Time to Write

Writing sessions: get off to a great start

In the previous post we looked at how to gain momentum when doing a big writing project. This time let's see how you can get off to a great, fast start for each of your writing sessions and keep up your momentum.

There tends to be resistance at three points:

1: Getting started

For many peope this is the toughest one. 

• Schedule a time and make sure your resources are there at the start.
• Use a mood board or folder of images to stimulate your thinking
• Use an app that gives you an uncluttered blank screen so you're not distracted by your desktop.
• Train people in your environment that certain days and hours are your writing time
• Find the location that works best – if necessary, go to a café, library, etc.
• Find a scent that energizes you (peppermint is good) and sniff it at the start (you can get little bottles of essential oils for this at many health food stores)
• Have tools you enjoy using – notebooks, pens, folders, etc.
• Before you start, decide on a small reward you’ll give yourself at the end of the session
• Use a timer so you don’t have to think about the time. I suggest sessions lasting 45 minutes, then a fifteen minute break (also timed), then repeat.
• if you’re tempted to do something else that is more immediately rewarding, imagine with all your senses how good it will feel, look, sound, smell when you have achieved your writing goal (the feel of your book in your hands, the smell of the new pages, the sound of people complimenting the book, the look of a stack of the books in the book store, the spreadsheet with the sales figures for your ebook, etc.

Also get a copy of my book, Creativity Now. The first section suggests 25 ways to get into a creative state of mind, the second section offers 25 ways to generate new ideas, the third section reveals 25 ways to go from idea to real project and the final section includes 25 inspiring examples of others who have built impressive businesses or careers using their creativity. It's published by Pearson and available from Amazon or your other favorite bookseller.

2: The middle

This is where distractions will intrude if you let them.

• Turn off the phones
• Put a “Do Not Disturb” sign on the door
• Don't stop to check email or Facebook or Twitter, etc.
• Consider getting or making a stand-up desk so you can spend part of the session standing up. If making phone calls is part of that session's tasks, stand or walk around while you do it.
• Wear noise-cancelling headphones or have white noise playing in the background—whatever you need in order to stay focused. Listen to music if that doesn't distract you.

3: The end

At the end of a working session you may face two problems. 

One: your Inner Critic rushes in and tells you that you didn’t get enough done.

• Use the Inner Critic visualisation to send it away (you can find this as a bonus on the website for my book, "Your Writing Coach").

Two: you are tempted to keep writing until you get to the end of a chapter or section— if you don’t know what you’ll write after that bit, this can be stressful. 

• Follow Ernest Hemingway’s advice and stop mid-sentence so you’ll always know what you’ll be writing the next day.

RECORD YOUR PROGRESS

You'll feel more motivated during all three of these phases if you record your progress every day—the number of words or whatever measure makes sense at that point. Keep in view not only how much is left to do but also how much you have done already. Checking off squares or filling in a chart makes this a physical thing, which is very satisfying.

(For innovative time management strategies for creative people, see my book, "Focus: use the power of targeted thinking to get more done", published by Pearson.)

 

Big writing (or other) project? Here's how to build momentum!

If you have a big writing (or other) project, one great way to build momentum is to spend a full day working on it with support from your peers.

IT'S GOOD TO GO MAD

That's what we do on my monthly MADs--Massive Action Days. It's all online. You sign in to our exclusive website, declare your goal for the day there, and get to work. Every hour I do a brief live video broadcast to answer questions and offer tips. You update us on your progress and everybody supports each other.

The people already doing the MADs find it incredibly productive and it's inexpensive--only £5 each when you sign up for ten. You can find our more at www.MassiveActionDay.com. 

What else can you do to build momentum? Let's start with the basics:

The formula is Velocity x Mass = Momentum

The more you apply effort, the more momentum you get, unless you encounter another important aspect of momentum, Resistance. Resistance can increase the mass of a molehill to that of a mountain.

FOUR POINTS OF RESISTANCE

In writing there are four points at which you tend to have resistance:

1: Getting started. The best solution is chunking down the goal into manageable chunks, scheduling regular time to work, and getting support.

