Making Time to Write
I reveal how I make time to write throughout this online magazine. However, also I offer 1/2 hour complimentary publishing consultations. I do this for many reasons. Firstly, I am excited to teach independent publishing. Secondly, often one smart idea, when applied, can improve a writing project by 25 or 50%. This brings me great joy, even if I never hear from that writer again. Thirdly, I can encourage authors in the making!
During my complimentary sessions, I repeatedly encounter this question, “How do I find the time to write?” I get that—and so I will address this question in today’s blog.
The Big Time to Write Issue
In the 21st century, most humans are inundated with continuous obligations and responsibilities. When is the time to write? Today, for example, I filled my car with gas; paid for health insurance; took my computer for repair; updated my virus checker; changed my cell phone plan; replaced my vehicle’s defective door strip; and, changed the batteries in my home security system.
Financial life is also complex, with constant money management duties. For eight months, I have been trying to talk to Amazon regarding misapplied payments; and contact my bank for a refund of the $5/month they are subtracting from my savings account. Plus, two checks from a small income stream are missing in the mail. Tracking monies is so time-consuming—we either pay in money or in time.
Tips to Make Yourself Write!
1. Make Lockdown a Time to Write
Many unsung writers are emerging from their shells during lockdown. What better time to write in 2020 than during lockdown? In 2009, I took a 3-month writing sabbatical to write and publish a book to Amazon. This period was a self-enforced lockdown and that book paid my rent for at least 5 years hence. Use the concept of lockdown and visit me in the Caribbean for a writer’s retreat!
2. Write About What You Know and Love
Writers often believe that they must be novelists, best sellers, or scholarly to publish. Indeed, culture and society have created stereotypes—but, the digital publishing age of the 21st century has obliterated these. Therefore, if you write about a subject you know and love, your writing will have merit. Plus, your words will flow like water and you will hardly be able to stop writing. Even half-an-hour a day will make great progress.
3. Find Time to Write—Make Writing a Habit
If there was just one habit for how to write a book in record time, I would recommend this trick. Set aside half-an-hour to an hour a day to write! Many of us spend that time in a flash on Facebook or watching TV. If you give yourself one hour a day to write, after a month, you will have a chunk of your book magically written.
4. A Timing Issue or Writer’s Block?
Forget about what your writing sounds or looks like. Get the heart of the content written. Later you can edit, copy-edit, proofread or even have a trusted friend check for typos and punctuation errors. Spell-check is not your friend. Do not focus on content and form at the same time. Both will suffer. First things first. Get the heart of what you want to say in writing. Then, you can polish its form.
5. Blog or Write for a Blog Daily
This is a magical way to finish a book in record time! Commit to providing an article once a day or once a week for a blog. Organize the book concept so that the articles will fall into the chapters of a book. The great thing about this trick is that you are also developing a following while writing. Go to WordPress.com and start a blog on the subject of your book.
6. Publish Your Book
Make a plan to publish your book. Best selling author Jack Canfield once said that writing a book without publishing it is like having a baby and leaving it on someone’s doorstep. You may find traditional publishing challenging and time-consuming, but self-publishing is doable at an affordable price. Notably, if you are an entrepreneur, you can recoup the cost of self-publishing quickly by offering consulting, coaching, and courses in your field of expertise.
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