《Writing Habit Mastery - How to Write 2,000 Words a Day and Forever Cure Writer’s Block》(S.J. Scott)
Writing is a form of creativity that will enhance your life. Persevere in this and you will reap the rewards tenfold as time passes and your writing habit becomes a part of your everyday life!
The key to this commitment is to focus on developing specific habits and processes that turn writing into a part of your daily life, just like brushing your teeth or getting good sleep at night. Writing will become a part of your everyday routine, something you always do. Just like any other habit, writing requires sacrifice and focus. You will need to keep up with these writing habits, especially for the first 30 days as you establish your new writing practice. The longer you continue these specific actions, the more you will settle into a routine that becomes second nature.
It does not matter how good or bad your first draft is. What matters is that you get that first draft completed.
The problem is this: Most overly ambitious writers end up with a pile of half-written projects instead of a handful of completed works. If you want to succeed, you will need to work on one project at a time, finishing one project before you start another. Creating a Production Model Most successful writers come up with a production model that allows them to crank out project after project.
Develop a workmanlike attitude towards your writing. Don’t wait around for inspiration. Treat it like a job where you put effort in, get results and hopefully make a little bit of money. Trust me—there’s nothing more motivating than seeing income come in from your written words.
If you’re looking to write a novel or set of short stories, I’d encourage you to read the book, Write. Publish. Repeat., which is put together by the guys at The Self-Publishing Podcast.
Break large goals into small, achievable projects with reasonable deadlines. Celebrate when you finish each small project. Get feedback from others and use it to steer the course of what you’ll create next.
Instead, your goal is to build momentum by creating a writing habit where you always reach the finish line. As you set and meet small goals, you’ll build towards reaching larger goals. You may even be able to string the smaller projects together to create a massive book—all of which make sense and work together.
“Write a short story every week. It’s not possible to write 52 bad stories in a row.” ~ Ray Bradbury
Refuse to let anything (aside from true emergencies) push out your writing commitment.
Schedule a Specific Time of Day Once you’ve determined what time of day works best for you, you will need to set aside a specific time slot for writing each day. I suggest you reserve an hour each day, but you may need to set aside more or less time, depending on how much time it takes you to achieve your daily word count goal.
I like to write in the morning, a half hour after I wake up. I devote an hour to writing, five days a week, taking weekends off. This works for me because: ** I know I won’t procrastinate and miss out on my writing hour because of unforeseen events or distractions. ** I’m most alert first thing in the morning. This is the time that works best for me. ** I spend that first half hour doing energizing activities that help me wake up and get motivated.
What they find is that after they write for a little while, the inspiration appears, even if they initially felt discouraged or anxious.
Remember: You won’t make money off a book that is still unwritten!
If I’m interested in it, there’s an audience of people just like me who will appreciate it.
