Author tips

Procrastinating? How YOU Can Kickstart Your Writing.

Two top tips for getting started.

When it comes to writing, it’s tempting to spend a lot of time thinking about it, talking about it… anything but actually doing it.

And even when you are at the keyboard, a lot can fall under the heading of ‘research’. Googling a few facts for context can easily turn into an hour on social media…

I want to talk about how you can kill this procrastination, and welcome in a season of great productivity.

As a LitRPG author with a family and a day job, a I’ve worked hard over the years to fit my own writing into an already very busy life.

Time is short.

And although I’m not especially tough on myself in terms of rigid targets, I do have a lot of stories that I want to tell. If I have the first couple of books out in a series, for example, I am keen to finish the next novel sooner rather than later. And there is always a new series just around the corner.

I’ve often written on train journeys when I knew I had just under one hour of uninterrupted time, and I wanted to make the most of it. In a situation like that, you know that the clock is ticking.

I’m helped by the fact that when I’m not writing, the stories tell themselves, at least to some extent.

That is to say when I am away from the keyboard, images, scenes, and characters often run through my head. I can be doing anything from standing in the shower, walking my beautiful dog, or lying awake at night.

I’m not typing, but a part of my brain is still writing!

This leads to two main strategies that I think any writer can benefit from. My main focus is creative writing, but I feel that they apply just as much to non-fiction, too:

1. Being ready to write

All that time reflecting and thinking about stories and characters when I am away from the keyboard means that I am 100% ready to start typing when I get the chance to sit down at my desk.

And so, by the time I return to my computer, it doesn’t feel like it’s a duty to write.

It really doesn’t feel like work at all.

Instead, it feels like I’ve stored up so many story ideas that I’m ready to burst. As soon as I flip open my laptop, I begin typing furiously, keen to get those ideas down, and desperately hoping that they work out as good on the page as they were in my mind.

2. Focused time with no distractions

The second element is that my writing time is (at least for the most part) pretty free from interruptions. I don’t even attempt to write at the family dinner table, or alongside kids’ homework or the school run. I wait until the moment is right — on those train journeys, or when everyone else is busy or out of the house.

These conditions inevitably lead me to carry our writing sprints. I know that with the clock ticking, I have to get as much down as I can. There is simply no time for googling or slacking on Twitter.

Now, I know that not everyone will have a ticking clock situation like a one-hour train journey I mentioned, but you can replicate this technique in other ways.

Focus on the quality of your writing time, not the quantity. Make sure you are prepped and ready to focus.

After all, at a rate of 2000 or so words per hour (which is not by any means a crazy amount with a bit of practice, if you are going to be typing more or less non-stop), you can write for just one hour per day, and still complete the draft of a full-length fantasy novel in month and a half.

That’s pretty quick!

Bob Dylan once wrote the lyric, “I’ll know my song well before I start singing”.

Make sure that you know what you’re going to write, and that you do nothing but write.

That’s it.

That’s the technique.

And if you follow it, you can achieve much more than you ever expected.

A shoutout to Ilam Padmanabhan’s article, “Can you make a post go Viral?”. It gives me a lot to think about!

p.s. you should get my posts direct to your inbox. Do that here! Also, if you’d like to experience Medium yourself, consider supporting me and thousands of other writers by signing up for a membership. It only costs $5 per month, it genuinely supports writers, and you have the chance to make serious money with your own writing as well! By signing up with this link, you’ll support me directly with a portion of your fee, it won’t cost you extra. If you do so, thank you so very much!