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How to write every day?

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SLR436

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I'm curious if you used any tricks to hack motivation before you managed to 'just sit down and write', it's for my post on how to write an ebook.

So far I've heard modifications of Seinfeld's productivity trick he used for writing jokes, where every day that you complete your writing task, you get to put a big red X over that day on your calendar. The red X is sometimes replaced with golden star or even word count for that day. The problem with that is continuing to add to the chain once a new month starts, as it feels as you're starting all over every month.

Little hacks like "stop writing mid-sentence", set a specific time to write and turn off Internet (some went as specific as "make sure you can't get access to porn").

I'm asking this as an advice to someone who is not a writer and is likely not looking to become a writer in the long-term, but is interested in producing a single piece nonetheless.

Finally, is writing every day a goal for you or not?
 

Imriaylde

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Something that helped me during a NaNoWriMo-type challenge was this: If I'm sitting at a computer, at the top and bottom of every hour, write 100 words. I've usually found that 100 words is pretty easy to get out, and by the end of the day (as I've got a desk job) I'd end up with ~2000 words per day.

Of course, I've tried to keep up with that after the challenge and it's been harder, so do with it what you will :).
 

Maggie Maxwell

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NaNoWriMo and my own competitive streak (and a desire to keep a nice, even graph) drives me during the months I do NaNo.

Someone here I think made a thread about a site/app called HabitRPG where you get experience, gold (to "buy" treats for yourself) and other general RPG rewards for completing habits. I'm a gamer, so the game-like elements push me. Great for any other habits you've been meaning to pick up, too.
 

Layla Nahar

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We-ell - for me it's a simple as making a promise to yourself and keeping it. The big 'however', however, is making a promise you can keep.
 

Old Hack

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I'm curious if you used any tricks to hack motivation before you managed to 'just sit down and write', it's for my post on how to write an ebook.

I don't understand why you're focusing on writing an "ebook".

Writers write books; those books are then published in different formats, one of which is a digital edition--or e-book.

Why are you so keen on writing for this specific format?
 

Readable Joe

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Make a time in your daily schedule, reserve it for writing. If you're afraid that time you set aside will be lost from distractions, make that time early in the morning, like 5 or 6AM.

That's how I write everyday.
 

Elly_Green

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I write because my Internet connection is slow in the middle of the day. If, and it is usuallly true, that I have nothing better to do, I use that time to write. I try and write at least 50 words a day. Once I get started, I often go much farther, but on a bad day, 50 words is good enough. Set a realistic goal then meet it.
 

LJD

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So far I've heard modifications of Seinfeld's productivity trick he used for writing jokes, where every day that you complete your writing task, you get to put a big red X over that day on your calendar. The red X is sometimes replaced with golden star or even word count for that day. The problem with that is continuing to add to the chain once a new month starts, as it feels as you're starting all over every month.

I guess I do something like this. I love crossing things off in my agenda. Usually I write down pages to write or edit in multiples of 2, so every time I do 2 pages, I get to cross something off. Depending on the day, it's normally 6-12 pages total. If I'm doing something like brainstorming, which I can't really count by pages, then I usually do it by hours. Every time I spend on hour on it, I get to cross something off. This is similar to what I did for schoolwork in university...

I write nearly every day, but if I miss one, it's no big deal to me.
 

Jamesaritchie

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If you love writing, you don't need tips or tricks. You clear your schedule, you push everything else aside, regardless of what it is, you make the time to write, and then you write because that's what you most want to do with your time.

You turn off the internet, yu tell your friends that, no, you can't go do this or that because it's time to write, and you'd rather spend that time writing than going to the mall.

Someone said that everyone wants to be a writer, but no one really wants to write. It's true.

I'm a firm believe in doing whatever it is you most want to do with your time. Life is short, so why spend your time doing something you don't love to death? If you love to write, then you will sit down and write daily. If you do not love to write, then go find some activity to fill your time that you do love.
 

Jamesaritchie

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I write because my Internet connection is slow in the middle of the day. If, and it is usuallly true, that I have nothing better to do, I use that time to write. I try and write at least 50 words a day. Once I get started, I often go much farther, but on a bad day, 50 words is good enough. Set a realistic goal then meet it.

Does this mean you'll stop writing if your internet connection gets faster in the middle of the day?
 

Orianna2000

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I'm a bit confused. If, as you say, someone is not a writer and doesn't want to become a writer, then why on earth would they need advice on writing?

I agree with James. I write every day because I LOVE to write. It's what I look forward to every morning when I wake up, and it's what keeps me up late at night, past my bedtime. If I had to force myself to write, something would be very, very wrong!

I don't keep track of daily word counts, because it really doesn't matter to me. Some days I write more, some days I write less. (The only time I don't write anything is if I'm sick in bed. And even then, I have a laptop, so I often keep writing regardless of my health.) So long as I'm making progress with my articles, or my novels, then I'm doing fine.

I suppose, if you're looking for specific advice, it's like how you make yourself do anything you don't want to do. The cat litter box needs to be scooped, so either you do it, or your cat will poop on the floor. Your choice. You might be able to put it off for awhile, but eventually, you have to gird your loins and just do it. If you have to write something and you don't want to, either you sit down and do it, or you suffer the consequences--whatever that may be. A missed deadline, a lost contract, a goal on your "to do" list not checked off, etc.

But honestly, if someone isn't a writer and doesn't want to be--to be frank, their writing is going to suck. You have to learn how to write well, just like any other hobby or skill. You can't just decide, "I'm going to perform at a piano recital," if you don't know how to play the piano and won't take lessons. I'm not trying to discourage you here, I'm just stating the obvious.
 

