The Habit of Writing
Or, how to sit down, shut up, and write.
The reason I love NaNoWriMo is that it inspires productivity through daily word goals. But, if you're like me, sometimes that daily goal isn't quite enough motivation to overcome our distraction-riddled modern world. The distraction of video games, social media, and silly youtube videos is often too much to bear.
When it comes to video games, I have all the restraint of an unsupervised toddler with a bag of potato chips(crisps).
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| I have no restraint eating potato chips, either. |
The solution, however, is quite simple:
1) Don't write in the same place you use the internet
It may not be possible for everyone, but most of us have access to portable electronic devices these days. I opted to write in local cafes but anywhere away from home will do. Don't connect to the local wi-fi, either! It took about 3 months for me to go from "I have to go write today" to "I want to go write today"--now I feel anxiety if I'm not writing.
This next tip is related, but mostly relevant to fellow writers with day jobs:
2) Don't go home before you write
Again, it may not be possible for everyone, but if you are writing after work then don't go home first. You'll start to relax, feel comfortable, put the dinner on, and put writing off until later. But, if you stay out, you'll keep your brain engaged in productivity mode.
3) Write by the hour, not by the word count
This seems contrary to the goal of Nanowrimo--you need to hit at least 1667 words per day to hit that 50k. But, if your goal is to write 1667 words per day, then you will write 1667 words that day. It might just take you 2-6 hours.
If you're a frequent writer, you might have an idea already of how many words per hour you can write. Use this to estimate how long it will take to hit your daily goal. I write anywhere between 1000 and 2500 words per hour, and I also find it takes 30 minutes to get into the writing zone, so 2 hours is a comfortable session for me.
If you're not certain what your writing speed is, November is a good time to start! I try to keep track of all my progress with nerdsheets.
4) Make use of music
Our brains are pattern recognition machines. If you're not already writing with music this may seem like an added distraction, but I found by listening to the same playlist every day I was able to get into the writing zone faster and more consistently.
I've probably listened to Peaceful Solitude over 6000 times in the last 4 years.
Furthermore, whenever I'm planning a novel I listen to a consistent playlist and learn to associate my story with it. If I ever need to brainstorm I can put on the playlist and go for a walk--the ideas just seem to flow, and exercise also stimulates the brain!
5) Know what you're writing, before you write it
When writing at the scene-level, nothing will boost your productivity like figuring out what you're about to write first. My ritual is to begin every session jotting down notes in my notebook, explaining what the scene I'm about to write contains and how it plays out. Sometimes I'll scribble dialogue exchanges, or action beats, too.
And if you don't complete the scene that day, all you have to do is look at your notes and you'll know exactly where to pick up!
I believe even full-blown pantsers can benefit from this. You're not planning, you're just exploring the purpose of the scene ahead of time, and then when it's time to write you have less head-work to do!
My final tip is probably more relevant for your writing rituals outside of November. But, maybe if you're ahead of the curve you can:
6) Take time off writing
You don't work 7 days a week, you shouldn't write 7 days a week. Outside of crunch-times, like November, I make sure to take a day off just to recover and prevent burn-out.
The most important thing I've learned over the last 4 years of writing is that motivation and inspiration are fickle. But routine is constant, and when you train yourself to write every day then motivation and inspiration will eventually come crawling back.
I hope this overly verbose list helps you conquer November, and beyond!
Question of the day: What are your daily writing rituals to get you through November?