Weekly Tips that help you to write more!

When you’ve moved mountains to do some writing, you need to make the most of every minute. You may have cleared an hour, an afternoon, or even a whole day to get some writing done.

Before you ever sit down at the computer, make sure you know what you want to achieve. Focus on one specific goal, or if you have a whole day ahead of you, make sure you’ve mapped out a list of tasks you want to tackle today.

It’s heartbreaking to waste hours of precious writing time trying to work out what to do first. Go in prepared, and you’ll make the most of every rare minute.

Do you have a friend or colleague with a superhuman ability to get a huge amount done? People like this can tick off every item on their To Do list every day.

What if they know something you don’t?

If you know someone with this enviable ability, take them aside and ask them just how they do it. Maybe you can use the same technique to get more done on your writing…

What do you do when you need a little tidbit of information for your book but don’t have time to do extensive research?

Find an internet forum that discusses the subject.

Many people overlook forum discussions in favor of more authoritative sources. And often that’s appropriate.

But if you’re looking for personal reflections on a topic or raw first-hand experience of an issue or challenge, you might find that internet forums can be an unusually rich source of detailed information.

If you’ve been working on your manuscript awhile, you probably have old notebooks, folders, scribbled notes to yourself and discarded draft material – all long forgotten in a bottom drawer somewhere.

Take another look. You may be astonished at the interesting ideas you find there.

Is there anything you can rework, re-use, reinvent for your current purposes?

You can do a lot with 15 minutes. And 15 minute time slots are everywhere:

• a short break at work
• waiting for the train
• driving home
• getting ready in the morning
• unpacking groceries
• waiting for pizza…

What’s to stop you mentally shifting into writing mode, and jotting down an idea, solving a problem, doing some quick internet research or making a list of what you’ll tackle next with your writing project?

Where do you keep a schedule of your day-to-day commitments? Your computer? A diary? A list on the fridge?

It doesn’t matter what system you use: make sure that your next appointment to write (and the one after that) is included in your schedule.

If you don’t write it down, it’s surprisingly easy to fill that time slot with some other task that expands to fill the spare space.

The next time you’re stuck for inspiration, step away from your writing for a moment. Are you being creative in other areas of your life?

Maybe you invented a new cocktail, or transformed an old dinner favorite with one extra ingredient. Perhaps you used your creativity at work, solving a problem by thinking laterally.

These are all evidence that your imagination is alive and well. There’s nothing to stop you applying this kind of thinking to your writing, too.

You can create more time to write by asking this one question:

Is it urgent?

Sure, you have commitments, obligations and various responsibilities. But how many of them are urgent? How many can be postponed – even ignored indefinitely – without consequences? I bet some of them can.

If you start seeing your writing as urgent, you will prioritize it and make sure it's right at the top of your To Do list. Because there are consequences if you don’t write – you lose momentum and stop making progress on an important goal.

Sometimes you move heaven and earth to clear an hour (or even two) for writing. But by the time you make it to the computer, you’re just too exhausted to work up any enthusiasm for your manuscript.

Don’t abandon your writing session – just move it somewhere more comfortable: the bedroom!

Why not take a notebook and pencil with you into the bedroom, shut the door firmly behind you, and write in bed? You may be surprised by the ideas which suddenly flow when you’re relaxed and not feeling pressured.

Do you currently see writing as one more task to fit into a day that’s already bulging with commitments?

Sometimes a shift in perspective can have a huge impact on your writing.

Try rearranging your schedule so that writing is not a chore, but a reward. Do the tedious things first, get them out of the way, and then settle down to an hour’s writing. Change the way you see your writing time, so it becomes more like sitting down with a great book or a fantastic meal with friends.

Viewed like this, writing becomes something to look forward to; something you intrinsically enjoy that is a pleasure in itself.