by Jenna | Dec 30, 2015 | Writing Articles
It's that time of year. We're all making resolutions and setting goals, thinking about our biggest, fondest dreams, and what we hope to accomplish with our lives in the year ahead and beyond. As writers, usually our resolutions, goals, and visions have a lot to do with our writing, along with the other big goals we'd like to accomplish.
And once you're clear on the dream -- you'll want to have a way to put it all into action.
This is where building a lasting writing habit comes into play. Habit will get you through to the end, where willpower and determination might otherwise fail you.
5 Tips to Build a Lasting Writing Habit
When it comes to building a writing habit, habit itself is the key word. We want you to get your writing to a place in your life where you wouldn't even consider NOT doing it, the way you wouldn't even consider not brushing your teeth every day. That's when you know you've got a solid writing habit.
Here are 5 tips for how you can build a habit that lasts:
Tip #1: Write daily or near daily.
When you're trying to build a habit, aim to write DAILY. Writing on a regular basis is a hell of a lot easier than writing infrequently, it stirs up more frequent creative thoughts, and it eliminates the whole need so many writers have to "warm up". It turns out that most "warming up" is procrastination and resistance in disguise, and you won't need it once you're writing regularly.
In fact, when you write on a regular basis, you'll find that your subconscious mind is always working on your project, so it's much easier to dip in and out of it on the fly.
So when you're starting out building a writing habit, or even rebuilding one, aim to write every single day. There's a kind of open window into our writing that closes more tightly the longer the span of time that passes between writing sessions. So keeping that window of time to 24 hours or less, when you're building the habit, is key. Once you've got it down, you can start experimenting with taking days off here and there.
When I first started writing regularly, I had to write every day or my resistance levels would build up to code red proportions. Now I can take weekends off and step back into the writing come Mondays with less drama and angst.
Tip #2: Set small, attainable goals for your daily writing.
Lots of writers crash and burn by setting unrealistic goals for themselves. Many writers are surprised to discover how much they can accomplish in just 15 minutes of writing every day -- it adds up over time into so much more than you would ever think. (Check out the story about Rick, who went from 5 minutes of writing a day, to now working on finishing a 6th major draft of his novel.)
Do yourself a favor and start out your habit building with a super small, easily attainable goal that you KNOW you can do, every day, even if it's just 5 minutes day. When new members start in my writing community, we encourage them to focus on even just checking in every day as a way of building the habit muscle.
Tip #3: If you're not writing, make the goal smaller.
Once you set your goal, if you don't find yourself doing it, don't despair or call yourself a failure!
Instead, take that as a useful piece of information (your resistance is higher than that goal) and set the goal smaller, even if it's writing for one minute.
Truth be told, when you're building the habit, it's NOT the size of the goal that's important, it's the habit itself that is.
Once you're meeting and succeeding with your initial goal, you can build up to more over time. I started out aiming to write for 15 minutes a day (and finished a script that way) and gradually built up to writing three to four hours a day at my peak before I had baby #2.
Tip #4: Create triggers for your writing habit.
You always brush your teeth when you get ready in the morning and before you go to bed, right? Getting ready in the morning and going to bed are triggers. You don't debate about whether or not you'll brush your teeth, you just do it because you're so used to it, it would feel weird NOT to do it. So if you can set up a trigger for your writing, it makes it easier to do.
Here are some examples of possible triggers:
- Write immediately upon awakening. A huge benefit of writing first in the day is that it clearly separates it from other life tasks and obligations so you don't have to transition so much between other things to writing and back again.
- Write with a timer or during a group writing sprint. When you use a timer or you're writing alongside other people, the writing energy just kicks in and carries you along.
- Write after meditating or exercising. It's nice to stack other resistance-provoking activities next to each other in the day and hit them with a one-two punch.
- Write before exercising or before doing some other kind of regular activity. Then you have something to "bump up against" in your schedule.
- Write immediately after you get home, eat dinner, or put the kids to bed. Know that when you're done, you'll write before you do anything else.
