Draft 1 - Stop endless looping

Do you go back after you draft a page, a paragraph or a sentence and immediately begin fixing it? Even worse, do you write a little further, and then go back and do some more fixing on what you just "fixed"? I call this looping, and it is the most common impediment to productive writing among my students. It can lead to complete paralysis, and there's a reason for that -- the part of your brain that composes is not the same part that edits.

Shifting back and forth wastes time and energy. Even worse, it provides an opening for editor in your head (who hates everything) to seize control. Most productive writers separate the act of drafting and the act of editing. As Casey Wyatt says in her blog,"I can fix it later."

If you don't loop, don't start. If you have a habit of looping, it can be tough to break. Here are a few suggestions:

• Give yourself permission to write badly. Do this every day for at least a week. Remember, it can always be fixed later on.
• Join a writing sprint (as Casey does), race against a timer, or use a forced march program like Write or Die! Some of my students have also found it useful to shrink their text editing windows down so they can only see a line or two at a time.
• Keep you forward momentum (and avoid distracting research) by inserting a word or symbol whenever the exactly right word, number or fact doesn't come readily to mind. For years, I have put the word "bagel" into my texts, and then searched for the bagels. (Luckily, I don't write about food.) I heard Jenna Kernan speak recently, and I was delighted to hear she uses the same technique, inserting asterisks (***).
• Use a dictation program. I use Dragon Dictate for at least half my drafting. It works better for nonfiction than fiction, but it still is faster than typing for me. And it is almost impossible to loop when you are dictating.

 However you do it, break the habit of looping. You'll probably find that your productivity will increase significantly, even though you will be spending more time later on editing.

Do you loop? Do you have a trick to stop yourself?

Writing Advice I’d Give My Younger Self 2 — Drafting

In my last post, I covered preparation for writing. Below is my advice for drafting a manuscript.

I often do blank-sheet evaluations of my writing (and my life) by literally covering the kitchen table with a piece of chart paper and scribbling ideas, lists, and figures on it.

This time, I just tried to remember who I was when I first got serious about writing, and then imagine what I’d tell that person if I had the chance. (The naive perspective often breaks away the preconceptions and reveals something fresh and new. Perhaps that the emperor has no clothes.) I formulated my advice without reference to previous posts, but I’ve dug through and found links where they were available. I hope those provide enough to pursue tips of interest for anyone who might need them.

• Imagine the audience for the work. If possible, think of one individual (not yourself). This will add specificity and make decisions easier.
• Be extreme. Going too far can be fixed in the rewrite. It’s easier to pull back than to get crazier.
• Write more than you need. It’s easier to cut than to embellish.
• For any big project (novel, screenplay), create a list early on (by the third chapter for a novel) of why you MUST finish this project.
• If it stops feeling fun, find a part of the project that you can enjoy and stick with it for a while.
• Purposely experiment with at least three scenes you won’t use for each major work. This will force you to look at new options. 
• Stick to your Work In Progress until you get to “The End.” This means, for five days a week and fifteen minutes each day, text is added to the manuscript, moving it to completion. Don’t quit until it’s finished and you have a story. Even if it’s so bad it makes you squirm. No dithering.
• Set a timer. It makes a great starting gun for a writing sprint.
• Don’t rewrite along the way (looping). Get the story out.
• Find your pivotal scene(s). The climax would be one, but any big scenes (at the ends of acts, ends of sequences) may have concepts that suggest exploration.
• Know what you need to write the next day.

I have a toolbox of techniques to keep myself writing (switching from typing to speech recognition or pencil, writing scenes in the voice of favorite authors, writing dialogue only scenes, etc.), but I probably would not bring those up to a new writer unless he or she were stuck. Making things too complicated and trying to work with too many ideas at once is the bane of rookie authors.

Drafting is about telling as story you love to someone you imagine would love it just as much. With a lot of forgiveness thrown in.

Next time, I'll look at revision advice for the callow youth I once was.

The Positive Approach to Taking on Writing

Writers face a lot of obstacles to productivity, and I’ve offered some advice on breaking bad habits (like looping) and persisting in the face of interruptions and distractions. But there’s another side. You can take a positive approach to getting words on the page and moving your story forward. There are habits (like prepping with a sentence the day before) and technical helps (like setting a timer). But it is also good to recognize prompts that make it a joy to switch into storytelling mode.

I posted this on my Facebook page:

Writing peeps -- What gets you writing? What keeps you writing? (I'm tired of articles about the obstacles to writing and overcoming them. Looking for a positive approach for my next How to Write Fast blog post.)

And here’s what I got back:

Rhonda Lane I fall in love with the stories/project. If that doesn't happen, then I can't devote what it takes to writing them.

Anna Carrasco Bowling Reading a wonderful book, either new or a beloved favorite, or watching a movie that sparks my story brain always makes me want to get back to work and tell my own stories.

Experiencing someone who loves what they do and are good at it is like a shot of adrenaline.

Gail Chianese Make a challenge with a friend (sprint, commitment to do X number of words in the day) always gets me going. What keeps me going is the fun in telling the story.

Heidi Ulrich Sprints are great definitely, but what keeps me going is the characters. Sometimes I have to remind myself why I love them so much.

Anna Carrasco Bowling I agree with Heidi and Rhonda. If I'm in love with the characters, there is nothing that's going to keep me away from them. They'll call to me while I'm doing other things and spending time with them is the most natural thing in the world.

John Handy Bosma Mindfulness practices. (I can't say I write as you do, but that's what works for me when I remember. When I don't remember that, I don't write.)

Karen Anne Renwick A rigid-ish schedule. The Freedom app that blocks me from my Internet. I use it like a timer. When my Internet comes back, if I've worked hard, I get to surf for 10 minutes. Rinse. Repeat.

Gail Chianese Anti-Social is great too because you can block certain pages (FB, email, etc.), but still have access to the Internet (so you can listen to Pandora).

Jerry Hernandez My writing mentor told me to write every day, so that it became a habit. Then he beat me. I think it inspired a recent movie.

Jos Van Brussel Good books (written by better writers than myself), a complete absence of Internet, meditation, focus music, Scrivener, a lack of money, a wife standing behind me with a meat cleaver because of said lack of money (not necessarily in that order).

Julia Stitely Thomas If I don't sit down to write, I'll never find out what happens to my characters.

Some surprises. Some fun. Some great advice. What gets you writing and keeps you writing?

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Upcoming classes

March 2- March 27 Novel in a Month (online) http://heartofcarolina.org/calendar/
March 3-April 7 Science Fiction and Fantasy Writing Workshop (face-to-face) https://writerscenter.org/courses/science-fiction-and-fantasy-writing-workshop
March 9-April 3 Career Planning for Writers (online) http://yarwa.com/programs/
April 15-April 29 Story Bootcamp (face-to-face) Westchester Community College http://www.sunywcc.edu/continuing-ed/ce/
April 20-May 25 Science Fiction and Fantasy Writing Workshop (face-to-face) 
May 1-May 29 Bigger Stories (online)http://lowcountryrwa.com/workshops/all-workshops/#MAY 

300 Productivity Posts - Celebration and FAQ for ambitious writers

Welcome to the (more or less) 300th How To Write Fast post. I still haven't run out of things to say. In fact, in addition to weekly posts, I'm deep into a book on writing productivity that will be out in the spring. 

