First Drafts Aren't Perfect - My Guest Post on Proof Positive

I'm excited to share that I'm a guest author on Proof Positive's blog today! I discuss the favors you do yourself by taking breaks from re-reading and editing your novel. Here's a snippet:

"The words poured effortlessly from my fingertips and onto the page completely free of grammatical errors and typos, forming a perfect, succinct, and intriguing story that everyone in the world wanted to read…said no author ever."

Click HERE to check out my tips on how to edit, revise, and polish your novel.

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If you enjoyed my post on rewriting, you might benefit from these too:

• How to Write A Novel, Part 1: Let The Journey Begin 
• How to Write a Novel, Part 2: Brainstorming, Drafting, and Getting Organized 
• How to Write A Novel, Part 3: Editing Like A Pro  
• How to Be a More Productive Writer

How to Be a More Productive Writer

We all want to find the time to write more, but those darn annoying things called “responsibilities” get in the way (*eye roll). Then there are those unexpected things that tend to pop up every time you get in "the zone." You know what I’m talking about. Your allergies are bugging you, it's your great aunt's b-day, or your dog just threw up on the new carpet. Okay, some things are more urgent than others, but still, whatever the reason, finding the time to write and sticking with it is well, really freakin hard! It’s something that all writers struggle with, including me, which is why I'm sharing my biggest productivity takeaways in hopes of helping you achieve your writing goals and feel great at the end of the day. Now, let's do this thing!

1)   Identifying and Sticking to Realistic Goals: Write down your writing goals for the day, week, and month and stick to it. This can be in the form of a word count, page count, or whatever gets you motivated. If things repeatedly come up and you aren’t able to meet your writing goals, there may be a simple fix like setting different goals or slightly adjusting current goals. Still not working? Ask yourself why writing is important to you and why you want to make time to write. The pieces should then fall into place.

2)   The Power of Timing: Successful authors know what times of day they write best. They block out this time for writing and schedule everything around it. If you’re freshest in the morning, schedule your writing time accordingly. If work or school overlap with your best times, never fear, you can still find energetic hours. It just might be a little trickier. After I’ve had my morning walk and coffee, my brain is on and ready to go so I always reserve that primo morning time for writing new and/or challenging content. I also block out a chunk of time in the afternoon. Since I’m not as fresh then, I use the time to re-read what I had written and edit.

3)   Create A Routine: Block out writing time on your schedule every day and commit to it. The only way to transform your writing routine into second nature, and thus be more productive, is to follow it consistently. Here’s what Stephen King does:

“I have a glass of water or a cup of tea. There’s a certain time I sit down, from 8:00 to 8:30, somewhere within that half hour every morning. I have my vitamin pill and my music, sit in the same seat, and the papers are all arranged in the same places. The cumulative purpose of doing these things the same way every day seems to be a way of saying to the mind, you’re going to be dreaming soon.” (from Haunted Heart: The Life and Times of Stephen King, via Daily Routines)

4)   Work in Increments: Group tasks into small batches instead of working for one long duration of time on one task. Not only will this help you focus, especially if you get bored easy, but you’ll be more productive because you will be regularly re-visiting your work with fresh eyes. Even if you're not sure about this one, try it out! You might be pleasantly surprised. One thing that has worked very well for me is scheduling in short blocks of time on my calendar the night before so I know exactly what I’m going to do and when I’m going to do it the next day. I’ve had to learn to accept that as much as I want to sit and write all day, I simply can’t. Although my writing time isn’t as long as I’d like it to be, I definitely utilize my writing time more efficiently.  

5)   Organize Your Space: If you haven’t done so already, designate a writing space where you can focus without interruption. Ideally, this would be your own office, but if space doesn’t allow, just make sure you avoid choosing a place where you relax like your bed or couch, which can send mix signals to your brain. Your goal is to train your mind to know when it should be in “work mode.” Wherever you choose to work, make sure that the area is well organized and free of clutter and distractions. An organized space = an organized mind. Also, getting the right space might take some experimenting. For me, I absolutely can't work without a view. A view might be too distracting for you though, so you can try facing your desk towards a wall instead. Don't be afraid to experiment. 

