How to Get Your Writing Done

What works and what doesn't

Mindset, motivation and inspiration for novelists—with a dash of instruction about writing craft added in.

I’m a sucker for a good fountain pen. Photo by Laura Chouette on Unsplash

Writing. We love it. But sometimes we don’t do it. Why? Why do we procrastinate, hesitate, cry about getting our writing done? Why do we deny ourselves the things we love? If I had an answer to that I wouldn’t be writing this Substack because I’d be a billionaire and instead of working on a gorgeous summer afternoon I’d be sitting at a cafe in my favorite small town in France, drinking a fine red wine and eating cheese and pate. So I don’t have an answer to that question, but I do have thoughts on what actually works and doesn’t work for getting the writing done, based on twenty years experience as a writing teacher and book coach, three published novels and an MFA to my name.

You don’t want to spend time reading this when you could be writing. So onward we shall quickly proceed. Let’s get the negative out of the way first. (Luckily, I have way more suggestions for what works that for what doesn’t.)

What Doesn’t Work

Beating yourself up

We have enough people out in the world beating each other up. We don’t need to do it to ourselves. (Or other writers.) Do not tell yourself how awful you are or how stupid or talentless or worthless. Unless you are a serial killer reading this from a prison library, it is not true. Tell yourself that you are precious and adorable and perfect. And then get thee to the page and start writing from that energy. Seriously. Try it.

Buying into the toxic productivity trap

I have an online friend, a fellow writer, who is always banging on about how the patriarchy craps on women writers. And one of the ways the patriarchy does this, she says, is with the toxic productivity goals the men fob onto us. Among those goals is the command to write every day. Which, my friend says is often far more difficult for women, with the need to tend babies and housework and so on. She makes a good point. For me, writing every day is a worthwhile goal because doing so keeps my momentum going (see below). But for others it may feel like trying to do too much, buying into the idea that the only good people are productive people. Nuh-uh.

Telling yourself how awful you are for not getting to the page

You’re not awful if you miss a day of writing, you’re human. Give yourself some grace. I don’t know about you, but negativity to myself never motivates me. You deserve a break if your brain is overloaded. And if you don’t take breaks and force yourself to the page beyond your capacity you’ll end up collapsing from exhaustion. Or rebelling right before you reach that point.

Denigrating your work.

A constant feature of the workshops I teach is writers apologizing for their work. This always, always happens and we have to yell at them and then show the Stop It! video. I know that dissing your writing to yourself or others does not prevent you from writing per se. But what it does do is set your brain neurons turning in a direction that makes it easier to not show up. Why? Because if you’re telling yourself you’re no good, why would you want to spend time doing that thing you’re no good at? You wouldn’t. And you won’t. So show up even when you think your work is awful. The more you show up the less you’ll think that.

Over researching

Researching is not writing. No, you don’t need to know that extra fact about what kind of undergarments women wore in the sixteenth century right at this very moment. Put a TK in where you need that info and come back to it later. Don’t waste precious writing time on an internet rabbit hole. (FYI, the TK is a handy tool. Use it as a place marker when you can’t find the right fact, word, or need to insert anything you don’t have at your fingertips. There are very few words in the English language that use a T and K next to each other, so doing a search is easy.)

Photo by Denise Jans on Unsplash

What Works

Baby steps

Step by step we travel far. That was my Mom’s favorite saying, and there’s so much truth in it. We live in an all or nothing culture—write or die! Go all in! Write better faster. More, more, more. But it’s often the opposite approach that gets us where we want to go. A tiny step here, a tiny step there—it all adds up. Write a page a day and by the end of the month you’ve got 30 pages. In a year you’ve got a book. Sometimes when I get busy and my writing time slips away, simply opening the manuscript and reading bits of it gets my mind back to it. Baby steps.

Momentum

Momentum in your writing happens when you’re attending to it regularly. There is nothing so wonderful as being in the flow with your WIP (work in progress), when you’re working on it regularly and living and breathing in the same world as your characters because you’re thinking of it all the time. That level of momentum is not always possible, but a mini version of it is. As mentioned above, on busy days, take a quick glance at. your WIP. It’s amazing how keeping it front of mind can keep you focused on it.

Setting a schedule

I know! Schedules are the worst. I hate them. And yet once my coach convinced me that setting a consistent time to do your most important work (i.e. writing) was the thing that sets high-achieving writers apart from others, I tried it. And I hate to say it, but it works. Not all the time. But some of the time. And that’s better than, say, never. I’ve done my best to rearrange my schedule so I get at least some time to work on my novel every weekday morning. I love my clients and my work with them, but if I’m not doing my own writing then I’m not much use to them. So I schedule them for later i the day whenever possible. Or at least late morning. This is my priority and so I schedule accordingly. Many’s the day when I get only a few minutes in on it, but in pre-scheduling days even that wouldn’t happen.

Doing you

I like to rise early and go right to my journal and then to other writing. But you might be a night owl who prefers to stay up late. I have a friend who writes a draft in a few months. But you might want to labor over a manuscript for years. Do what works for you. This is not to say you can’t change and grow—you can, and should. But if you are frustrated and not getting your writing done, are you trying to follow someone else’s rules? There are gazillions of writing experts out there and they all have their own process. It might be yours. But it might not. Do what works for you.

Let the air out of the tires

Otherwise know as taking the pressure off. Writing a novel (or memoir or short story) is important. It is. Never forget that. But it is not, say, meeting the president of a rival world power to discuss the latest ridiculous war he is waging. The fate of the free world does not rest on your shoulders. So relax. And remember—you do this because you like it. Maybe even love it. It’s fun. Right?

Write a really shitty page

This is what we writers too often forget—nobody has to see your writing until you are ready to share it. So you can be bad on the page. Dreadful, even. Because one of the best things about writing is that the more you do it, the better you get at it. But that’s not all. Writing a shitty page can warm you up and make you remember why you like to do this, get the kinks out and get you going again.

Block out the world

Do what it takes to get into a focused state. For me, living in a multi-generational household with constant interruptions, focus music is a must. Youtube is full of music tracks for concentration and there are plenty of websites that charge you a fee for their specially calibrated music, which is cool, too. You might be one of those cool creatures who creates playlists for each novel you write but I can’t listen to music with words while I write. But if you can, go for it!

Write with other writers

I host zoom writing workshops every Monday and Thursday afternoon. We log on, chat for a bit, then turn off cameras, mute ourselves, and go write. (I’m writing this during one such session right now.) It’s magic. There’s something about co-working that works, even when you’re connected only through a dark computer screen. FYI, these sessions are free and open to all. If you’re interested, drop me a comment.

Some final words

Getting your writing done consistently is about a whole bunch of little tweaks and adjustments. But basically, it all boils down to a couple key things:

—Squash the negative self-talk and love-bomb yourself with positivity. (Yes, I’m a Pollyanna but honestly, it works. And when it comes to writing, I’ll do whatever works. Even if you can’t do that love-bombing part, ditch the negative stuff for a start.

—Just do it. I’m sorry, but in the end that’s all there is to say. Just do it.

What works for you to get the writing done? What distracts you? Please do share in the comments.

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