In the meantime, now's a good time to celebrate. (I'm taking a break from the Write Who You Are Series. It will continue next week) I can't think of a better way to share the moment than to answer the top questions I get in my classes.

What's the best thing I can do to improve my productivity?
The most effective positive action I've seen with students is to 1) Set a timer 2) Type words that push your work in progress forward from the time it starts to the time it finishes.

No rewriting, no researching, and as little pondering as possible. The goal of drafting is to capture a complete work with a beginning, middle, and end. It isn't to capture a final work, polished and perfect.

What's the commitment? I've cut it to the bone, and for most people the minimum is about 20 minutes a day, five days a week. This provides the habits and continuity that are essential to storytelling. It is extremely helpful if sometime during the day before, you write down a prep sentence for the work. Then you'll know each time you sit down what you're going to write.

What's wrong with rewriting as I go along?
There is nothing morally wrong with writing any way you like, and what works for you works for you. Also, please note: With the exception of people who hire me as a coach, you will not have me standing behind you and groaning as you loop back to previous paragraphs or chapters to "just get them right."

With that said, looping is the most common practice I see getting in the way of completing stories. It is the stumbling block that keeps people who write every day from getting past the first few chapters of a novel or from having the productivity they want.

The reason for this appears to be that revising comes from a different part of the brain than drafting. So switching back and forth saps energy. It also leads to discouragement as progress is slowed and the editor in your head is always stepping up to the lectern to criticize and berate you.

If you are a happy looper or you've determined it's the only way to write a quality manuscript, who am I to disagree? But if you loop and are unhappy with your productivity, take steps to break the habit.

Why do I have to stick with my Work In Progress (WIP)?
I get it. People who write regularly get new ideas all the time. Some of them, invariably, seem better that what's happening in the WIP. And it feels good to do something else when the WIP work gets difficult or every sentence feels stale and weak.

The problem is that forsaking your commitment to the WIP and chasing the next shiny thing is too easy and rarely helps you gets you where you want to go. If you doubt this, check with your fellow writers who do this and ask them how many have dozens of unfinished works around or worse, how often they dither about which work to take on.

It is perfectly okay to explore a new concept. It is fine to get notes down on a dream that felt like the next O. Henry Prize winner. You can cheat a little on you WIP and still get it finished. The trick is making sure that five days a week for twenty minutes on each of those day, you are faithful to the WIP, moving it forward to completion.

How do I choose the right project?
This depends on where you are as a writer, what commitments you have, what you hope to learn, where your passions lie, and what your career goals are. Any or all of these can drive your priorities and which manuscript becomes your next WIP. My recommendation is that you explore these and other factors and explicitly write out your criteria for choosing a project. You may then (if you are as geeky as I am), develop a way to score potential projects and order them according to the results. If all this sounds like too much, just list potential projects and go with the one for which you have the most passion. Trust your heart. Make the commitment. Move forward. Get it finished.

How do I have fun with my writing?
Sadly, this is not really a frequently asked question. Perhaps the Puritans have left their mark on too many of the writers I meet (and it's not a coincidence that they are concerned about productivity). Yet, it belongs here. Your enthusiasm, your engagement, and the endorphins released as you get into the flow of your writing are not inconsequential to your productivity. Writing can be frustrating, emotionally painful, and tedious at times. But if writing is drudgery most of the time, you're not doing it right. You need to step back and rediscover the joy.

Why did you want to write to begin with? What have been your best experiences? What inspires you? And, perhaps most importantly, what are you afraid of? Because, if you have come to dread sitting down and bringing character to life, chances are you've created unreasonable expectations or you're afraid of being judged or of failing.

Try these:

• Think of the scene you most want to write in your WIP. Write your prep sentence, and then write that scene tomorrow. 
• Write something related to your WIP that you'll never use directly in your finished version -- an interview with a character, a description of the coolest place in your world, a complete scene written in the style of you favorite writer.
• Do your writing in a different way -- with music if that not typical or in longhand or in comic sans font.
• Write a scene from the point of view of an intriguing character whom you've never given a voice.
• Create a storyboard for one of your pivotal scenes.

In other words, take the pressure off. Shake things up and do something that "doesn't count." Make amusing yourself a project.

Okay. That's five questions and answers. I'm happy to answer your specific question in comments.

Next week, I'll write the 301st blog post, continuing the Write Who You Are series.

Plotting for Pantsers 5 - The confidence game

One of the most powerful scenes on broadcast television was dictated on the set of NYPD Blue by David Milch. Dennis Franz as Detective Andy Sipowicz brought the scene, a rant against God, to life on camera just minutes after it had been created. (I just read about this in The Revolution Was Televised, a book I recommend.) Pantsers, you are not alone. And some wonderful writing comes from a spontaneous flow of words.

And yet, as I indicated last time, pantsers often feel less confident than their (equally wonderful) plotting colleagues who, in theory, always know what they will be writing about. Pantsers write themselves into corners. They doubt the value of a scene, a chapter, or even a whole book. They run out of gas. They wonder if the last book they wrote is really the last book they ever will write.

There are traps that pantsers need to avoid. Looping, skimping on preparation and research, jumping to new projects when the going gets tough, and dodging emotional engagement can sap confidence and trigger paralysis. But you can also take steps to build and maintain your confidence.

Write one true sentence. This is especially useful when you seem to have painted yourself into a corner. Writing the whole scene or finding the plot point that will allow threads to come together may be impossible. Don't ask too much of yourself. Ask for one true sentence. It can be the next one in the story or it can be a question about what you need most to continue. (Yes, questions are sentences. And, chances are, your subconscious will answer the question later, in the garden or the shower or on the treadmill.)

Rediscover the fire. I hope you have adopted the practice, before you even begin a new work, of writing down ten reasons (in full sentences) why you love this idea and must write about it. If those sentences are good, they can revive your interest and reassure you that this project must be completed. If you don't have the sentences, either try to construct them now or go back to the best scene you have written (preferably in the work in progress, but it can be in another work you wrote) and reread it.

Know what drives you. Why do you need to write? Do you have a message? A person you want to communicate with? An image you have to get out of your head? A part of your life you need to understand? Find your best reason and remind yourself of if.

Understand what you do well. I'm a great one for lists, so I have written down what I have to offer as a writer. We tend to concentrate on our weaknesses, worrying about them and trying to overcome them. That is not a confidence builder. What do you do best? If you know what that is, use that gift to write another piece of your work in progress.

Create small successes. This may be the best. Success begets success. Find something small you know you can do, and do it. Then do the next thing. Don't be scared. Just scale back your ambition for a few days and get on with it.