2: The middle. You’ve done a lot but there’s a lot yet to do and the initial excitement has worn off. The best tools are: knowing this is normal, using a variety of brainstorming techniques (like the ones in my writing books) to get a fresh perspective, and making sure your Inner Critic doesn’t talk you into quitting.

3: After the first draft. The first step when you're ready to critique your first draft is to use methods for getting a more objective view of your own writing (wait a week, change location and posture, print it out on different colour paper and/or a different typeface, read once for general reactions and don’t try to fix it as you go—note the necessary changes, then go back into creative mode, at your usual writing location).

When it’s as good as you can make it, show to someone you trust to be constructive. Tell them you want them to jot down any problems they discern—where it’s boring, where it’s confusing, where they think what’s happening isn’t plausible, etc. Tell them you don’t want them to suggest solutions, only problems.

Fix the problems and repeat, but stop rewriting when the new version isn’t getting better, just different.

4: When you send it out into the world.  Put on your business hat, not your sensitive artist hat, and make a plan. Let your sensitive artist get busy on a new creative project so it doesn’t hang around getting tense.

>> In the next post we'll see how you can also build momentum for every working session.

(Want to get more things done, more easily? Using creative methods rather than more hard work? You'll find the ansswers in my book, "Focus: use the power of targeted thinking to get more done." It's published by Pearson and you can get it from Amazon or your other favorite bookseller.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A part of rewriting your book or script you won't like (but it'll help)

Are you on track for your writing or other goal? (Reminder 3 of 12)

How to challenge your excuses

In the last post I featured a quote that makes the point that we all make excuses. 

My favorite response when somebody says “I can’t” is “OK, but how would you do it if you could?”

Example: “I’d like to learn another language, but I can’t.” (Followed by lots of reasons—no time, not good at languages, etc.).

“OK, but how what would you do if you could?”

“No, no, I can’t.”

“OK, but what would you do if you could?”

Usually this evokes repeated denials and requires repeating the same question. Eventually the answer is something like this:

“Well, I guess I’d get a language app for my phone and learn a word a day while I’m on the train.”

Bingo! The first step. The hardest step.

However, excuses have a way of coming back. Sometime down the line you might hear, "I''ve learned quite a few words and I'd like to figure out how to put them together into useful sentences, but I can't (no time, etc.)"

That's your cue: "OK, but what would you do if you could?"

By the way, use this tool only with people who really want to overcome their excuses. There are people who use excuses to cover the fact that they don't really want to do the thing being discussed. In those cases, save your breath.

If you’ve been making excuses that you'd like to overcome, you can pay for me to come to your place and ask you that question over and over until you give in and come up with a good way to start to vanquish the excuse. However, that would be expensive (I’d charge you for first class travel).

The alternative is to get a friend or family member to do that for you. If you have kids, they'll love being your inquisitor.  Or you can do it for yourself.

I can hear you say, “Interesting, but this wouldn’t work for my problem.”

OK, but what would be the answer if it could?

(You'll find many additional innovative ways to manage your time and yourself, in my book Focus: Use the power of targeted thinking to get more done." It's published by Pearson and you can get it from Amazon or your other favorite book seller.)

Are you on track for your writing or other goal? (Reminder 3 of 12)

Many writers make resolutions or set goals for themselves at the start of the year. Very few are still working on them even one month later.

Often it’s not that they have consciously decided to stop; usually they just sort of forget about the goals because too many other urgent things come up.

That’s why I decided to remind you to remember your goals at the start of every month (which is also a good way of reminding myself of mine, of course). I hope it’ll help both of us stay on track so that at the start of the next year we’re not back to square one.

This post appears on April 1, three months after most people set their resolutions or goals for the year. Of course you may be reading it on some other date. That’s fine—it’s always a good time to check whether you’re moving toward your goals and to take corrective action if you’re not.

If you haven’t set any goals for your writing (for instance, writing a novel, getting an agent, or self-publishing your book) or other parts of your life, you might find it useful to take a look at the posts below in order; even if you have worked through them already, it’s useful to go back to them for a quick review.

 Don’t wait until you’re on your deathbed, the time for action is now!

Take one look back, then it’ll be time to move forward 

Design your writing (and other) goals with zero-based planning

How to think big about your writing and the other parts of your life

Why “unrealistic” writing and other goals are easier to achieve

The seven steps to reaching your goals

 

If you did set goals for yourself, take a few minutes to answer these questions now:

• In the past month, have you been moving toward your most important goals?
   
