In the spirit of NaNoWriMo (which Pam and I are KILLING right now--both of our word count stands at a little over 31K) we wanted to share some tips from the most recent Writer magazine. You know how you always have so much stuff to do? Like, I don't know... live a life and work a 9-5.
It's one of the age old questions that you see on a lot of writing blogs, we hope to offer something that you will make you go, "Aha! That's the advice I've been looking for!" From the article written by Cheryl Bolen (author of 9 historical novels) here are few tips on how to make time to write:
Write every day: Easier said than done...I know. But since we started doing NaNo we realized that it's not that hard to write a few words each day. If you can't get to a laptop, then carry around a journal or a small pad and jot down your thoughts.
Set daily and weekly goals: Write down a word count goal or even a page count goal for each day or each week. This way you give yourself something to work toward.
Decide how badly you want it, and lose the time wasters: If you WANT to write or if your goal is to be a writer then you NEED to set aside the time to successfuly do so.
Declutter your life: Eliminate things that compete with your writing (this inclues watching TV- CURSES!!)
Use writing time wisely: Don't use writing time as editing or revision time. If you are the type of writer that needs/uses outlines-- try to finish the entire outline before writing the novel. Even if it changes as you go, at least you have a blueprint.
And finally, if you are writing any kind of research heavy project- don't waste writing time on the research: Just go with the flow and research when it's time for revisions.
Now you have our two cents on the topic. Besides what's mentioned here-- what else do you do to make time for writing?
**BTW- don't forget about our NaNo titling contest. You have until Wednesday at midnight to enter!**
2 comments:
Great points, ladies-- I especially like the advise to use time wisely, and not to get bogged down on research each moment an issue arises. Great advice. Many a time I've started to write, then spent 45 minutes looking up some random fact online.
What do you mean no TV???? LOL And this is a Great List! I agree with the one about researching. I had to research an illness and I only did about ten minutes of research, but I will have to go back and fill in the holes. Also, man has November taught me the value of writing everyday, even if it's just 100 words. It's better than nothing. :)
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