Read something by your favorite author. The short stories of Harlan Ellison, Edgar Alan Poe, and James Joyce are the reasons why I became a writer. They thrill me by demonstrating what is possible. When I go back to them, I find the old impulse to put words on paper is revived and refreshed. Who inspires you?

All of these are positive steps you can take. And if you have a lucky hat or an affirmation that works for you, go for it. Oh, one thing to avoid - don't look for empathy from a plotter. Too many see the path they take as the only true path. Don't be bullied into following them. Instead, come to love your own twisty, turny, absurd and dangerous path.

How to Write Fast Top Ten Posts - June/July

How to Write Fast celebrated its first month this past week. It has had over 1,200 views from 20 different countries. By number of views, here are the top ten posts:

1. Guest Post - Write Faster with Scrivener (with Gwen Hernandez)
2. Writing Prep 1 - Inspiration is not your friend
3. Draft 1 - Stop endless looping
4. Every Other Friday - Kristan Higgins interview
5. How to Stop Dithering
6. Up Your Productivity
7. Draft 2 - Write to Someone Specific
8. Writing Prep 3 - Highlight your reasons for writing
9. Eat the Elephant
10. Don't Dream It, Be It

Thank you, readers. And please let me know if you have questions or topics you'd like me to cover. Write to howtowritefast@gmail.com or leave a comment below.

Writer's Resolution 4 - Things get messy

So, after committing yourself to the discipline of writing productively, carefully choosing which story you'll write to the end, and exploring your subject enough to have plenty to say, you're finally putting together sentences, paragraphs, pages, and chapters. And it feels weird, maybe a little off. Especially if you are a perfectionist, used to rewriting as you go along. You've filled pages that, by any standard, aren't your best.

This is probably fine. It takes a while to get used to just telling the story and worrying a good deal less about the quality of the prose. Continuing to move forward may feel like building on sand. It takes a great deal of trust to keep composing as the editor in your head is shouting dire warnings.

In most cases, you can ignore the editor (for now). For all the rewriting that is in your future, it generally is more efficient to compose first and revise once the manuscript is done than it is to try to do both at once. And you'll avoid the real story killer, looping. Having pages full of cliches, wrong turns, on-the-nose dialogue, and grammatical errors is a small price to pay for getting a fresh story written and completed. Gaping holes can be filled later and, chances are, there will be whole chapters that will need to be cut. But you'll know better what is needed and what can be improved and what must be removed once you see a version of beginning, middle, and end in its entirety.

It is possible to get too sloppy. There is a difference between having the words flow because you are caught up in the scenes and having them fill up pages because you are making easy, shopworn choices. I ask myself these questions:

• Am I being specific and true to my characters, or have they slipped into something familiar and generalized?
• Am I truly immersed and emotionally involved in the scene (or at least keeping true to an outline I believe in)?
• Within the last ten pages, have I surprised myself?
• Within the scene, have I raised any new questions?
• Does the overall tone of the scene fit the whole of the story I'm writing, or has a different voice emerged?

If the answers to any of these questions disturb me, I will look toward writing a scene that is important to the story and so challenging that I'm reluctant to write it. Usually, this is a scene further on in the story, but it can also be a prequel scene. I don't write it immediately. Instead, I prepare to write it on the following day.

What I'm looking for is a return to something that is authentic to the novel I'm working on. This will, almost always, snap me back to full attention and make me more present to the story.

An easier way to do this job is to write a completed scene from the point of view of a different character. This verges on rewriting -- in that the setting and beats of the scene are available --without turning on the editor in my head.

The hardest thing to do to fix things when they are falling apart is to branch away from the story, but sometimes a turn is so disastrous that is the only way to move forward. I've had, on occasion, to reach back several chapters to a place where the story (though not necessarily the prose) is working well, find an alternative choice and move off in a new direction. This is daring and requires a new outline, but worth the effort. 

Here's the good news: I've found that, the more I write, the less often I need to take action to revive the composition phase. In fact, the occasions when the prose feels dreadful (not a true problem) are fewer. Fast writing increasingly means fresher and more exciting writing.

It also is more audacious for two reasons. First, the words are less precious when I'm more productive. I worry less about losing them. Second, my imagination runs faster than my concerns about extreme choices and material that might disturb people (including me). I think of this as running through the yellow lights. I keep the storytelling in gear and find myself in dangerous neighborhoods. And that's a good thing.

Draft 4 - Style and the Fast Writer

An Officer and a Gentleman includes scenes where the character struggle through an obstacle course. No one runs the course with any style or grace the first time through. Elegance comes with practice and repetition.

Drafting your story is like running that course the first time, lots of stumbles, falls, and backtracking. With rewriting -- and attention to all those things from mechanical problems to what it sounds like when you read your prose aloud -- your style emerges in its full strength. Renee Miller has written an excellent blog entry on rewriting for style. As Damon Knight put it, "style is the music that comes out when you turn the crank." He counseled against worrying about style directly.

And yet, I find that there are decisions I make at the drafting stage that have a huge impact on style. The first is choosing the audience. This immediately constrains my word choice, the rhythms and the pacing. Think of it as dressing appropriately for a party or a conference.

I also do over half my drafting using dictation (Dragon Dictate). It helps me get a lot of words on paper and discourages any temptation for looping. But it also gets me hearing the sound of the words from the very beginning. That sound is a bit artificial to accommodate the program, but I've gotten used to that over time, and saying the words out loud with constraints is still preferable to hearing them in my head.

In particular, it helps me to get a sense of the characters. In good times, they do a lot of talking to me, and voicing their dialogue encourages them to keep the conversation going. Since dialogue is about a third of the final text, really hearing those sentences come out jumpstarts my feeling for the style of the work as a whole. I often will do an entire writing session with nothing but my characters talking to each other.

Finally, the style gets a boost in the draft stage just because this is a time when the passion goes from spark to forest fire. Choices that engage me lead to ideas and images that ultimately turn this story into a good friend. Any story I've completed evokes a distinct feeling in me - the same sort of beyond the description, body/mind feeling I get when someone names a person I know well or a city where I've spent time walking the streets. This feeling is directly connected to style for me. At the beginning, it may not flow. By the end, I hear unique music that comes out when I turn the crank.

Finishing the Book – Mental Blocks

Last time, I wrote about organizational problems that get in the way of finishing your writing. Mental blocks can be another major factor. In fact, it is the one I hear the most about from other offers.

Often, they are problems, such as looping and dithering, that can occur any time in the writing process, and I’ve offered tips on dealing with these throughout this blog.  Five challenges, however, seem to be the bane of those just trying to get finished, so I’ll offer suggestions on each.

Exhaustion. It is possible to get burned out on a story, or burned out on writing. The work can be all absorbing, demanding, and lonely. Or you can just become tired of the kind of writing you are doing. There are natural rhythms to scenes and segments, and you can get out of synch. And sometimes, everything becomes too familiar. You just want that voice in your head to shut up.

The first way to avoid exhaustion is to set your expectations correctly. It is much more likely that you will get tired of a work if you believe it should already be done. Books have their own lengths and gestation periods (which, admittedly, can be modified by a publishing deadline). I write out the hours (based on past experience) expect for phases of the project, and then I add 50%.