Here's my work space. It's simple, neat, and has a great view.

6)   Disconnect: Disable everything! I mean, everything. Close your Internet browser and turn off your cell phone (or at least the notification alerts which ping every time you get an email). Continuously being connected not only interrupts your flow, but the temptation of social media and emails can be too hard to resist. Before you know it you’ve scrolled through dozens of tweets, added five recipes to Pinterest, liked your BFF’s wedding pics, and written zero words of your book. I just read a magazine article that said the average person checks their phone 100 times a day! You don’t need it. Remember, you’ve got a book to write and all those things can wait.

7)   Skip It: If you’re still struggling to find time to write, take a good hard look at where you are spending most of your time. You’re more likely to achieve your writing goals if you skip watching shows and movies, spending hours surfing the Internet, or even reading other people’s books. You don’t need to avoid these things all the time, only when you’re struggling to focus or unable to meet your goals. I use movies as a reward. This motivates me to meet my goals because I have something to look forward to. Chocolate is also an excellent motivator. Whenever I hit a milestone like finishing a first draft, I celebrate by going out to get a piece of pie or cake.

My very own chocolate cake for completing Strange Luck. Yum!

8)   Schedule Social Media in Advance: You’ve already scheduled time to write, but what about social media and blog posts? They're important, too! Queue posts in advance and limit the amount of time you work on these things each day. You might be pleasantly surprised by how much time you’ve freed up.

9)   Motivation: It’s very easy to get down on yourself for not meeting your writing goals. It’s even easier to compare yourself to other authors and ask how the hell they’ve written fifteen books when you can barely get through one. This is another time where you might just need to disconnect. This means you need to stop looking at other authors and what they’ve done or are currently doing, and just write! When I’m having a particularly rough day and don’t want to write at all, I’ll journal or go over to Pinterest and look at some inspirational quotes. After five minutes I feel so much better.

10)   Know When to Step Away: Sometimes you just can’t get in "the zone" no matter what you do. The key here is to pay attention to your body to avoid a possible burnout. If you can, leave your workspace and do something fun or relaxing. Or both. Although it might feel like you’re wasting time initially, breaks can actually refresh your mind and lead to increased creativity. I’ve gotten some of my best ideas while doing something fun.  

Want more tips on how to write a book? Check out my other posts here.

Now you share! What tips or tricks do you utilize to increase your writing productivity?

How to Write a Novel, Part 2: Brainstorming, Drafting & Getting Organized

As I mentioned in How to Write a Novel, Part 1: Let The Journey Begin, it’s all about exploring the diversity of options out there and doing what works best for you. This post details my method for brainstorming, drafting, and getting organized. It may or may not work for you, but at the very least I hope that these tips will help you discover the keys to unlocking your writing success. 

Timing is Everything: Make writing a priority by assessing the time of day you’re most creative and fit your writing time into your schedule accordingly. I’m freshest in the mornings, so I try my best to schedule everything around it. It might take some experimenting to get the time right, and it might not always work due to life circumstances, but once you discover your writing sweet spot, it will be that much easier to actually write. 

Inspiration: Blocked? Head over to Pinterest for some vivid imagery or create your own board. Still blocked? Go for a walk, talk with a friend, or go see a movie. Studies show that distractions can actually be good for creative thinking. Write when you’re inspired. Write when you’re not inspired. What you write in the beginning doesn’t have to be perfect right out of the gate. You’ll edit later.

The Notebook: No, this isn’t a Ryan Gosling reference (darn!). It’s about being prepared for ideas, which can strike you at any time—be it your initial story idea (I got my story idea listening to music while cooking dinner), a character name, perfectly worded description, or how to kill off someone. Good ideas can hit you anywhere, which is why it’s important to make sure you’re ready for them.

