What is Your Writing Kryptonite?
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What keeps you from your writing? What is your biggest distraction?
Mine is probably the internet. I tell myself that I’m only going to look up one thing, and then the next thing I know, I’m looking at dog videos, cute alpaca memes, and recipes that I’ll never make. It is often easy to get distracted from your writing or revising tasks. Here are some things that help me stay focused.
When I feel tired or restless, I get up and walk around for 5-10 minutes. There are lots of desk exercises that you can do to get the blood flowing back to your brain. During the plague, I bought a desk bike to pedal while I’m sitting. It helps to get the endorphins going again.
Resist the urge to research everything while you are writing. Mark it and come back to it later, so you don’t break your momentum. The great Brad Parks calls this “killing his X’s.” When he gets to a spot that needs some research, he types, “XXX” and moves on. When he’s in editing mode, he goes through his document, searches for the “X’s,” and fills in the missing information.
Try to keep to a writing schedule. Routines help you be consistent. Even if it’s only 30 minutes a day, you know that that is your writing time.
Treat your writing like a business. There are things that you have to do to keep your business thriving. If it is always the last thing on your list, it will never get done.
Schedule your writing time. You schedule other important events. Make sure you book time to create.
When you are in writing mode, don’t edit. Just keep writing. You can revise the whole thing when you have a draft.
I do an outline for each novel (that I use for the synopsis later). This helps me from getting bogged down or off track in the middle of the book.
Figure out what daily word count works for you. If I finish early, then I go do something fun. You will see progress quickly with daily goals.
Reward yourself for victories, even little ones.
What helps you stay focused? Happy writing, y’all!
