How to Take Your Own Advice

[ChaosofaMadHatter]

I know what I need to do to write my book. I know that no matter what, it will take time. And I even know that in order to be a successful writer, the main thing you need to do is just write. All that being said, I have a horrible time taking my on advice. I can give advice galore on the best writing schedules, on the best outlining practices, and even how to make the best hook on a story depending on genre, but I always get stuck on actually doing it.

Anyone else struggle with the discipline aspect of writing? When I'm able to force myself to adhere to a schedule, I can make amazing progress, but I get so easily distracted by every day life that it's easy to convince myself that I can always write "later."

[Louanne Piccolo]

I don't, but I understand what you're saying. A question: do you enjoy writing? It doesn't have to be a task. Is there some way you can make it something you enjoy instead of something you seem to feel you have to do?

[vlinpr13]

I have the same problem a lot of the time. I love writing when I'm in the process of doing it, but when I'm busy with the rest of my life, I constantly put it off for any and every reason. One thing I do for both reading and writing, is to make the hour before bed a designated hour for either reading or writing. That helps me get it into the day after the rest of my schedule is complete and my kid is asleep, plus it helps me wind down and relax before bed.

you could also try speed-writing programs like Write Attack. Set your word count goal and a short time limit, and then write as much as you can in that time. I always found this useful, because it helped pressure me to just write, without worrying about choosing the perfect words or editing as I went. You just get as much of your idea out as you can in that time limit, and then you have something to work with later. I got significant sections of my novel rough drafts written this way. Plus, if you have any writer friends who you can schedule a timed writing battle with, it can be really interesting to read each-others work at the end of a round.

[ElizaPeaks]

I know exactly how you feel. Recently, I've found that as long as I have my writing tools, if I isolate myself with nothing else to do, I'll get my work done! I use a foldable Bluetooth keyboard with my phone for writing so that I can write on the go. I love my little keyboard so much that it makes writing fun for me! So I'll purposely put myself in situations where I won't have wifi or won't have anything else to do than write. Sometimes it's scary; I'll plan to be stuck at the library for six hours with nothing other than my keyboard and phone, but somehow, I always fill up the time and get a lot of writing done!

I highly encourage you to read The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp. It's a really good book that can help you find out how to maximize your creativity and keep up with your writing!

[Inkroverts]

I sometimes procrastinate even when I have an idea on how to write the story. I'd set a schedule to write a certain number of words. For example, I'll force myself to write at least 250 words. Even if I squeeze out terrible paragraphs and have to eventually erase them, I still have content out that might be useful in the future. In my opinion, taking action is more important than simply mentally preparing myself.