Productive is such an ambiguous word. We writers tend to throw it around a lot. It might mean we’ve reached a daily word quota, or finished a project we’re truly proud of. It might just mean we’ve finished a blog post on time (one of these days). The word is used for so many different things that it’s hard to precisely define what “productive writing” is.
So I decided to break this down a little. Let’s say that being productive is basically writing more, and writing better. There is no substitute for hard work and practice, but a good writing habit is half the battle. Here are some ideas on how to keep that elusive New Year’s resolution.
1. Plan
If you know what you’re going to write before you start, then you’ll write faster and there’s less chance you’ll make large plot mistakes that mean major rewrites later on. I learned this the hard way, after writing my first novel with little idea of where it was heading. Now it needs a ton of rewriting. (If you want to see how well that’s going, have a look at my Rewriter’s Block posts!)
2. Set Goals and Deadlines
Know what your average daily word count is and set an achievable quota. Breaking up a big task into smaller goals is less intimidating, and you can find opportunities to reward yourself after reaching certain milestones. If you’re writing a novel, work out when you want to finish and how many words per day you need to write to get you there.
3. Develop a Pre-Writing Ritual
This can be as simple as clearing your desk and making a cup of tea. Whatever you do, it should discourage you from getting distracted and get you into the mind-set for writing. I like to check my emails and then switch off Wi-Fi since it’s my biggest distractor. That also means no Googling if I need to look something up, so I make a note of it for later, along with any hilarious tweet ideas that may come to be (none have thus far, but I remain forever hopeful).
4. Get in the “Zone”
Once you’ve eliminated those pesky distractions, it’s time to get to work. Some people prefer to listen to music when they write (instrumental soundtracks are a good choice – I love Two Steps From Hell for those epic fantasy battle scenes), but if you find it distracting it’s worth looking up white noise generators. For ambient background sounds, mynoise.net has a whole range of stuff to listen to and I use it all the time. Extremely helpful for lulling you to concentration when deadlines are looming.
5. Make a Routine and Stick To It
Write at the same time each day, in the same place. Even if that means ten minutes kneeling at the coffee table before dashing off to work, you’ll learn to associate that place with writing and are more likely to be productive. Treat this as seriously as a day job and don’t let anyone intrude on your writing time. This article from Writer’s Digest is a good discipline-booster if you’re struggling.
6. Write Without Fear. Edit Without Mercy.
It’s okay to make a mess of the first draft. In fact, the faster you can get it written, the better. Chris Fox’s 5000 Words Per Hour gives great advice on increasing your writing speed and training your brain for high word-count writing “sprints”. They won’t necessarily produce good writing, but quantity is best when you’re scribbling down the draft that will ultimately never see the light of day. Strict editing is equally important, but you can’t improve what you haven’t written yet.
7. Reward Yourself
Five hundred words equals a chocolate biscuit. Fifty thousand equals a TV boxset. Whatever you’re aiming for, keep looking back at how much you’ve achieved already. Writing is not a sprint but a marathon, and hanging up a few carrots on sticks can push you to that extra two hundred words. There are some great productivity apps out there such as Habitica, which re-imagines your goals as a 2-bit RPG. Completing tasks grants you XP to upgrade your character and fight bosses, and you can save up “gold” to “buy” rewards of your own. After completing the first draft of The Last Pyromancer, I bought myself a copy of Dying Light. Because nothing says a job well done like axing a few zombies.
The best idea is to find methods which work for you and keep trying out new ways to be productive. Dictate your blog posts into your phone at the bus stop. Change the colour of your ink. Write your first drafts in Morse code. Perhaps that’s the true secret to being productive: having fun with the whole process, and not being afraid to change things that aren’t working. Though I might dig out my coloured pens, just in case I’m on to something here…
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(A slightly belated) Happy New Year! Dare I mention resolutions or is that already a painful subject? I’m hoping to finish my rewrite of Pyromancer and learn more Anglo Saxon – at least enough to pronounce it correctly and sound cool to my modern-English friends. I’m also aiming to read at least thirty books this year over on my Goodreads account, starting with the Brandon Sandersons I got for Christmas.
After the release of Carers of the Cosmos (a charity ebook raising money for the Carers Centre), the Big Care Write-Up is now seeking submissions for their next anthology. Life’s Great Journey will feature stories from any genre with the theme of “a life-changing journey” and the deadline is 31st March. If you missed our interview on BBC Radio Leicester last year, it’s now available on my YouTube channel if you want to hear more about the charity and how the anthology came about.
I’m aware that the blog has become very writing-focused, so the next few posts will be a little more general (watch me find an opportunity to sneak some video games in!). Rewriter’s Block will be an ongoing series throughout the year, taking over every second or third blog post. I might throw in some author recommendations and some research-y posts, too. (See how much planning goes into this process?) University starts up again next week so there’s going to be some juggling, but I’m hoping to send out some more short stories this year so hopefully there’ll be some new stuff available to read over the next few months.