• If not, what has stopped you or slowed you down? You might find it useful to take a look at thistrouble-shooting guide.
   
• What can you do to get yourself back on track? Don't just do the same things that didn't work last time. Come up with alternatives and keep going until you find what works for you. (If you have trouble brainstorming ideas, see my book, ‘Creativity Now,” published by Pearson and available from Amazon).
   
• What’s the first step you can take today or tomorrow? Commit to it now.

As soon as you have taken the first step select the next step and keep going until you’re making progress.

Once in a while you may find that a goal you thought was important doesn’t turn out to be as meaningful after all. If you’re sure the goal isn’t going to give you what you thought it would, let it go and set a different one. However, the road to every goal is full of challenges, so don’t give up one goal just because you think maybe another one might be easier to accomplish.

If you subscribe to this blog today, in 30 days I’ll be reminding you again. If you have any questions, let me know at jurgenwolff (at) gmail.com. You may also find it useful to read my book, “Focus: use the power of targeted thinking to get more done,” published by Pearson and available from Amazon or your other favorite book seller.

Good luck and don't forget to enjoy the journey!

The next time you think you're too burdened to write or be creative...

The next time you think you’re just too busy or overburdened to get to work on your novel or screenplay, take a minute to consider Susan Spencer-Wendel.

She was 44 years old in 2011 when she was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease). She decided to do lots of things on her bucket list one of which was writing a book that might inspire others and would remind her family and friends of her when she is gone. 

The book is 89,000 words long. 

She wrote it on her iPhone. 

She did it using only her right thumb.

I know hearing about somebody else’s difficulties doesn’t make yours any less troublesome, but what her story demonstrates is that it’s all about priorities.

Susan Spencer-Wendel really wanted to write that book, so she did. It's called Until I Say Good-bye.  

If you really want to write your book or your screenplay, you will. 

If this inspires you to get writing, it’ll be proof that she achieved what she set out to do.

(This item is also in my Brainstorm ebulletin this month, but I think it's worth featuring in both places.  You can read more about Susan Spencer-Wendel here. There’s also a link to the 6-minute NPR story there.)

Are you on track for your writing or other goal? (Reminder 2 of 12)

Many writers make resolutions or set goals for themselves at the start of the year. Very few are still working on them even one month later.

Often it’s not that they have consciously decided to stop; usually they just sort of forget about the goals because too many other urgent things come up.

That’s why I decided to remind you to remember your goals at the start of every month (which is also a good way of reminding myself of mine, of course). I hope it’ll help both of us stay on track so that at the start of the next year we’re not back to square one.

This post appears on March 1, two months after most people set their resolutions or goals for the year. Of course you may be reading it on some other date. That’s fine—it’s always a good time to check whether you’re moving toward your goals and to take corrective action if you’re not.

If you haven’t set any goals for your writing (for instance, writing a novel, getting an agent, or self-publishing your book) or other parts of your life, you might find it useful to take a look at the posts below in order; even if you have worked through them already, it’s useful to go back to them for a quick review.

 Don’t wait until you’re on your deathbed, the time for action is now!

Take one look back, then it’ll be time to move forward 

Design your writing (and other) goals with zero-based planning

How to think big about your writing and the other parts of your life

Why “unrealistic” writing and other goals are easier to achieve

The seven steps to reaching your goals

 

If you did set goals for yourself, take a few minutes to answer these questions now:

• In the past month, have you been moving toward your most important goals?
   
• If not, what has stopped you or slowed you down? You might find it useful to take a look at thistrouble-shooting guide.
   
• What can you do to get yourself back on track? Don't just do the same things that didn't work last time. Come up with alternatives and keep going until you find what works for you. (If you have trouble brainstorming ideas, see my book, ‘Creativity Now,” published by Pearson and available from Amazon).
   
• What’s the first step you can take today or tomorrow? Commit to it now.

As soon as you have taken the first step select the next step and keep going until you’re making progress.

