Use Rituals
Writing tips can get you started! Some writers begin their writing day with a meditation. Others begin while they are still in bed and barely awake, and still others begin after walking a mile or doing pushups and crunches and drinking two cups of bitter java. Rituals are popular because they work—but not every time and not for everyone. That’s because there is often a larger undercurrent of ebb and flow to our creative process. But that doesn’t mean we should not encourage flow—we should!
Set Goals & Embrace Messy
When it comes to writing first drafts—set daily goals. Before you sit down and dive into your writing, decide where you want to be when you’re finished for the day. Don’t try to make the writing pretty or perfect; instead let it be messy—but try to reach your goal for that time allotment.
Find Just Enough Time
As a working writer, I’ve concluded that having all the time in the world to write is not a good thing. Having enough time is vital! Knowing I will have to change gears to make dinner or pick up my daughter…that helps keep me focused and I value my time.
Schedule Your Start & Stop
Decide when you’ll start and when you’ll finish each writing session, and limit your time, especially as you get back into your rhythm. Then remind yourself, you don’t have time to waste, you don’t have to get it right, you just need to get it onto the page. As you finish, make a note about what you will work on, where you will begin for your next session at the page. You might even jot down a line of dialogue or a quick exchange that you plan to use. Or keep a few handy writing tips on a sticky note at your desk.
If You Get Lost Breathe & Remember
If you feel yourself losing your way, take some deep breaths and remember what drew you to your story in the first place. What was the first seed of this narrative? It was something that stirred passion inside you and made you deeply curious. Was it a character who tapped you on your shoulder? A dilemma? A ‘what if?’ Something you witnessed? A line of dialogue over-heard? An outrage? An improbable moment of compassion? Touch that seed again and let yourself feel energy and life fill you up, and do not let your inner gremlins silence you.
Embrace Ebb & Flow
So, yes to focused meditation, and yes to keeping to a schedule and asking yourself to be disciplined and accountable. Yes to using writing tips. Yes to continuing to live your life while making it clear to those around you that you are on a heart and spirit mission to finish writing or revising your book by the end of this year or very close to it! Say yes to reminding yourself that some days getting one paragraph on the page will seem to move at a snail’s progress, while other days, writing will feel as if you’re on a surfboard catching the biggest best wave, and some days you might feel you’ve been pushed down the icy mountain on a sled! I’ll repeat myself: There is a larger undercurrent of ebb and flow to our creative process. But that doesn’t mean we should not encourage flow—we should!
