Finding the Time to Write

I had a reader recently ask me what the biggest contributing factor was in getting my stories down on paper. My response was... detailed. Reading back over it, I decided that it was worth sharing. So here it is. With pictures added for effect.


The threat of public humiliation, that was the biggest contributing factor to getting writing done. In 2008, I started my blog, and its express purpose was to post the daily drafting of a short story that I challenged myself to write, edit, and finish in two weeks. I promised that I would have daily posts of my drafting progress, and the threat of admitting defeat publicly was all the motivation I needed. Even though, at the time, I didn't think anyone was reading my blog. The IDEA of admitting defeat was enough.

Coming off that small, but momentous, victory, I finished the first draft of Shatter. To do that, I used another form of peer pressure to get me drafting every day. I signed up for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). I already had over 40k words going into the challenge, and I wrote 54k words in November and cranked out the remainder of the draft in December. (Of course, this means that I violated the spirit of the rules, because it's supposed to be a new project.) I'm a quietly competitive person, so writing alongside other people kept me moving forward.

In the end, it's just a matter of deciding that writing is important enough to you that you'll do it when you want to do ANYTHING else, including cleaning the bathroom. I'm not kidding. There was a moment when I was drafting Render when I considered stopping to go clean the bathroom, because the drafting was so horrendously bad that I wanted to scrub my bathtub. I've NEVER wanted to scrub my bathtub.

Must. Concentrate. *writes grocery list instead*

Now, on the practical front, I got myself through my daily word count by using Write or Die initially. It's a program that turns your computer screen red and blasts HORRIBLE noises at you if you stop typing. I used this program to overcome my addiction to editing-as-I-went drafting. I just needed to get the words on paper, as it were. Once writing every day became a habit, it wasn't difficult to pound out 500, 1500, or 2000 words. It usually takes me anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 hours a day.

The other trick I use is to stop drafting in the middle of a scene when there's good momentum, so that I know what comes next. I also stop in the middle of a sentence. That way I don't suffer the staring-at-the-screen-with-no-idea-what-comes-next affliction and waste 30 minutes of not drafting trying to figure out what to write.

Give Jair a musical number with badger back-up dancers? Decision made.

I know this will sound simplistic, but when you get down to brass tacks, it's a matter of deciding to write and then DOING IT. Every day. Day after day. Even when you don't want to. Especially when you don't want to. It's about stealing time to write. You have 15 minutes in between things? Do word sprints to see how much you can write in those 15 minutes. It's a change in your perspective about your time and your writing. You make it a top priority, like paying bills and eating and going to work on time.

Get. It. Done.

I have a hard time drafting at home. I can do it, but it's a challenge. There are so many things I could be doing instead of drafting. When I do draft at home, I turn off my internet and my phone. I use a program that goes full screen, so that all I see is the drafting. My preference though is to go to Panera or Starbucks or a local library. I have a much easier time concentrating. I did that while drafting Render. During my spring break last year, I wrote 50k+ words over 10 days by going to Panera every day like a job. I had a 5k daily word count, and by doing that, I met it.

Look at ALL the distractions?

The important thing to remember is that you're not writing the whole book TODAY. Today, you're writing 1500 words. Today, you're working on this ONE scene. Today, you drafted. And if you keep doing that day after day, soon enough, you have a novel that's drafted. It's a daily grind and a marathon. But don't think about the enormous task of writing a novel. If at the end of each day you can say, I drafted today, I made SOME progress, then you will accomplish the seemingly impossible. You will have written a book.

PS. I almost forgot the most NECESSARY element to success: coffee. Lots of coffee.

Coffee: Fuel for Fiction.