Once in a while you may find that a goal you thought was important doesn’t turn out to be as meaningful after all. If you’re sure the goal isn’t going to give you what you thought it would, let it go and set a different one. However, the road to every goal is full of challenges, so don’t give up one goal just because you think maybe another one might be easier to accomplish.

If you subscribe to this blog today, in 30 days I’ll be reminding you again. If you have any questions, let me know at jurgenwolff (at) gmail.com. You may also find it useful to read my book, “Focus: use the power of targeted thinking to get more done,” published by Pearson and available from Amazon or your other favorite book seller.

Good luck and don't forget to enjoy the journey!

Overwhelmed with writing (or life's demands?) Good news...

It's easy to feel oerwhelmed when you are trying to write a book or pursue some other demanding creative project. It's important to take a break once in a while, which is what I'm doing, and that's why I've brought back a few of my favorites from my Brainstorm and Focus ebulletin.

The first is the terrific news that all those things you have to do...you don't!

OK we’ll leave aside breathing, eating and a few other functions, but here’s a liberating thing: as an adult, you don’t HAVE to do anything!

I am a fan of the philosophy of the late Albert Ellis, who came up with Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy. One of the foundations of that approach is getting rid of the “shoulds” in your life. Let’s look at some common examples:

“ I should lose some weight.” No, you CAN lose some weight. If the benefits of losing weight are important to you, then that will be the right choice for you.

“I really should clean up my office.” Again, you CAN clean up your office. And if you frequently are frustrated by not being able to find files or supplies, or you regularly stub your toe on the boxes piled up everywhere then that choice will be rewarding.

Of course this applies to “should nots” as well. “I shouldn’t spend so much time watching TV.” Are there other things you’d enjoy more or that would benefit you more? Then you can choose to do them.

The key question when you find yourself facing a “should” or “shouldn’t” is “Who says?” If it’s a genuine desire on your part, go ahead and choose that course. If it’s somebody else’s idea of what’s right for you, get in touch with your inner brat and say (if only in your mind) “I don’t want to, and you can’t make me!”

ACTION: Are you being held prisoner by any shoulds or shouldn’ts? Is it time to liberate yourself?

(If you don't receive my free monthly tips on how to be more creative and productive, sign up at the right. You really should! No, wait..)

 

 

Are you on track for your writing or other goal? (Reminder 1 of 12)

Many writers make resolutions or set goals for themselves at the start of the year. Very few are still working on them even one month later.

Often it’s not that they have consciously decided to stop; usually they just sort of forget about the goals because too many other urgent things come up.

That’s why I decided to remind you to remember your goals at the start of every month (which is also a good way of reminding myself of mine, of course). I hope it’ll help both of us stay on track so that at the start of the next year we’re not back to square one.

This post appears on February 1, one month after most people set their resolutions or goals for the year. Of course you may be reading it on some other date. That’s fine—it’s always a good time to check whether you’re moving toward your goals and to take corrective action if you’re not.

If you haven’t set any goals for your writing (for instance, writing a novel, getting an agent, or self-publishing your book) or other parts of your life, you might find it useful to take a look at the posts below in order; even if you have worked through them already, it’s useful to go back to them for a quick review.

 Don’t wait until you’re on your deathbed, the time for action is now!

Take one look back, then it’ll be time to move forward 

Design your writing (and other) goals with zero-based planning

How to think big about your writing and the other parts of your life

Why “unrealistic” writing and other goals are easier to achieve

The seven steps to reaching your goals

 

If you did set goals for yourself, take a few minutes to answer these questions now:

• In the past month, have you been moving toward your most important goals?
   
• If not, what has stopped you or slowed you down? You might find it useful to take a look at this trouble-shooting guide.
   
• What can you do to get yourself back on track? Don't just do the same things that didn't work last time. Come up with alternatives and keep going until you find what works for you. (If you have trouble brainstorming ideas, see my book, ‘Creativity Now,” published by Pearson and available from Amazon).
   
• What’s the first step you can take today or tomorrow? Commit to it now.

As soon as you have taken the first step select the next step and keep going until you’re making progress.

Once in a while you may find that a goal you thought was important doesn’t turn out to be as meaningful after all. If you’re sure the goal isn’t going to give you what you thought it would, let it go and set a different one. However, the road to every goal is full of challenges, so don’t give up one goal just because you think maybe another one might be easier to accomplish.