- Write before going to bed. If you're a die-hard night owl, consider making writing the last thing you do.
If you keep doing the same thing, over and over again, it will become a regular part of your routine, and much easier to sustain over the long term.
Tip #5. Create as much accountability as you need to keep writing.
There are many different kinds of accountability, including writer's groups, mentors, deadlines, accountability parties, and writing buddies.
The trick is to figure out exactly how much YOU need to keep the fire lit under your writing motivation and put it into place. Look for the right combination that keeps you in action.
For example, you might want to have a writing buddy you exchange pages with every week, to keep you honest, whether you actually read each other's work or not. You could combine that with a writer's group, like my Called to Write program, which provides daily accountability. If that isn't enough for you, you could also add in an in person writing group and/or a contest or submission deadline to keep you focused.
There's no one size fits all answer here. You might be someone who is either great at staying accountable to yourself or someone who rebels against any kind of accountability. If that's the case, you may you prefer to put your focus on community and connection, rather than accountability, so that what helps keep you motivated is that your identity is tied to your writing and the group you're in.
Put these five tips into action and see what you can do! It's amazing what happens once you start. I wish you all the best in 2016 for a creative and productive year!
by Jenna | Dec 2, 2015 | Writing Articles
It's a busy time. There's a lot going on and a lot expected of us with the next round of holidays looming on the horizon.
It's also a time when we start looking ahead to the new year. Maybe more in the backs of our brains where we don't have to pay too much attention to it, but most of us are starting to think ahead to our writing in the new year and what we want to accomplish.
Some of us are even putting off writing until the new year, thinking we don't have enough time to do it now, with all the busyness.
Don't fall for the big blocks of writing time myth
The truth is, though, that most of us are putting it off because we think we need a lot of time to write. That it isn't worth writing unless we have a big block of time to write, where we can really dig in. And it's true, those long blocks of time to write can be lovely (when they don't scare the bejesus out of us and cause us to procrastinate even more!).
But we don't really need big blocks of time to keep our writing in motion.
We just have to do some writing.
10 Tips to Keep You Writing Through the Holidays
Here's what I suggest to my Called to Write members to keep writing through the holidays:
- Write small. Even if you're accustomed to longer stretches of writing time, it's okay to scale it back to a more manageable amount while you're balancing the busyness of the holidays too. Even just 15 minutes of writing a day (or 5!) is worth doing and will keep you connected to your project.
- Write first. Writing first in the day--even if you have to get up early--will help you bypass most of the challenges the holidays bring. This is because when you put your writing first, everything else comes afterward and fills in the remaining time. It will reduce your stress levels, you’ll feed your soul, and everything else will still miraculously get done.
- Set a rock bottom daily writing goal. If you know what your rock bottom minimum for writing is, it’s easier to know what to do on the really busy days. You might want to aim to write 250 words, or three sentences, or write for 15 minutes as your rock bottom. Then you know what you have to do when you’re in tough. (And it's okay to set your "write small" amount from tip #1 at your rock bottom minimum!)
- Set a holiday season writing goal. Whether you’re targeting completion of a major project or simply determined to keep writing no matter what, knowing what your goal is makes it easier to know if you are on track. This year, for instance, with a young toddler in the house, my goal is super, super simple: just to keep writing. That’s it. For another writer, it might be, to finish the draft of a novel by the end of the year. Once you know your goal, you can reverse engineer what you need to do to accomplish it.
- Know what your specific challenges are and how you will address them. For example, my older son will be off school for two weeks, so I’m thinking about what he’s going to be doing when I want to be writing and making plans to write when my husband is home and/or the kids are otherwise occupied. Maybe you'll be traveling, or having house guests. With some forethought, you can come up with a simple strategy to protect your writing time.
- Be clear about what days you are taking off. I know of writers who ONLY take off Christmas Day every year. I know others who write 365 days per year. I also know of successful writers who write only on weekdays and take weekends and holidays off. If you decide to take days off from writing, be clear with yourself about when, where, and how you will start writing again after the day or days off. You have to be ready to combat the inertia of not writing.