Exhaustion also tends to afflict pantsers more than plotters because they tend to write in surges. Steady pacing, with a consistent word count, can help you avoid physical and mental exhaustion. Don’t try to sprint in a marathon.

If you already are exhausted, cut down on your daily work count and do something entirely different. I switch to nonfiction, but, from what I see with other writers, music, drawing, and other creative endeavors seem to do that most to heal and revive.

No answers. Many writers feel that they’ve run out of ideas or painted themselves into a corner. It isn’t true. Your imagination has not died. Your muse has not abandoned you. As I simple test, I ask authors to provide ideas for other writers who are stuck, and they always come in a flood.

Seeing that creativity is alive and well is often enough, but, if not, ask different questions about the story. Rephrase. Zoom in (for a finer question). Zoom out (for a broader question). List ideas on paper or say them out loud. Stand up. Walk around when you look for answers.

Despair. This is usually expressed by the question, “Why did I start this stupid story in the first place?” Well, you did. And you are into it. And you are committed. And you are a professional. The finished work may be awful. So what? Finish anyway.

Leftovers. Those who hop around to write the luscious parts should not be surprised when all they are left with are those required transition scenes, the bits where clues must be planted, and blocks of narration.

First, reconsider whether these parts are definitely needed. Often the work succeeds without them. Elmore Leonard says, “Try to leave out the part that readers tend to skip.” Maybe you did that automatically.

If that feels wrong, brainstorm how they might be made more interesting. Can you include emotional content? Surprises? Can you surprise yourself?

If neither of these help, lean on your professionalism. Set a word count goal and grind it out. As one writer delicately put it, sometimes you have to defecate masonry.

Fear of failure. Though often hidden, this may be the most important reason why books don’t get finished. A finished book can be judged. And, if it is first draft, the judgment will be harsh.

But you can’t fail. A finished book, even if it is lousy, is an achievement. It moves you further down the road as an author and an artist. It builds capability. And you never have to show it to anyone. Virtually every author I know has a completed manuscript that never will see the light of day. There is nothing wrong with that. It is not a failure.

There are other problems – literary promiscuity (the urge to take up with a new manuscript), distractions, and jealousy. I’ll go into these at another time since I need to finish this blog.

Plotting for Pantsers 3 - Characters to the rescue!

My characters talk to me.  In my sleep, in the shower, and sometimes even when I am typing away. There voices are always distinctive, and certainly insistent. But they are not always helpful.

• They may fail to tell me truthfully about their backgrounds.
• They may give me the wrong reasons for what they are doing.
• They may work hard, often in devious ways, to keep me from putting obstacles in the way or making them suffer.
• They may abandon me at inopportune times.

When I was a plotter, this didn't concern me too much. I already had lists of things that were going to happen to them, I had profiles that included aspects of their childhoods and their strengths and weaknesses, and I didn't depend upon their input. Since I approached the work with confidence and a clear idea of what I would write next, the writing went forward. And, eventually, the character got back to work.

I can still go back to my old ways and mechanically develop plots and profiles when pantsing fails, but I prefer to takes steps that are more in the spirit of improvising. When I do that, there is little violence done to creativity, and I get the surprises I'm looking for. Here are some methods I use.

Interviews. I have an advantage here in that I have played journalist through most of my career. I know enough to 1) ask open questions that can't be answered with a yes or a no, and 2) to listen to the answers. Most characters are easy interviews. They already know me and are willing to talk. But sometimes I need to get them drunk first. I literally imagine bringing them to a bar, sitting through several beers with them and then springing my questions. This may take more time, but it is worth it. Note: I do not actually drink myself during these sessions.

Traps. Sometimes I purposely put my character into a stressful situation. I write down the scene in vivid detail, including all the senses, and then shove the character into it. Once they enter the nightmare, they squirm and beg and reveal themselves. The trick here is making sure it is extreme and difficult for them. Many of my characters can laugh off situations that would tear me apart. I have to find their Achille's heels.

Changing Point of View. If the character (usually the protagonist) doesn't want to talk, maybe someone else does. I recently broke through on a story by having the villain narrate the scene. He saw himself as the hero and was eager to tell his side of the story. Once I had the whole scene down from his point of view, it was easy to write it from the protagonist's perspective. (Sometimes, this exercise has had a surprising result: it has shown me that I need an additional POV throughout the story.)

At times, I also find that I need to go back an earlier scene and rework it. I hate doing that. It stops forward momentum and it risks the kind of looping that can become pathological and unproductive. When I do go back to a previous scene, I limit myself to taking a closer look at the conflict. (This is something I always need to do in rewrites anyway.) Often, I find that I have dodged something that is painful to the character (and, likely, to me). Fixing that usually gets things moving again.

Mastering the Vital Elements of Writing - Why it matters

Writers get stuck. Writers are beset by doubts. Writers feel like imposters. Or…

Writers always have ways around the obstacles they hit. Writers have confidence. Writers own their skills, talents, and accomplishments.

One of the greatest gifts writers can give themselves is mastering the essential aspects of writing. The best writers have the tools to create great dialogue or ways to test a story concept or examples at hand that demonstrate ways to solve story problems. To be sure, bad habits (dithering, looping, procrastinating, and more) can undercut the most capable and proficient writers. They need to be guarded against (as do distractions, addictions, and inattention to health). But becoming a master writer is a powerful way to avoid getting stuck or lost in doubts or losing your earned identity as a real writer.

Consider mastery in golf as an example. Like writing, it’s more about the course and you than about any opponents. There’s a poetry to the sport that players own. Choosing the right club. Testing the wind. Reading the lie. Managing pressure and disappointment and doubt.

But there also is a discipline of regular tasks. Driving off the tee. Chipping. Putting. A good golfer defaults to the muscle memory of thousands of strokes to hit the ball just right over and over again. He or she masters dozens of simple jobs by observing, listening, analyzing, testing, and practicing.

Writing is a lot more complex, with more jobs that need to be mastered. Often, what looked like one task turns out to be several. The choices writers make depend on the course — the genre, the audience, where they are in the story, and which way the wind is blowing. Writers also have to face pressure and disappointment and doubts.

Golfers and writers can have good days thanks to luck, but regular success, and much of the confidence and joy that makes engagement worthwhile, is built on a foundation of mastery. Moving easily into writing dialogue or editing for language or developing ideas that resonate — being able to take on jobs like these knowing you can do them can change your frame of mind as a writer.

No one masters everything. Which is probably a good thing. If a golfer hit a hole-in-one every time, it would get boring. (And the golf course would be redesigned.) Similarly mastery in writing is never complete or a deep as it could be. Which is good because otherwise it would get boring. But, more importantly, room for growth does not mean mastery is not achievable. Philip K. Dick never really mastered language, but his insights, odd logic, and clever plotting made him a leading SF writer. Charles Dickens easily slipped into sentimentality and cheap characterizations, but his amazing honesty and pacing turned his works into classics. No writer is perfect. But the ones you return to again and again have become experts with enough of the vital tools of writing to be considered masters.