Pay attention to where you tend to be most creative and make that environment “brainstorming friendly.” For example, I wrote a lot of Strange Luck while commuting three hours to work each day, so I had a lot of time to brainstorm story ideas. I always kept a notepad and pen on the passenger side seat and sometimes I had Siri take voice Notes on my iPhone when I couldn’t write. When I was out and about, I wrote ideas in a little notebook I kept in my purse, on post-it-notes, or the back of receipts in a pinch. If you tend to get a lot of good thinking done in the shower, get Aqua Notes—a waterproof notepad and pencil set that you stick in the shower. Wherever you are, make sure you have a reliable method to record your thoughts.

Time to Draft: When it comes time to start drafting, the important thing to remember is to not get too attached to what you’ve planned, because it WILL change. Even if you draft your entire book with full character maps and all, it WILL change. This is actually a good thing. As you write, you may realize that an idea may not work, or better yet, you come up with something way better. Everything you write in the drafting stage is really just to get your ideas down and to formulate your story. 


How I Draft:

1. I loosely write out some story ideas, potential character names and traits, and a few plot points in my super cute notebook (see below pic). Since this is a very nice hardbound notebook, it’s more special to me than just a cheap spiral notebook, so it really pushes me organize my thoughts and ideas. I might spend days or weeks thinking about the story before I actually write anything in it.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
2. When I feel like I have enough ideas to start my story, I create a master manuscript Word doc and type up the notes from the hardbound notebook. This gives me another chance to re-evaluate my ideas, add to them, and adjust accordingly. 
3. My favorite part of writing is creative free flow, so I’ll literally write Chapter 1 and dive right in, always spacing my notes I had input earlier to the next page. This is advantageous for two reasons: It allows me to “free flow” without being influenced by my previous ideas; and it allows me to easily reference important info if needed (e.g., age of a character or hair color). The notes are like training wheels—there if I need them. 
4.  Every time I sit down to work on my master doc, I always re-read what I had written the previous time before adding any new ideas. I never read more than a chapter or two back. Although this method is debated, I like it because it gives me an opportunity to re-read the story with a fresh eye and get into the proper mindset to continue writing. It’s also a good opportunity to remind myself of important plot points. Then, I go through each one of my notes line by line and input them into the story accordingly. I cross off each idea when I’m done. Here's a pic of some of my Strange Luck ideas I wrote on post-it notes, and the little notebook I carry around with me:
   
   
   
   
   
   
5. I work on a chapter as much as I can before moving on to the next. If I need to add something to the previous chapter, I’ll simply go back and add it. Ctrl-F (the PC find button) is my best friend when I need to locate a section of the story quickly. 
6. Once I’ve written down all of my ideas and have the bare bones of each chapter, I start right back at Chapter 1 and go through everything I wrote, adding “meat” to the story and editing along the way. I’ll literally do this a dozen or more times until I feel like I have all of the pieces of the story and have gotten it as close as possible to what I want.

Setting Goals: The key to actually finishing your novel is setting goals. If you get bored easily, make new daily goals. If you like a challenge, see how far you can push yourself. I get bored easily and I like a challenge, so I always mix it up. One day I’ll tell myself that I can’t get up from my desk (pictured below) until I write one paragraph. The next day, not until I finish a chapter. Sometimes I’ll even throw in a reward, like once I finish writing for X amount of time, I’ll treat myself to a cupcake (yum!). It really just depends on how I feel that day. It’s all about setting boundaries that work for you. 

What Do I Do Now? Once you’ve got a solid draft of your novel, put it away until you can read it again with fresh eyes. Believe in yourself. Keep writing. Don’t give up. And when all else fails, remember these wise words from fantasy author Neil Gaiman: “The main rule of writing is that if you do it with enough assurance and confidence, you’re allowed to do whatever you like. So write your story as it needs to be written. Write it honestly, and tell it as best you can.”

What are you waiting for? Get out there and write!