Andrea Rittschof

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For me, while I love writing, exhaustion and health sometimes take their toll no matter how much I love it and some days are easier than others when it comes to ideas and revisions. So for me, what worked, since there would be those days, was club 100. The idea is you write a minimum of 100 words every day for 100 days. Then you do it again and again until writing every day becomes a regular thing. Now, I recently found you can take floating days off but that defeats it for me. And since 100 words is only a few paragraphs, I can do that on my phone inside 15 minutes so it works. And now that I have been doing it for a couple years, I usually do more. Except for the bad health days. But really that is the short and sweet. IF you want to be a writer, you write, even if it's a little bit every day, butt in chair.
 

Little Anonymous Me

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Yes, I write every day. Sometimes it's a sentence. Sometimes it's a lot more. But every day, regardless of how tired I am, I take at least a few minutes and hit the keyboard. It can be very, very difficult to squeeze it in. But that's where motivation comes into play. I like keeping track of my wordage in an Excel sheet, and I was at 43 days straight when I finished my last novel (am not currently counting because editing is harder to track, but I still do it every day). If you want to write every day, you'll find a way to squeeze it in--remember that words are words, even if it's not many. It's still more than you had when you sat down.
 

Readable Joe

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I'm a bit confused. If, as you say, someone is not a writer and doesn't want to become a writer, then why on earth would they need advice on writing?

I agree with James. I write every day because I LOVE to write. It's what I look forward to every morning when I wake up, and it's what keeps me up late at night, past my bedtime. If I had to force myself to write, something would be very, very wrong!

Because they want to tell a story.
Like a mountain climber who hates climbing but does it because they want to see the view from the top.
Generally, I dislike writing as an activity, but I force myself to do it regularly (like exercise), because I have a story I want to tell and it's not going to write, paint or compose itself. My desire to have a completed story overcomes my dislike of sitting down and pumping out words that fit together.

So yeah, I can see how someone who dislikes writing would still want to write.
 

J.S.F.

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I write every day, even if it's only a thousand words or so. (I usually average around five thousand, and no, it's not all quality, but I want to get my thoughts down before I forget).

I have one trick and it goes like this:

If I don't write it, someone else will. If that sounds paranoid, think about all the times you've heard someone say "Hey, I had that idea! Why didn't I act on it?"

I don't want to be the schmuck that didn't act on his ideas.
 

NickCarcano

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I've found two things helpful: Realistic goals and my smartphone.

For a long time my goal was 1,000 words a day (the Steven King gold standard) and it seemed so daunting I wouldn't even start. So I cut it to something more reasonable, 250, and it's a much lower psychological barrier. I frequently end up writing more than 250.

Also, I use the "Notes" function on my phone to write during the day when I have some spare time. I find that because it's so messy, I figure it's going to need work, so I have fewer hangups about writing.
 

Putputt

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When I'm writing, I set word count goals and pull fellow writer friends into doing word wars. You'd be surprised by how fast you can write 2,000 words when you're doing it with someone else. My favorite is to go for 500-word bursts, with a short break in between each round. On good days, we could knock out 2K words in under 1 hour.

When I'm editing, I list all of the things I need to edit on a separate doc and set goals based on how many points on the list I'd like to go through that day.
 

henmatth

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Writing is a passion ... say it's more of a hobby.

At first, I was hesitant to write because I didn't know people will like my story.
It took me a lot of time to think and jot down what was on my mind.
Let us say I had a difficult time.

But as years went by, it's more or less a regular thing.
Even if I didn't like to write today, I had to put it in my mind I have to.
Just think about the benefits for writing everyday.
It should then inspire you.
 

noranne

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I have a spreadsheet. Every day I track my wordcount. I have a goal, and if I meet that goal, my total automatically turns green. Getting that damn thing green is a great feeling for me! I feel like I'm not explaining this well so I took a screenshot, this was from June, for example.

writingtracker_zpsfc226616.png


I have a tab for every month and a new spreadsheet for each year, so I can go back and see, for example, that August 2011 was a bad month for me. :) And I post my monthly results in my blog (usually) as a method of keeping myself accountable. (Ie the corresponding June post.)

This doesn't work so well for editing, but when I am focusing on producing new words, it does help. Of course it can only do so much. I find that it helps a lot to push me over if I am close, but if I'm too far behind then it becomes useless.

Regardless, I would say don't worry if writing can feel like a chore to you. That doesn't mean you aren't a true writer or that you can't produce good writing at a good pace. Everyone is different and a novel being written at 200 words/day or 2000 words/day doesn't say anything about its quality.
 
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gingerwoman

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I don't understand why you're focusing on writing an "ebook".

Writers write books; those books are then published in different formats, one of which is a digital edition--or e-book.

Why are you so keen on writing for this specific format?
People continue to misuse the term ebook to mean self publishing, despite the fact that most trade publishers produce ebooks.

If it's not a gross generalization I would say that if you are self publishing you're more likely to make the bulk of your money in ebook.rather than POD, unless you are very successful, or already a well known writer.

Back on topic I don't think I can write every day, because I need time periods that are purely research, and planning, which is the point I am at right now.

I really don't want to "pants" any more books, as I have been far too slow pantsing, so I really want to plan this next book a lot before I start it.
 

SKara

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I never tried any motivation techniques. I started writing simply as a hobby that I indulged in at the end of every day. Later it became more like a work thing, like my everyday studies that I treat as my work, something that is my duty.

The only advice I can give is: tell yourself that between x and y hours, you can't do anything except writing. If you sit in front of your computer and resist the temptation to go anywhere else during that hour, it will surely help you in your routine setting.
 

cylemmulo

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If you're like me, you probably think about your novel all day, and what you want to write. I find if I just have no time to write that day for whatever reason, I try to write ideas down before I go to sleep, and at least keep new thoughts flowing.
 
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