You can, too.

It means being patient with yourself. It means studying the work of others (dissecting, questioning, exploring, expressing what you learned in full sentences, testing the concepts). It means deliberately writing work that will never be published, just to practice a technique until if comes naturally. It means noticing your own responses to writing and being curious about them. It means attending to the responses of peers and beta readers with humility, judgment, and discernment.

It also means knowing what jobs need to be mastered and having starting points for each. You can just jump in and learn from the writing of others, and, with processes that work for you, amplify your strengths or improve where you are weak. That’s fine. But, for those who may need a little guidance, I’ll begin a series on mastery here in this blog. It will be incomplete and, at times, not right for you. Inevitably, I’ll have times when I do a poor job because I have my own weaknesses and I have strengths I don’t understand.

I hope some of what I post is valuable anyway.

My current list of topics:

• Story concepts
• Scenes
• Characters
• Descriptions and settings
• Dialogue
• Language
• Plot
• Storytelling
• Audience
  

I’ll strive to include basic concepts, clearly stated. I’ll mention benefits (to help with motivation). There will be examples and exercises.

Reading the blog posts won’t make you a master. Neither will doing an exercise each week. It’s also likely that you’ll have clearer ideas and a better approach on some subjects. (That’s good.) Mostly, what is involved in achieving mastery is interest, honest self-assessment, and dedication. I can provide a map. I can’t carry you along the journey. Even if I could, it wouldn’t be much fun for either of us.

Warm-Up Exercises for Writers - It’s a trap!

Ted Sturgeon, a fabulous SF writer (and the inspiration for Vonnegut’s Kilgore Trout) rushed to his typewriter each day, loaded in a page, and filled it with gibberish. It was his way of fighting writer’s block. Eventually, it didn’t work. He added other warm-ups, extending the time between typing and actually having to work on a story. Damon Knight told me with sadness about the thousands of hours Sturgeon lost (in his view) to these rituals.

Musicians tune up. Singers hum and go through other vocal exercises. Actors stretch their bodies and recite tongue twisters. As a writer, it makes sense for you to find your own ways to warm up, ease yourself into the task, and enter the magical space of creation.

I believe in writer warmups, but a part of me shouts, “It’s a trap!”

Warmup need to be don’t thoughtfully and with awareness of the danger, so I’ll offer a few:

Ritual - Some of these are benign (more or less). Having a special place, a sharpened pencil, and a fresh cup of coffee don’t absorb a lot of time and energy (unless you need to fetch fresh coffee from Starbucks or find you’ve run out of grounds or have a 12-step brewing process.

Other rituals (lucky hats, spinning your chair, playing music) may make sense to cue your body. I use a timer as a starting gun. Once it’s set, I’m working. Not elaborate? Not time-consuming? Not likely to be frustrated and send you away from your work? No problem. But watch for problems. Allegedly, one writer used to be unable to write if his pencil sat askew on his desk. Those days were lost.

Pacing and muttering - Okay, this is not planned for me. I just do it. Especially if I have been avoiding a scene in a story, am starting a new work, am struck with inspiration, or feel the urge to put in extra time on a story. If I find myself pacing and muttering, I let it go on until I can’t resist the keyboard. I let it run its course like a fever. Then I sit down and let the words pour out. My main mistake (for years) was diverting this process, usually because I had something on my to-do list or I (foolishly) answered the phone. My muse pushes me around. If yours does, too, let her (him, it). This is a golden kind of warm-up. The side effects may be a stiff neck or a loved one left standing in the rain, but the story is served. (And suffering comes with art, right?)

Getting prepared - This could be making the coffee, but I’m thinking more of looking at your outline, reading the last page you wrote, or making a few notes about what you intend to write next. For me, it’s looking at the prep sentence I wrote the day before. Or, when I am in the deadly middle of a long work like a novel, reading my list of why this story MUST be finished.

Rewriting - I mention this with red flags flying. In my experience, the biggest danger to writer productivity is looping — continually revising work before the draft is complete. But sometimes, for some people, rewriting the last paragraph from the day before or even the last page can recapture tone and voice and propel the work forward. Forward - that’s the key word. Go backward, and abandon all hope.

This is not a comprehensive list. You can write a page of gibberish or interview a character or dance to a disco tune and that may be just what you need. Don’t get lost. Don’t get distracted. Don’t, in any case, cultivate an addiction, even if your favorite writer was a drunk or hooked on heroin.

I’d also avoid reading fiction, especially fiction you love, right before you draft a scene. It’s likely to force discouraging comparisons. Or to influence your style (as Stephen King has written about   regarding Harlan Ellison’s work). TV or other media may also give you problems. About the only thing I can get away with is pulling up a short poem on YouTube. But even that may be risky.

The good news is that, once you’ve found ways to get you writing at your best, you can use them when you need them. Until they stop working. Then use a different method. Don’t just keep adding warm-ups.

Characters (and Writers) Need Great Settings

Where am I? I’m reading contest entries once again, and a common problem is amorphous setting. Minimally, the setting needs to orient us. But a setting can also be an obstacle, increase verisimilitude, set the mood, be symbolic, and tell us about the character. This last is especially important with first-person narratives, where what is noticed and how it is described can reveal much. (The protagonist in the entry I’m reading today notices everything in purple detail. Not a winner.)

Setting can make you more productive because details spark imagination. Also, a complete setting creates helpful limits. Finally, a well-defined setting will keep you from confusing the reader (and yourself). Let’s look at each of these.

Spur your imagination. The more you see, the more you can respond to artistically. Writers tend to be in the heads of their protagonists (and in their own heads in real life), but action that can be visualized and immediate happens in offices, airplanes, bedrooms, caves of wonder, and other spaces. Seeing the setting more fully and specifically gives your characters more license to get up, move around, and act. In her class on Visual Writing (a course I highly recommend), Max Adams insists on establishing space,light, and texture. I’ve found this is a great requirement for scripts and novels. For help on creating setting, check out the articles in Novel-Writing-Help.com.

Create helpful limits. Sight lines, furniture, comfort, travel times, and proximity to resources (and weapons) all impact how a plot spins out. A definite, specific setting will create some possibilities and shut down others, helping to guide you through your story. More complete settings will also help you avoid some rewrites needed to support a plot turn (or make it clear what those rewrites should be).

Avoid confusion. The relationships of objects and people within spaces need to be consistent, especially when people need to be in certain places. I’ve read many amateur works where characters are inadvertently teleported to convenient locations. Or where distance between sites became elastic. I’ve created floor plans on graph paper so that I could refer to them. I’ve also sketched out maps. (Map making is often essential for fantasy and science fiction, and I found some help. ) Just as productive writers keep references on the details of characters (eye color, clothing, childhood trauma) to avoid inconsistencies and extended checks through manuscripts, many keep floor plans and maps at hand. I prefer creating the basics of these before drafting and doing any updates after drafting is complete. Creating and updating references during the drafting process cramps creativity and is akin to looping.

