In the following article, we will give you 4 tips to make the most of your writing time. Managing writing time is not an easy task, either due to lack of time or not being able to make the most of it.
That’s why we give you 4 fundamental tips to make the most of your writing time, we won’t stop you any longer, keep reading!
Learn to manage your writing time
Whether you are just starting out as a writer or have been writing for years, managing and distributing your writing time is never an easy task. It may be because we can’t find the right time of the day to write, because we feel we can’t make the most of the moments when we do manage to write, or simply because we don’t have enough time to sit down and write.
These tips will help you to make the most of the moments when you sit down to write, and to make them really productive.
1. Understand that not everything is about creativity.
It is a common myth in all the arts that creativity is what separates a great artist from a not so good one, however, there is much more than creativity in the process of writing or producing art, or rather, whether or not creativity is there, if we fail to capture it in our work, creativity alone will not be very useful.
Many of the great writers know that productivity is sometimes much more important than creativity, you can have the best ideas and the best inspirations, but if you do not write them down anywhere, or apply them to a work that will eventually see the light of day, then what is it for? This is where it is important to be productive in our artwork.
Make sure you take every chance you can to transform that creativity into something concrete, be productive with it, write down every little idea you have, and when the time comes, you will see that you are not lacking inspiration for your stories and characters.
2. Set deadlines for your work
Being a writer is like any other job, the writer writes, just as the dentist repairs teeth, or the mechanic repairs cars, their only job during the day is to repair teeth or cars, just as the writer’s job is to write.
Whatever project you set out to write, setting yourself certain writing deadlines can be surprisingly effective! You don’t need to have a fixed number of pages per day or week, especially if it’s a project that doesn’t have a specific deadline.
It is advisable that you try to set deadlines that are acceptable to you AND stick to them! You will be doing the same as a dentist or a mechanic, when they intend to check so many cars, or see so many patients per day.
For example, suppose you would like to finish the third chapter of the story you have been writing, and you have some very good ideas for the new character you want to introduce.
Then, you can set a fixed date, in which you would like to finish the whole chapter, along that time, you can have partial deadlines, for example, you want to finish the chapter in a month, but you know that the first two weeks will be for the description and introduction of your new character, while the other two will be for the integration of the new character with the others, and with the rest of the story.
This way you will be able to divide your work, and also, it will become an easier task, whether it is number of words per writing day, number of pages per week, or chapters per month, whatever you propose to yourself, try to accomplish it!
1. Set yourself schedules AND stick to them!
In addition to what we have already talked about, it is also important the schedules in which you write, and we are not saying that at night or during the day you write better, because that depends on each person, and it is something that only you can know, or you will discover over time.
Each writer has his or her preferences about the time of day he or she likes, or simply is only able to write at certain times, there is nothing wrong with that.
A good tip is to keep to your schedule, whether you have set morning or evening writing times, a specific time, or something more general, like “after dinner”, stick to it.
At first, it may be tedious and complicated, especially if you live with friends or family, and you tell them that, at certain times of the day, you want to be alone writing, but you will see that, with time, you will get used to it (and so will they) as if it were work or study schedules. It will become part of your home routine.
2. Incorporate flexibility in your work periods.
While you want to be as productive as possible in the moments when you sit down to write, the writing process is not always linear, not everything comes to us, or comes out in an orderly fashion, from start to finish.
You have to know that flexibility and tolerance with your own time and writing abilities are a fundamental factor, if you have stuck after a paragraph, sentence, chapter, or if you have run out of ideas for certain characters or moments of your story, do not despair, just remember that you can continue with other parts of the story or, why not, with a different project.
Your writing process can even be very productive, even if you find yourself “stuck”, write down every little phrase that you find interesting, and every word that you think might be useful to you.
This will also help you not to find yourself in front of a blank page when you start writing again, a technique that many writers use.
Conclusion
As we have seen during the course of the article, either in our moments of greatest performance, or when we are blocked, we can be productive when writing.
For that, remember to implement what we have exposed here, propose yourself writing deadlines, taking notes, when you can not write in a row, choosing times of the day that are more favorable for you to write.
All this will be very useful for you. So, you know, go ahead and enjoy (and take advantage of) the time you have to write.
We hope you liked the article. See you next time!