- Assume you will write. On the days you’ve planned to write, make the assumption that writing is happening, one way or the other. Ideally, you’ll have a plan and a schedule to help you stick to that plan, but if all else fails, just assume it’s a question of WHEN not IF. (Don't waste your life energy deciding whether or not you'll be writing. Just decide, and then do it.)
- Create support & accountability. Habit trumps inspiration, discipline, and motivation almost any day of the week, but habit can still get disrupted by changes in our routine, like the holidays, travel, vacations, extra social commitments, and just generally having more to do. You can use the power of accountability to help keep your habit in place even when it’s being disrupted by other things. Whether you’re checking in with your writing buddies, participating in a writer’s group like my Called to Write community, or talking to your writing coach, having people around you who believe in the importance of your writing and support you to keep doing it helps you stay strong when you’re around people who don’t get it.
- Be creative. When the going gets tough, be creative about how and where you write. For example, you might want to arrive at your appointments early so you can sit in the car and write for a few minutes, write on your phone in bed at night (this is one of my favorite tricks), keep a notebook with you at all times for moments of inspiration, or find other clever ways to keep writing even when life is happening.
- Write last. Last but not least, if you can’t write first, write last. Even if you take just a few minutes at the end of every day, write. This is my saving grace these days with a busy life with a little toddler.
I hope this list of ideas will get you thinking about what you can do to keep writing through the holidays so you can feel great about beginning the new year with a strong start.
Happy writing!
by Jenna | Sep 10, 2014 | Writing Articles
Ugh. Procrastination.
We're all familiar with that simultaneous desire to write and the repulsion from writing that leads us into the nether realm of procrastination. We're doing something else -- ANYTHING else -- and it can range from feeling like we're doing something vitally important to just plain old digging our heels in and resisting.
Sometimes we tell ourselves we need to "warm up" first before we can write, with a little email, Facebook, or even a treat of some kind.
Or we decide we simply cannot tolerate the state of our physical space for a single minute longer -- how many offices, bathrooms, and kitchens have seen the plus side of procrastination on a day when writing feels oh-so-hard to do?
Other things come up too, right? All those urgent deadlines, other people's problems, our kids' needs, that bit of online research you just can't wait to do (you know, that one that snowballs into two hours of online nothingness -- and yes, I speak from experience), or even bigger things, like that college degree you suddenly have to have.
Understanding procrastination
There are a few of key things to understand about procrastination:
1. It's (usually) driven by fear. There's some kind of fear coming up that's stopping you from writing. You may not be clear on what it is, but trust me, it's there. Fears of success, failure, commitment, overwhelm, rejection, praise, inability to deliver, etc. are most likely to come up. (When it's not fear-driven, there's usually something significant going on, like healing from a traumatic creative wound or recovering from creative burnout, but I would call that a block, a subject for a future post.)
2. Not taking action on your writing will keep you in a low grade state of anxiety, guilt, and shame. I say "low" but it can skyrocket into a full-on painful squirming-in-shame. So even if you're pretending you are just watching your favorite TV show for a little treat before you get started and that it will help you relax into writing -- check in with yourself -- are you really, truly, in your heart-of-heart's feeling relaxed? Or are you twitching with unrest and discomfort inside?
3. It's a lot easier to fix than you think it is. There are some days when it simply isn't possible to sit down and power through tons of writing. That's okay. There are days when you can't face your draft. That's okay. But you CAN write, even if it's just for a few minutes.
And ultimately, making small moves will help you beat procrastination in the big picture.
Beating procrastination
Here are seven ways you can beat procrastination and get back in the writing saddle:
1. Have a short but honest talk with yourself about what's really going on. This doesn't have to be a big deal. But it's worth acknowledging in the privacy of your own mind, "Yes, I'm procrastinating, and it feels crummy. I'm going to do something about it."