It’s okay to overdo setting in your draft. Make sure you have enough to put yourself into the scene. You can always pull back from the purple prose in the editing. And you should make an effort to reduce the description to the minimum in rewriting since readers are looking for dialogue and action. Don’t hold onto big paragraphs that readers will skip just because you fall in love with them.

For more on setting, check out Bigger 3 - Take Me to Monte Carlo.

Six Posts on Fast Drafting

Here's another collection of past posts, for those who are in the drafting stage:

• Draft 1 - Stop endless looping

• Draft 2 - Write to Someone Specific

• Draft 3 - How to choose the best reader to write to

• Draft 4 - Style and the Fast Writer

• Draft 5 - Writing in the Fourth Person

• Draft 6 - Swept Away

NaNoWriMo Success 1 - Preparation

Since 1999, November has been National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). Not surprisingly, I'm an enthusiast. Many of the things that are dear to my heart happen for thousands - most recently, hundreds of thousands -- of eager participants. As they strive to complete a 50,000 word novel in just 30 days writers:

• Build the habit of writing regularly - Practice makes perfect.
• Write forward - Avoiding looping, and getting words on paper. As Nora Roberts said, "You can fix anything but a blank page."
• Build confidence - Getting a book written counters all the voices that say you can't do it, including the one in your own head.
• Clarify their commitment to writing - It is possible to start this task on a whim, but difficult to grit it out without a deeper understanding of why you must write.
• Build relationships with other writers - Writing can be a lonely business. NaNoWriMo creates the perfect opportunity to connect with other writers who will acknowledge, encourage, and support you.
• Discover or rediscover the joy of writing - You may have days you struggle, but, over a thirty-day period, it is highly unlikely that you won't have crazy wonderful experiences when the words flow and something new comes to life.

The demands of NaNoWriMo are crazy for most people. Getting almost 2,000 words on paper each day is double the commitment Stephen King asks of writers in his terrific book, On Writing. Even for a professional writer, NaNoWriMo is an Ironman Triathalon. With a few weeks to go before the starting gun goes off, it's time to go into training. I'll present a few suggestions on preparation here. In future articles, I'll write about drafting practices during NaNoWriMo, and what to do when December 1 rolls around, and its over for another year.

• The heart has its reasons - Answer the question of why you write (or intend to write). Multiple answers are great. Saying "for the money" will only get me laughing.
• Place, time, goals - Where will you write? Will you be able to close the door? Can you set aside the minutes or hours you need each day to get this done? Are they marked off on your calendar? Do you have word count goals? Chapter goals? Personal goals for this event?
• Tools - Will you use any special software, like Scrivener? Will the Emotional Thesaurus be ready in your browser? Will you use an application to make the Web inaccessible? Have you set up a way to track your word count? Will you use dictation? Are you fluent with using the tools you intend to use?
• Distractions - Do family members know they need to give you the time? Are you sacrificing FaceBook for the month of November? Have you thought about what can come off your to-do list for the month?
• Rituals and prompts - Have you picked out your lucky socks? Will you chant and burn incense? Play music? Do you have maps of the city where the story will take place? Have you cut a picture of your heroine out of People Magazine?
• Buddies - Do you have a fellow writer at hand to talk with, bounce ideas off of, complain to, and share good news with during the thirty days? Do you know how to find one? Do you know what your criteria are?
• Finger exercises - Are you doing a little bit more actual writing (not planning or character studies) each day, working yourself up to the daily word count you'll need? Are you practicing brainstorming, doing research, and making observations?
• Celebrations - Do you know how you'll celebrate daily success? Do you have confetti ready for the day you write "The End"?

If you get all of these just right, you will be well prepared to take on this challenge. You'll have the process in place, means, opportunity, and motivation. Do one more thing: set your expectations.

Realize that when it gets rolling, you may need to improvise. If your buddy bails on you, resolve now that you won't give up. You'll find someone else to work with (and keep writing in the meantime). Expect that life will get in the way and you'll miss a day. Be ready to shrug it off, and get back on task. Thirty days is a long period of time. Not everything you set up will go as planned, but if you expect hiccups, you'll be better able to have NaNoWriMo success.

Success doesn't necessarily mean finishing the 50,000 words and getting the certificate. It might mean coming out of the month with more capabilities and good writing habits.

Will you participate in NaNoWriMo? Are you getting ready? 
What do you expect to get out of it?

The Fast Draft Challenge: Hurts and helps

Throwing words, sentences, and paragraphs onto a page in a rush is like running a race. If you're out of shape you may finish with a limp or even come up short. If you write regularly, you'll get to the end most days, but some will be easier than others.
Since fast drafting is one of the critical steps I mentioned in Productive Writing Stripped Down to the Essentials, I'll dig into it a bit more this time. (I've drilled down on Story Premise and Drafting Goals in previous posts.)
Lots of practices and attitudes can get in the way. Here are a few that may hold you back:

• Perfectionism - Drafts are all about allowing yourself to make mistakes, but that isn't easy for some people. Putting down words and creating scenes that won't make the final draft can feel sloppy or like a waste of time. For most people, it's not. It's a great time saver that keeps you moving forward so the story can be exposed. Rewriting is where things get fixed. Getting that part of your mind to quiet down and let the words flow takes practice.
• Looping - There can be an irresistible urge to fix what is written as you go along. This knocks you out of creative, composition mode, and slows things down -- often to a stop. It can be difficult to let it go when you see ways to make it better, but, for most people, the starts and stops get in the way of productivity.
• The right word - Good writers make the best word choices for final copy, but stopping to search for the best word as you compose can trip you up. I've found, for my own work, it's best to just put something down if the third word I come up with still isn't quite right. Inevitably, the best word comes to me in rewriting. (Sometimes I put questionable words in italics or just add an asterisk at the end.) Similar to this is uncertainty about spelling (put it down phonetically) and reaching for a fact (see bagel below).
• Lack of commitment - This is similar to dithering, but in real time. It is not unusual to have other scenes, other stories, and other work suggest themselves as you work on your draft. Somehow, you know the words will flow if you just change projects. This is usually an illusion. If you've set your goal for writing, consider it a promise to yourself. Keep your promise, and then feel free to go after the shiny objects.
• Interruptions - The words are flowing and then you hear the familiar "bing" of new email. Or you have the desire for a cup of coffee. Or the cat jumps into your lap. Do what you can to eliminate interruptions and temptations. Track what happens anyway to see if it stops you too often. Take steps to give yourself the time and quiet you owe yourself.

