Even if you’re not doing NaNo (like me), it’s always fun to share tips and techniques that can help us crank out more words in the time we have for writing. If you’re stuck, you can check out my article at Carol’s blog on beating writer’s block, but until then, here are some of my favorite tricks for upping my productivity:
#1, first and foremost, most of all: sit down and write. Just do it. Whether you feel like it or not, whether you are inspired or not. I’m not one of those “if you’re ‘really’ a writer you must pound out 8000 words a day even if it’s like drawing blood from a stone using your eyelashes” people, but seriously, if you don’t sit down to write, it won’t get done.
Find out if you have an ideal writing time. This can be the time of day where you face the least disruptions or have the longest block of time to yourself. It may be the time that you get up four hours before everyone else in your house. For me, it’s usually staying up late (though lately my health has been preventing that for the most part. Stupid old health). Try different times of day to see if you have an easier time falling into the rhythm of writing.
Find out if you have an ideal place or medium for writing—in your house, local library, street-side café; with pen and paper, desktop, laptop, typewriter (please no, okay?); music, conversation, television or silence in the background. Experiment—and maybe you’ll also learn to write faster in places or media that aren’t your ideal, too.
Limit distractions—especially the Internet. This is one reason why I like using my laptop—I can push a button and voilà—no Internet. I usually research as I go, and this can be a huge time suck. I like when I realize I’ve spent ten minutes reading about the history of canned green beans when I’m supposed to be looking for train schedules from 80 years ago. Sometimes, you do really need to know the facts before you write a scene, at least to avoid a major rewrite—but not always. Determine if this is one of those times.
Finally, in case you’ve forgotten, I highly recommend plotting in advance. That way, you seldom spend three weeks pondering where your characters will go next and what they’ll do when they get there, and how on earth you’re going to spend 50,000 words getting from plot point 1 to plot point 2. (And also, we have a free PDF guide to plotting or the Plot Thickens blog series to help you out!)
Other things I like to do:
- Menial activities (Minesweeper or Text Twist, usually) to try to lull my brain into creativity mode. (The challenge is not getting caught up in the games, of course.)
- Think about my story all the freaking time—plan out scenes and dialogue in the car or the shower or before going to sleep at night (although that one makes it a lot harder to sleep).
- Wait. I don’t start the first moment the idea comes to me, usually—I wait at least a couple days, sometimes a few weeks. During this time, I can brainstorm. As new scenes and characters and lines come to me, I get more and more excited about the story. When I finally let myself start, I can’t wait to get it all out.
- Recognize my limitations. When I’m starting to hate the story, hate writing (every day, not just because I’m stuck), hate my characters and hate the real people around me for getting in the way of my career, it’s probably time to scale it back a little. Because, seriously, even if it’s NaNo, is it worth destroying your love (for life, writing and your family) just to get the words out? I’d rather back off than burn out—and make everyone around me resent my career, too.
What are your best productivity tips for upping our daily word count? What’s the most words you’ve ever written in a day/sitting?
Photo credits: tapping pencil—Tom St. George; flying fingers by The Hamster Factor