2. Tell someone what you're doing. Find an accountability partner, a writing buddy, or a writing group that will help you commit to doing the writing and seeing it through. It helps tremendously to say to another person (even if it's your spouse or best friend!), "I'm going to write today no matter what."
3. Make a deal with yourself to write ANYTHING for 15 minutes. I don't care if you write morning pages, a list of all the reasons you hate writing, or actually work on your current writing project. Just get out a piece of paper or open your Scrivener file or Word document (I'm a Pages girl myself), and put words on the page, even if they are crap. (Using a timer for your 15 minutes is a special bonus tip - it's like pressing the "GO" button. Try it!)
4. If 15 minutes feels like too much, make it smaller. The goal should be small enough that you find yourself saying, "Well, heck, I can at least do THAT much." So if 15 minutes sounds daunting, do five. Or write ONE sentence (I'm not kidding). The key here is to get yourself into action WRITING. Period.
5. If you've racked up a lot of frequent procrastinator miles, STOP when you meet your goal. There are a LOT of writers I talk to who commit to write for 15 minutes, do it, and then find it so easy they keep on going. That's great, if you're just jump-starting yourself after a day or two away. But if you've been in the writing desert and the words have been few and far between, when you meet your writing goal for the day, stop and celebrate. Don't break trust with yourself and keep on writing -- you'll only set yourself up for a bigger challenge tomorrow when you feel like you have to "do better" and suddenly have too daunting a goal to face.
6. Reward yourself for writing. One of my favorite writers, writer-director Joss Whedon (Firefly, Buffy, The Avengers), rewards himself just for having an idea. Don't be stingy here. Writing each day is the equivalent of beating back the forces of darkness. You deserve to whoop it up a little once you pull it off. Give yourself a piece of chocolate, a stretch in the sunshine, or even those things you'd normally be procrastinating with. Remember the email, Facebook, and favorite TV shows? Make those your cool downs instead of your warm ups and you'll be good to go.
7. Do it again tomorrow! You've beaten procrastination today, great work!! Now, when you wake up tomorrow, use these tools to make a shorter path to writing. It'll feel great. Then once you get on a roll, start building up to more over time.
Warmly,
by Jenna | Jun 18, 2014 | Guest Posts
Note from Jenna: This guest post is from one of the many talented writers in my online writing community program, Rebecca Brams. Rebecca knows first-hand about the many challenges of writing while being a mom to two young boys, but it doesn’t stop her from getting her writing done. She shares here some brilliant-yet-simple techniques she uses to jumpstart her writing on a regular basis, even as a busy parent.
As you read these tips, look for ideas you can use for yourself — and let us know in the comments which one you’ll be putting into action.
My personal favorite is #5. :)
11 Tips: How I Get (& Keep) Myself Writing
by Rebecca Brams
We all have days when sitting down to write sounds about as fun as scrubbing the toilet. When the Muse is ignoring my pleas and Resistance is strong as steel, I turn to these tips and tricks to get words on the page.
1. Write longhand and keep my hand moving
It’s classic advice for a reason. When I’m stuck, I break out the old-fashioned tools: paper and pen. I start by describing what’s around me: the room I’m in, the clothes I’m wearing, the way the clouds are moving out my window. I add in some other senses – the smell of the old coffee in my mug, the sound of the washing machine whirring – and presto, I’ve tricked myself into writing!
2. Use a timer
Before joining the writing community with Jenna, I had mainly done timed writing when responding to prompts in writing groups, but now setting a timer is a critical part of my daily writing habit. I love using Freedom, an Internet-blocking software which temporarily disables my computer’s access to the Internet and blocks new emails from coming in. It keeps me away from online distractions while also giving me a clear “time’s up!” message right on my laptop screen.
3. Write before I’m awake
I’m not a morning person, but there’s something about 6:30 a.m. writing that allows me to sneak past that critical “editor” voice that can make each word a struggle. At night before I go to sleep, I set the scene: pen and notebook on the kitchen counter, splayed open to a fresh page. If my husband’s away, I prop my laptop against the wall by my bed, where it charges silently, waiting for morning when I pull it into bed for the indulgence of writing while still snug under the covers.