There are certainly more problems with keeping the words flowing. Sometimes the juices don't flow for no apparent reason. All you can do is write down a noun, and then a verb, and keep building stuff that is horrible but keeps you moving forward. A process one of my mentors called (I'll paraphrase) "defecating masonry."
Usually, it doesn't come to that. To provide some help, here are a few things you can try:

• Remind yourself it's not a watercolor - You want perfect? You can get it in a later draft. Everything can be fixed, and no one needs to see this version.
• Use a timer - It's like a starting gun, and it puts a definite limit on the minutes you need to dedicate to composing.
• Fill in with bagels - I just write the word bagel when the right word or fact refuses to come to mind. I clean up the bagels later on.
• Be ready - That means having your premise and your goal for the day. Sometimes it also means getting research done and answering questions about the mood and the purpose of the scene.
• Use a dictation program - This is especially valuable if you tend to loop. Rewriting as you work is very difficult when you are dictating.
• Interview your character about the scene - When I'm lost, I turn to the character who has the most to lose in the scene I'm writing. I cut and paste questions onto the page and write his or her answers.
• How do you feel about the other people in this scene?
• What do you need or want?
• What's in your way?
• What happens if you succeed?
• What happens if you fail?
• What's at stake for you?

Are there days when I use everything in this toolbox and still have a blank page when the timer goes off? Yes. But it's rare, and I've seen days when I'm blocked become more rare over the years. When it happens, I shrug my shoulders and let it go. Usually, I forget about it. Sometimes, I change my writing goal for the next day. I don't chastise myself or brood about the "failure." Often, I've found, the best writing days follow a day when nothing worked. That's a helpful perspective to keep in mind.

***

Upcoming classes
January 5-30, 2015 How to Write FAST (online) http://www.yosemiteromancewriters.com/workshops
January 13-February 17 Science Fiction and Fantasy Writing Workshop (face-to-face) https://writerscenter.org/courses/science-fiction-and-fantasy-writing-workshop
February 2-15 The Perfect Setting (online) http://ce.savvyauthors.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Calendar.eventDetail&eventId=2149
Februrary 25-March 11 How to Write FAST (face to face) Westchester Community College http://www.sunywcc.edu/continuing-ed/ce/

Every Other Friday -- PJ Sharon

PJ Sharon is author of contemporary young adult novels, including HEAVEN IS FOR HEROES, a finalist in the Denver Heart of Romance Molly contest. Her stories have garnered several contest finals, including a place in the Wisconsin Romance Writers FAB Five contest for ON THIN ICE.  Her third novel, SAVAGE CINDERELLA, published in March of 2012 was a finalist in the Valley Forge Romance writer’s contest as well as the Florida Romance Writers GOLDEN PALM contest in 2010.

On the road to publication, PJ decided that indie-publishing was the best fit for her books. Although the themes are mature, evoking plenty of drama and teen angst, PJ writes with a positive outlook and promises a hopefully ever after end to all of her books. She believes in strong heroines empowered by learning valuable life lessons.

Tell me about Waning Moon.
Waning Moon is Book One in The Chronicles of Lily Carmichael trilogy. It’s a YA dystopian, set in the year 2057 in a post-apocalyptic world where three quarters of the population has been wiped out by a global pandemic, and a polar shift threatens the remainder of earth’s inhabitants with extinction. Our heroine, a sixteen-year-old genetically altered teen, Lily Carmichael, faces bigger challenges than the end of the world—escaping capture by a rogue government agency, saving her family, and avoiding falling in love.

What drove you to write Waning Moon? Who did you write it for?
I wrote this book after many discussions with friends about where we thought the world would be in forty or fifty years. Lily’s story unfolded in my brain, came to me as a full-fledged trilogy, and wouldn’t leave me alone until I wrote it. I actually had to set aside another manuscript that I was halfway through to write this one.

As far as who I wrote it for, I have to say that all my books seem to have a familiar theme of “no matter how bad things get, there is always hope.” I write teen stories with that message in mind. In the midst of all the dark subject matter in YA these days, I think teens need to read more books with uplifting messages. I also wanted to write an adventure story that would appeal to teen boys as well as the female readers I usually write for.

What were your biggest obstacles?
Honestly, I had no idea how much research would be involved in creating a world that does not yet exist. My husband is an engineer and a great resource, but I knew I couldn’t get away with lame technology that was less than believable, especially for purposes of continuity throughout the trilogy. For instance, because of the polar shift, there is increased exposure to radiation that happens to people who are out in the sun during its zenith. I had to make sure to stay consistent with this information. One of my beta readers caught me on it and asked, “Shouldn’t all those people be wearing protective eye shields?” But of course they should!

What are your productivity tips?
There is nothing that compares to simply digging in and tackling the writing as if it were a full time job and I were being paid for it. I treat myself as if I’m an employee, and boy is my boss a task master, LOL.

I set deadlines and announce them publicly so that I’m held accountable and locked into a specific timeline. This isn’t for everyone because it can certainly create some stress, but I find I work best to deadlines and public humiliation, so this is what works for me. I write lists, and have daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly goals. I have a one year, three year, five year, and ten year plan, which of course almost never come to fruition but keep me moving forward nonetheless.

This all sounds very regimented and OCD, but really, the goals and lists are guidelines. I don’t judge or berate myself for not meeting a goal. I reassess what worked, what didn’t, why it did/didn’t and then move on and make a new goal. After a year of mayhem and meeting the stressful accomplishment of indie-publishing four novels and a short story, I’m planning a much less aggressive production schedule for 2013. My boss and I have come to an understanding and she only wants what’s best for me…which is for me to be a happy and healthy writer.

Do you have any questions for me? 
I’ve always been a two steps forward and one step back kind of writer, editing and tweaking the previous chapter before moving on to a new one when I sit down to write. That made NaNoWriMo very challenging for me. It seems daunting to have to go back at the end and try to revise when half of what you’ve written is crap. I get the concept of “you can’t revise a blank page,” but for me it seems better to repair as I go than to have to do a huge re-write.

I’m curious, what do you think about keeping word count journals? Do you think it’s more important to write fast, or write for quality?



You didn't ask me about your tweaking, but I'll respond anyway. I'm in favor of whatever works for a writer, and you certainly are productive, without sacrificing story. With that said, other writers might think twice before copying your behavior. I've known too many who have fallen into the looping trap.


I'm a big fan of wordcount journals, setting timers, and anything else that helps writers keep at it and see their progress. Tracking rewriting is more difficult, and I recommend that writers identify their processes and keep a writing process diary.

To an extent, I think speed or quality is a false choice. Yes, it is possible to go into automatic writing mode and produce pages of crap. Just putting words on paper can create prose that is filled with cliches or even incoherent. But, when you are present as you write and you make an honest attempt to tell your story, the pages produced may be imperfect -- but they are likely to be valuable. 

The forward momentum and immediate forgiveness of fast drafting can kill the inner critic that makes you less productive. And the ease with which you create pages will make it less difficult to cut bad scenes or scenes that don't belong in your story.


Not all the tips I provide on productive writing work for everyone. This includes my recommendation that writers push forward and complete the work before rewriting. I know, for some people, the "bad" pages call to them. They are never able to overcome the distraction and stress created by waiting to fix what they've written. Transitioning to fast drafting is difficult. My guess is, if, after two weeks of honestly attempting to make the change, it still gives you the flying fantods, it's time to use a different productivity approach.

