Authors Tools Blog

It’s March already! How did that happen? Before you know it, the 1^st quarter of 2010 will be over. Are you closing in on completing 25% of your writing goals for the year?

I was talking with a client the other day about her lack of progress toward her goals. She has fallen into the trap that plagues many writers. Maybe you also hold some of the same beliefs.

You have to have a block of 2 uninterrupted hours in order to work on your current WIP.

The truth is that you need to chunk down your work into bite-sized pieces. Most of us don’t have the luxury of large blocks of time. Instead,

• Plan to write the opening of your next scene.
• Write an outline of the next conversation between your main characters.
• Draft the description of the physical setting of your next scene.

You have to be seated at your computer to write.

We all have bits of time we can use to advance our writing.

• Carry a voice recorder (maybe your MP3 player) to grab notes, or even sentences, paragraphs, or scenes for your WIP.
• Take a note pad everywhere you go. Jot down those thoughts or add actual text to your work. (Editing as you type into your computer is an added benefit.)
• Print out a few pages to take with you. Send some spare minutes editing.

You don’t have the support of your family.

If you don’t take your writing seriously, neither will your family.

• Make writing a priority in your life. Grab those brief moments and WRITE.
• Ask your family to give you 15 or 30 uninterrupted minutes. Make those minutes count. Lavishly praise your family when they manage on their own for the alloted time.
• Let your family see how happy writing makes you. (If it doesn’t make you happy, reconsider why you are doing it.)
• Focus on the positive things your family does to support you.

One way to find ways to make your time productive is to discover what motivates you.

Are you deadline driven?

• Set a date to submit your manuscript to an editor or agent.
• Plan to enter a contest.
• Commit to a date to give your critique group your next chapter.

Does competition get your juices flowing?

• Set up word wars with your friends. (See who can write the most words in a set amount of time.)
• Have a word war with yourself. Can you set a new personal record?
• Join a book in a month, book in a week, or other group challenge.

One way to make sure you are meeting your writing goals is to state your goals openly. Twitter is a great place to do that. You can use #writegoal, #wordwar, #wordathon, #amwriting and many more writing related hashtags to share you goals and gain support from others.

Examine your life and see how you can slip writing into short spaces. As you are able to do more writing, you’ll find that more spaces open up. Writing breeds more writing.

Get up earlier when you have some quiet time. Stay up later. Find a schedule that will work for you.

Please leave a comment about how you are meeting your writing goals.

Write on!

Lynn