4. Bribe myself
On days when Resistance is mighty, I give myself a dark chocolate peanut butter cup, but only allow myself to eat it once I’m at my desk, I’ve set my timer, and the document is open. Some of my other favorite rewards are: a walk around the block, People magazine online, or a few minutes rocking in my hammock, thinking about how glad I am that the writing is done.
5. Suffer the consequences
Here’s the idea I keep in my back pocket for days when I feel powerless to stop avoiding my writing. I tell my husband, “Either I write today, or I have to spend those 15 minutes cleaning the toilet.” I’m pretty sure I know how that one will turn out, and it won’t be with a sparkling toilet.
6. Write in an unusual place
I write in my car, parked on a street where I’ve never before driven. I write in crowded cafes. I write in the yard under the Japanese maple. I write in the bathtub. But I do observe the cardinal rule: no laptops hovering over water.
7. Set a teeny tiny goal
10 minutes. 5 minutes. 2.3 minutes. When the timer goes off, I ask myself, “Can I keep going?” If the answer is yes, I set it for another tiny goal. I think in bite-sized pieces.
8. Write a numbered list
It could be a list of “Reasons I Can’t Write Today.” Or something supremely creative like “Things I Remember.” Eventually my timer will go off, or I’ll veer in some new, unexpected direction, perhaps even stumbling upon what I didn’t realize I was meaning to write about all along.
9. Use the phrase “What I really want to say is…”
Courtesy of writing teacher Laurie Wagner, this powerhouse phrase can make a piece of writing fizz and pop like Alka-Seltzer dropped into water.
10. Release the need to know where I’m headed
Sometimes I’m steaming along, words pouring out as fast as my fingers can type, and sometimes I hit dead stop, no idea of how to move forward. That’s when I remind myself that all I need to do is inch the story along. It doesn’t matter which current I tap into; I just need to move into the flow. Once I’m in motion, I can always change course.
11. Change my mindset
Instead of saying “I have to write now,” I tell myself: “Now I get to write.” What felt like suffering a moment ago might turn out to be my favorite part of the day.
Rebecca Brams is a novelist, blogger, grant writer and mama to two young boys in Berkeley, California. You can find Rebecca online at https://rebeccabrams.com.
In her copious spare time, she likes Zumba, nature, and hot tubs.
by Jenna | Jan 2, 2013 | Writing Articles
It's the second day of the new year.
I spent a little time yesterday wondering about whether I wanted to make any resolutions and found that the answer was no. What I want to do, more than anything, is keep doing what I've been doing, which is making a lasting change in my life a little at a time. I thought it might be interesting to talk about why these other ideas — resolutions, themes, and chains — don't work for me.
Why resolutions don't work for me
The idea of vowing to take on improvements in my life from the resolution perspective just doesn't work for me anymore.
I think it's because it's too vague. Maybe it's the way I think about resolutions. I'm not 100% sure.
What I know is that in the past, when I've made resolutions, I've failed to make concrete plans for taking steps to achieve them. I didn't understand the massive levels of resistance that would come up or have the slightest clue about how to deal with it. I didn't know what specific actions I'd be taking.
I can remember one year when I promised myself that I would eat better, and caved in to a tasty treat on January 1st. I gave up then, figuring that if I couldn't do it on day 1, I wouldn't be able to continue.
I can remember another year when I resolved to journal every day, and it maybe lasted for a week before I "blew it." So I didn't bother to try again after that.
Now granted, I've grown a lot since then and I think I'm certainly more self-aware than I was 20 years ago when I was making those resolutions, but at the time, my thinking was, "I've already blown it, why continue? It's already too late to get it right."
Inherently, I think the concept of a resolution can be difficult to sustain, and can set us up to feel like we've failed.
Why themes don't work for me
I've also taken classes and worked with coaches where I'm supposed to pick out themes for the year. The classes and concepts are lots of fun. We came up with themes like "Focus. Fun. Spirit."