Writers' Mini-Productivity Clinic - Tips and concerns

I wrote this up for a class I'm teaching. It may be a good way for readers of this blog to review the essentials, so here it is for you.

Most of us would like to increase out output, but not at the expense of quality. That is, you don’t want to simply put more words on paper. You want to get more of your novel done for each hour of work.

Based on my experiences with hundreds of writers, the most valuable change you can make is to draft the full manuscript with your internal editor turned off. This does not mean engaging in automatic writing or moving to stream of consciousness. It means keeping your focus on telling the story without paying too much attention to making every word perfect the first time through or rewriting along the way. In other words, relax, have fun, and allow your creative self to shine through. Be tough and rigorous later, when you’re revising.

To help you do this, I’ll offer some tips and alert you to some concerns.

Warning 1 Be careful about trying to write faster if you are a “natural.” It is okay to experiment out of your comfort zone, but too much forcing is a mistake.

Warning 2 Don’t try to adopt all the tips at once.

Warning 3 Change is hard, and every change involves trade-offs. If your instincts say a change is not worth it, trust your instincts.

Warning 4 If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Samuel R. Delany, reportedly, never puts a word down until he knows it’s right, and never revises. There are people like this. Rarely. If you are one of them or if a tip or concern does not make sense for you, don’t force it.

This is not a complete set of tips. For me, Fast Writing addresses six steps (Overcoming Blocks, Knowing What to Write, Fast Plotting, Fast Drafting, Fast Rewriting and Fast Synopsis Writing), and each has many opportunities for speeding things up. The tips below are a selection that might be helpful.

The Ten Tips

1. Make a decision on what you will write the day before. Decide which project, which section and which of the six steps you will work on. It is okay to do something else, but do what you committed to do.

2. Measure your work. Count words or commit to minutes. Chart your work every day. Flannery O’Connor wrote 200 words a day exactly. I write 10,000 words a week. For years, I wrote 40 minutes per day. Write what’s right for you. Track it. Consider increasing your commitment once you have a month without missing your goals. Sometimes, doing something like a Weight Watchers weigh in helps people to keep their commitments.

3. Use technology judiciously. This may mean turning off Wi-Fi or learning to use Dragon Dictate (a favorite of mine). Experiment with what will make you more efficient without damaging your work.

4. Make your notes in full sentences. This one is from Ray Bradbury, and it has been a real timesaver. I no longer puzzle over random words like “galoshes.”

5. Write, don’t think. This one is from Isaac Asimov. In drafting (and sometimes plotting), charging forward without worrying about spelling or the exact word can keep fill the pages. When I write nonfiction, I often put the word “bagel” in when I don’t know a statistic or a name or another fact. After the draft is done, I then search for all the bagels and fix them.

6. Try dialogue only. A conversation (especially in romance) often can carry a scene. If you let the characters speak without worrying about what the setting or their faces look like, the pages can fill up quickly. Then you can go back and fill in the visuals later.

7. Master your world without stinting your writing. Often you can run out of things to say for the simple reason that you don’t know enough about your world and your people. A little research often can open things up for you. Just be careful not to have library time consume your writing time.

8. Don’t finish anything, but finish everything. For many people, it is twice as hard to start a scene or a chapter than it is to finish one. Leaving them unfinished at the end of your writing time gives you a perfect starting point.

9. Don’t leave your best stuff in the Green Room. Actors know what I’m talking about. Even Shakespeare can become stale. Lots of writers tell their stories so often that it feels like leftovers by the time they hit the keyboard. Share your story in written form.

10. Have documented processes. For each of the six steps, write down the process you use. Create forms, flow charts, or questions, if that helps. What you want is a definite plan of attack. Then you can avoid the excuse of not knowing (or having decided) what to do next.

Bonus tip: Relax, enjoy, make mistakes, have fun. As Damon Knight said, “It’s not a watercolor.”

The Concerns

There are some habits that (for most writers) cut into productivity. Some are easy to fix. Some are difficult. But if you have a bad habit and break it, the benefits in productivity can be enormous, compounded over all the years you write. Here are the main concerns I have seen writers work on to good effect:

1. Looping - This is rewriting along the way. I’ve met dozens of writers who have been working on their first few chapters for years. Drafting and revising access different parts of the brain. It takes energy to switch back and forth, making writing a drudgery. Revising along the way wakes up the internal editor, who is happy to disparage the work and create doubts.
2. Dithering - Some people allow themselves to decide which project to work on each day. And they often get wallowed in indecision. Or they allow themselves to make impromptu jumps to different scenes —but which ones? Or they have ad hoc revision processes, where they may shift around between macro fixes (like story logic) and micro fixes (like making verbs more active).  Setting up the need to make decisions during your writing time consumes energy and bring the work to a stop. Have a process that directs you to an ordered set of choices, and stick with it.
3. Promiscuity - Yes, writers have roving eyes for ideas. And the cute new ones often cause a writer to abandon the Work in Progress (especially during the deadly slump that shows up half to three-quarters of the way through the drafting). Noting (and even working on) new ideas is fine — as long as the Work in Progress is being attended to regularly.
4. Procrastination - Life gets in the way. Sometimes when it shouldn’t. Why is it that laundry needs doing or pencils need sharpening during writing sessions? Usually, because chores are much more appealing when the writing gets challenging. By all means, take a break from time to time. But remember what Judith Guest said. For every day you take off, it will take a day to get back into the rhythm of the work.
5. Random walks - This is related to dithering, and you are vulnerable to not knowing what comes next if you haven’t created a process for your work. Rewriting (which is complex and multi-layered) is a major vulnerability for writers who haven’t documented out the steps that work for them. Taking on everything in a manuscript that needs fixing at once is inefficient and creates confusion.
6. Getting “writerly” - I owe this one to Kristan Higgins, who noted that many writers convince themselves they are writing when they are surfing the Web (research), publicizing (especially by indulging in social media), and talking with other writers. All of this is fine in its place, but it is not writing. It’s what Kristan calls “writerly activities.” If you pretend these make you a writer, you are robbing time from the work of storytelling.

The simplest formula for success.

I have compassion for people who want to be writers who feel frustrated or as if their efforts have stalled. Here’s the most successful advice I’ve had for them.

Step 1. Commit to writing 15 minutes a day, 5 days a week. Put these sessions onto your calendar.

Step 2. Choose a work that will be your Work in Progress (WIP), and commit to working on it during your sessions until the manuscript is complete.

Step 3. Each day before a session, write one complete sentence on what the next day’s work will be. Something like, “Franklin will steal the diamond.” That’s the scene you’ll be writing.

Step 4. Set a timer at the beginning of your session and get right to work. Just write. Don’t research.

Don’t consult a thesaurus. Get words down. Move the story forward. (You’ll probably get a page or so drafted.)

With this process, you’ll develop good habits, grow as a writer, and have the equivalent of a manuscript drafted every year.

And you deserve it. The two hours you give yourself as a gift each week should belong to you. Some moms with kids in diapers have been able to do this for themselves. So can you.