV and film geek, so if there’s a new TV series starting or a new film on at the cinema, I’ll feel like I’ve worked hard enough to deserve spending time away from writing all the words! Whatever you love, make sure to incorporate it into your rewards; read a book, do that yoga class at your local gym, have a nap, just make sure you’re making yourself whole and happy.
6 Desk Space = Mind Space
Whenever I’m getting my brain in order I will clean my desk. If I have a messy desk, then my mind is a mess. This is what it’s like for most people, mainly because the mind associates it with clutter, destruction, and it will only frustrate you to see the mess. So cleaning your writing space up before writing works wonders. Desk space really is equal to mind space. Cluttered desk, cluttered mind and vice versa. Clean your surrounding area and you’ll see a world of difference.
7 Outlines Are Your Friend!
Between a planner and a pantser, I am most definitely a planner. I will plan chapters upon chapters before I even start writing, and if you’re a pantser you can still use outlines! Writing by the seat of your pants can still utilise an outline approach. If you’re writing in short bursts, make sure you know what you want to write before going into that sprint.
Outlines are there to serve you. They do not have to be detailed. They can be as broad as “MC meets girl, she ignores, he’s angry, bangs fists on school locker, angst, gets written up” — that’s the style I usually go for. I try and jot down what I want to happen in that scene/writing sprint on one line of lined A4 paper.
8 Speak, Write!
This one might make you feel stupid at first, especially if you’re living situation means that you have family members around you at all times. But let’s become the stereotype of a writer, the crazy one who’s known for speaking to themselves and now you know why! We’re speaking to ourselves because we’re speaking the words that we’re writing.
When I’m not listening to music, I like to either speak what I’m writing or mumble beneath my breath, because sometimes you might not want people to hear what you’re saying/writing. It allows you to get to grips with how the book will be read and easy to correct mistakes as you write. Not editing though!
9 Set Deadlines!
If you’re working in a team, this is easier, working on your own to a deadline you set is a little more iffy. If you sign with an agent or a publisher, you will have deadlines set on a timeline for drafts, revisions, edits, right before publication. If you’re doing this yourself, you will have to be your own boss and 
enforce these deadlines.
I like to make sure I have plenty of time before the release for things that might pop up. Create your deadline, and then have a pre-deadline. I do this because I’m usually late for everything, so by being late for the pre-deadline, I’ll have plenty of time for the actual deadline. Don’t let yourself become victim to the graveyard of past deadlines, it’s not a fun place to go, or a fun place to bury your projects!
10 Perfection Doesn’t Exist!
I have a quote on Goodreads, and it’s probably one of the most quoted things on the internet with my name attached to it:
“Perfect is a dream that you wake up from and spend forever trying to remember.”
It was over three years ago now and it’s stuck with me. Perfection doesn’t exist, and I see a lot of people continue to chase perfection, wanting to have every aspect of their book perfect. The best thing you can do as a writer is understand that your book isn’t perfect, so don’t try, and don’t frustrate yourself with it either. Once you get that, you’ll be pouring words out by the thousands! Get started: Be more productive and...Click To Tweet
Leave a comment if you use these or if you have any new ways!
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