If you subscribe to this blog today, in 30 days I’ll be reminding you again. If you have any questions, let me know at jurgenwolff (at) gmail.com. You may also find it useful to read my book, “Focus: use the power of targeted thinking to get more done,” published by Pearson and available from Amazon or your other favorite book seller.

Good luck and don't forget to enjoy the journey!

 

 

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Three revealing quotes about writing--and life

Today I wanted to share three quotes about writing and about life.

"I read and I walked for miles at night along the beach, writing bad blank verse and searching endlessly for someone wonderful who would step out of the darkness and change my life. It never crossed my mind that that person could be me." -- Anna Quindlen

That one hits home for me; I used to wander around the Stanford campus late at night when I was a student there, sometimes feeling like I was in a movie but not knowing whether it was a comedy or a tragedy. Come on, those are the years when it's easy to imagine yourself as some kind of doomed hero because you don't yet have a mortgage to think about and you doubt you'll ever make it to old age (40) anyway. I think it did occur to me that the person who had to step out of the darkness could be me, or even that it had to be me, I just didn't know how--but it always seemed to involve writing.

"You fail only if you stop writing" -- Ray Bradbury

Bradbury never did stop writing, not until he stopped breathing. He gave you the feeling they were pretty much the same thing.

After the 99th rejection or a few particularly frustrating incidents it can be tempting to stop, but one thing I've found helpful is to switch to a different genre or even a totally different type of writing for a while.

I've spent a lot of my career writing scripts but when I got fed up with some of the more aggravating aspects of that, I switched to writing non-fiction books.

At the moment I'm back to writing a script, but also trying out something totally new for me, a young adult novel.

Yes, it's good to focus your efforts because breaking in to any type of writing is a challenge and you don't want to spread yourself too thin. However, sometimes it's healthy. As the saying goes, sometimes a change is as good as a rest.

"Two hours of writing fiction leaves this writer completely drained. For those two hours he has been in a different place with completely different people." - Roald Dahl

Being in a different place with completely different people is what made me love reading, and makes me love writing.

With a few exceptions, I've avoided writing (or reading, or seeing films) about serial killers, child molesters, and murderers, mostly because these are not people I want to spend time with.

If you do enjoy vicariously confronting horrible people, perhaps making sure they get their comeuppance more often than is the case with their real-life counterparts, that's great, too.

Either way, I hope you're taking advantage of our unique ability as writers to create worlds and people to live within and to share with thousands or even millions of our fellow escapees.

(For writing advice from the finest writers, including Dickens, Jane Austen, Robert Louis Stevenson, as well as modern masters like Hemingway and Fitzgerald, get a copy of my book, "Your Creative Writing Masterclass," published by Nicholas Brealey and available from Amazon or your other favorite bookseller.)

 

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For mothers (or fathers) who also want to write

In The Writer magazine, novelist Diana Abu-Jabar (“Arabian Jazz,” “Crescent”) describes how her writing schedule changed when she had a child:

“I used to be fairly methodical, get up, go straight to my desk and try to get in a few hours of work before breakfast. The rest of the day I might have spent on revisions, transcribing or related correspondence. I write all my drafts longhand.

After my daughter was born, all that changed. Now I get up with her and our day begins together. My work lives and dies by the babysitter, who comes daily, Monday through Friday. At first I was afraid I wouldn’t have time to raise a child and conduct a writing life, but I find that all it takes is adaptation, perseverance, and babysitters.”

Now, you may be thinking, “Yes, and the money to hire  a baby-sitter to show up daily.” 

However, there are other ways to do it. For instance, you may be able to barter baby-sitting with another parent who wants time to pursue their passion.

Or if you have a spare room you might be able to swap room and board for the babysitting services of a student.

Or you may have valuable skills you can employ on a free-lance basis via web services like HireMyMom.com or elance.com.

Good luck and if you have any other suggestions for how to have a writing practice and kids at the same time, feel free to share them in the comments.

(If you want some great ideas for using your time more productively, you'll find them in my book, "Focus: Use the power of targeted thinking to get more done." It's published by Pearson and you can get it from Amazon or your other favorite bookseller.)

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