12 Tips for Making Your Creative Writing Sessions More Productive
When youâre ready to sit down and make some progress on your current WIP, get in touch with your productivity to reach your goals. Check out a few ways to hack your brain and make your creative writing sessions more productive. Youâll defeat writerâs block and potentially overshoot your usual writing goals.
Creating goals and reaching them is the easiest way to know youâve been productive. Writing goals can take many forms, but you can consider using one of these goals to get started:
Write 100 (200, 300, whatever you feel comfortable with) words
Write for 15 minutes without a break
Write 1 (2, 3, etc.) page
Finish the current chapter
Even if you think a goal is too small, it could be just right for your writing abilities and schedule. Every person is different, so every writerâs productivity goals will be different too.
The average person checks their phone 344 times every day (once every four minutes). Putting it next to you while youâre writing might not be enough to make your creative writing session more productive.
Turn your phone on silent and place it in a drawer. Hide it under the pillow next to you or leave it in the next room. As long as itâs out of sight, youâll be less tempted to pick it up and flip through apps while youâre working toward your writing goals.
3. Pick a Better Environment
If youâve been struggling with your writing, try changing where you write. Your kitchen table might be around too many distractions, so write in your bedroom instead.
Need inspiration? I wrote about 10 places to write your stories that could inspire you in different ways. Changing your scenery can help you get a new perspective, which is why people take vacations. Help your brain jumpstart itself by changing your scenery whenever you want to write next.
4. Harness Your Focus With Sounds
Listening to the right playlist can actually help you focus. Instead of distracting you, lyric-less noises or songs may become the background noises that trigger stochastic resonance in your brain. Itâs a phenomenon when people focus more efficiently when they only hear specific background noises.
Grab your favorite headphones and try a few playlists I put together with various background sounds. You could write more easily while listening to sounds like rain, forrest noises, snowstorms, or more.
You can also search for instrumental playlists if youâre not into real-world noises. Have fun trying different audio clips to see what works best with your brain.
5. Free Write for One Minute
You might not jump right back into your current WIP because stress is clogging your mind. Free write for one minute by recording your stream of consciousness on a piece of paper or a Google doc. It might not have anything to do with your story, but destressing by facing the thoughts holding your creativity back could be what you need to really engage with your work.
6. Switch Your Writing Time
Trying to write in the evening might not work with your circadian rhythm. Some people have more natural energy in the mornings or afternoons. Reflect on when you have the most energy or when you most easily pay attention to whatâs going on around you.
Figuring out when youâre most in tune with your energy could help you switch your writing time to a better time of day for your brain. Try writing at a new time of day to see if itâs easier or more challenging.
7. Add Writing to Your Schedule
This tip revolutionized my writing routine. I used to write whenever I got done for the day, if I had energy leftover after a long day of school, work, or other responsibilities.
Now I add 15 minutes to my schedule specifically for my creative process. It seemed weird at first because creativity is supposed to be intuitive. However, adding more responsibilities to your time limits what you can do and how much energy you have after the day ends.
Schedule a few minutes for writing. Repeat that schedule two or three times a week and youâll quickly make progress on your WIP.
8. Brainstorm With a Friend
When your writing process feels stuck, brainstorming or venting out loud could help. Call a friend and ask if you can vent about your story for a few minutes. Sometimes hearing your struggles out loud makes them seem smaller and easier to overcome.
You could also post about your process online (hello, tumblr!), text a friend, post in a virtual writing group, or talk to yourself out loud. You might think through your current creative block and get more writing done.
9. Block That Editing Instinct
I know how tempting it is to edit as you write. Catch that instinct as often as possible to save your editing for another time.
Writers need first drafts to start morphing their work into a polished story. Just get those words on paper for right now. You can edit your heart out once you have a draft to work with.
10. Dismantle Your Project
You can also overcome the desire to constantly edit or work on finer story details by breaking your project apart.
Manageable segments might free up the anxiety holding your creavity back. Outline your writing process into steps like:
Writing (by chapter, word count, etC)
Editing (line edits and/or developmental edits)
You could work a little bit on each segment every day. Youâll watch your WIP blossom and potential feel less stressed because you know youâre being productive.Â
When was the last time you picked up a book? Sometimes we need to read a similar story to get our creativity flowing again. Read something similar by getting a book in the same genre, thematic narrative, or writing style.
You might feel your creativity come back to you so writing becomes easier. Youâll also benefit by developing a few extra skills as each page turns.
12. Allow Yourself to Get Messy
Perfectionism finds us all eventually. When it has your creativity locked up, encourage yourself to get messy. Every writer makes mistakes and edits them out later. Thatâs why there are multiple types of editing after you finish your draft.
Write something terrible. I dare you. You can always transform it into something great later.
You might even discover that your first draft isnât as bad as you thought itâd be.
Take these tips with you into your next writing session. They may help when your old process isnât working as well as before!
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