What are three insider tips for writing quickly and easily that every brand new author needs to know?
The accompanying video is the first edition of “Walking with Randy.” A few months ago I started walking. I started out getting 2000 steps a day, and then I worked my way up to 10,000. I think 10,000 is a good number, so I’m probably not going to try to progress much beyond that.
In this article, I’m going to talk about insider tips for writing quickly and easily
for brand new authors.
Find Time to Write
The first tip is to find time to set aside for writing. We need to realize that we all have the same amount of time. We have more than 10,000 minutes every week. Before we talk about regularly scheduled time, though, we need to find snatches of time hidden within our days. For instance, we find that we spend a lot of time waiting. If we plan ahead a little, we can redeem that time. Your waiting time could be used for writing. If you had a little notebook or computer tablet with you, you could spend that time writing.
In preparation for setting aside exclusive times to write, we need to examine what we do regularly. Do you find that you spend a lot of time on lesser pursuits? Maybe those activities are not bad in themselves, but do you have times that could be spend on more productive tasks?
An example of using waiting time could be seen in going to the doctor’s office. Nowadays, you might be asked to wait in your car before going in to actually see the doctor. Under more normal circumstances, you might be asked to sit in the waiting room. While you are doing that, you could read one of their magazines. You may have planned ahead and brought your own reading material. However, if you brought your writing materials, whether they be paper or digital, you could use that waiting time to move your project along.
The next thing is to be intentional in setting aside time exclusively for writing. You might be able to write for 15 minutes on your lunch hour.
You might decide to get up earlier, or, if you are quite productive at night, you might decide to set aside some extra time by going to bed later.
You also, could combine all three of the above times by getting up a half-hour earlier, writing 15 minutes at lunch, and going to bed a half-hour later.
If you can find 75 minutes in your day, you can complete a chapter. That would mean you could complete the rough draft of an average-sized 200-page book that included 20 chapters in just 20 working days!
By then, you would have your “book.” Granted it will be a rough draft, but the book is basically done. Then you will polish the book and make it great.
Create Short Artificial Deadlines
The second tip is to create artificial deadlines. Suppose you give yourself five minutes to write on a certain topic, five or six minutes, or maybe 10 minutes. A lot of writers have found this to be very beneficial in helping them to get certain projects done.
Now, by making the deadlines, small like that, the whole process helps prevent the feeling of overwhelm.
Shorter deadlines also helps with procrastination, because it doesn’t seem so insurmountable to write for just a little project, instead of a big long one. For instance, if you had your chapter broken down into anywhere from 12 to 15 little five minute projects. You could get a chapter done easily by writing, and meeting those short artificial deadlines.
You see? We respond to deadlines. If you spent some time in college, you might have told an all-nighter or two in order to get a paper done. You had two or three months to get it done, but the deadline was looming it had to be turned in the next day. Or, how many of us have gone to the post office with our tax forms on April 15? I know I have done that a few times. So, we respond to deadlines. To get the ball rolling, create your own artificial deadlines. I would recommend that you create five, six, or 10 minute deadlines.
These short deadlines will help you to get over perfectionism. When you have a deadline of five or ten minutes, you don’t have time to agonize over every word. Of course your writing should be the best you can make it, but that will be accomplished in the editing process (whether you do some editing each day or at the end of the first draft). Right now, your goal is to get the ideas on paper.
Write in Answer to Questions
The third tip is to write in answer to questions. You see, our minds are programmed to answer questions. We know six words that help us with questions. When we hear a group of words starting with one of these particular words. We know that group of works is a question. That can help us with writing because our minds are programmed to answer those questions. I’m sure you have guessed by now, but those words are, “who, what, when, where, why, and how.” I would also add to this list a couple of two word questions, such as, “What then?” and “So what?”
Well, those are some tips for being able to write quickly and easily. First of all you have to find a time to write. Second, you need to create some artificial deadlines and doing that will help you to get your work done. I didn’t mention it, or maybe I did but this helps was perfectionism. Third you should write in answer to questions.
These are the insider tips for writing quickly and easily that every brand new author needs to know.
If you would like more writing tips like these, click here.
If you would like some more in depth encouragement for writing that would move you along step-by-step toward your goal of writing your book, click here.