But I never stay connected to the themes I identify. They don't have specific meaning for me. Or specific action steps associated with them. Too vague again.
Don't break the chain?
Then there's Jerry Seinfield's idea of "Don't Break the Chain."
Last year I toyed with the idea of writing every day. As you probably know, I run an online writing community — which promotes that kind of regular, consistent writing. But in our community, we ask our writers to write at least five to seven days out of every seven days, not to commit to writing every day.
At first I railed against the idea of taking days off. I figured we "should" all write 7 days per week (and you probably know how I feel about "shoulds" — they are big red flags).
But as we've been running the Called to Write community, I've discovered a few important things and changed my mind:
- Resting replenishes my creative well.
- If I take over one day off from writing per week, I have a much harder time getting started again.
- If I don't take off at least one day per week, I get rebellious and cranky and want to quit altogether.
- Writing every day makes me feel worn out. It's a grueling path. Marathon runners know the importance of rest days. And writing is certainly a marathon.
- Taking guilt-free, planned time away from writing keeps my mid-brain calm (that part of your brain that freaks out and puts you into fight-flight / procrastination mode) and allows me to subconsciously work on my project in my back-brain.
Certainly, you and I are different. For some people, writing (or working creatively) every day is a must. For me, it's a no-no.
Six days a week? Sure.
Seven, not so much. My biggest concern about the "don't break the chain" idea is that if we DO break the chain, it's far too easy to fall into the well of despair and struggle to get ourselves back out of it. I'd much rather plan a day off, almost like a "cheat day" with a diet, to keep me from getting mired in perfectionism, guilt, or shame.
What works
What does work for me is taking incremental steps to make lasting changes.
I like to identify my big vision, or my projects, like "rewriting my sci-fi script" or "losing 25 pounds." If I'm feeling really inspired, I might craft inspiring intention statements, like "I intend to knock this script out of the park" or "I intend to be feel great in my own skin."
But the most important step for me, as I mentioned above, is to come up with specific, frequent action steps and to work on "cracking my code" for overcoming my resistance to taking those steps.
Layering in new habits
I also like to "layer in" improvements.
An example?
Sure! Glad you asked.
When we started Called to Write, I focused first and only on building the habit of regular writing. I didn't worry about the quantity of words, or even quality. I also decided not to do more than one kind of habit-building at a time. So I focused on writing for 15 minutes a day, 6 days per week.
Approximately 4 months later, I layered in a new habit of exercising. Over the years, I've finally realized (aka cracked my code) that I won't work out unless 1) I'm paying someone to "watch" me do it, e.g. a trainer or in a paid class, 2) there's a specific schedule to do it, or 3) I'm already out of the house. So I hired someone to do Pilates with me on a weekly basis.
About 6 months after that, I added in time at the gym. At first I just aimed to go once per week. I figured out pretty quickly that I could put on my workout clothes, take my son to school, and then go right to the gym. I rearranged my schedule so I don't start coaching or working with anyone until 10:30 a.m. Pacific Time, which gives me plenty of time to get him to school, get in a good workout, and get back to my office in time to get started. I also set it up so I could do that five days per week and put two favorite movies (Star Trek 2009 and Serenity) on my iPhone so I can study them while I'm on the elliptical. Great motivation to get there.
It's easier once you build the habit
What fascinates me about this is something I talked about in my Creative Productivity teleclass series over the last couple of weeks: Once I got going, it was much easier to continue doing it than it was to stop. I'm now compelled to keep writing and to keep exercising, two of my biggest bugaboos over the last 20 years. The more you do it, the easier it is to keep going.
So what I like to do instead of all these resolutions and themes and chains is to come up with small, almost ridiculous steps that make it easy for me to do the thing I said I was going to do, a bit at a time, and to view it like a giant experiment, where I'm observing what worked and what didn't. One of our members says that our community is like being in our own laboratory, and we are the lab rats, experimenting on ourselves. It's a terrific analogy.
Warmly,
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