7 Steps for Springing into Action to Get Your Writing Done
“Just write every day of your life. Read intensely. Then see what happens. Most of my friends who are put on that diet have very pleasant careers.” Ray Bradbury, American author (1920-2012)
Have you ever thought, “Spring Break is coming up and I’ll finally have time to finish that research…write that article…prepare that conference paper…only to discover when the break is over that you have done nothing of the kind? Instead, you’ve frittered away the time with household chores, getting kids to camp, or actually spending some quality time with your partner. I’ve had exactly the same experience myself. Who hasn’t?!
Procrastination is an albatross carried around by all writers.
I’m not pointing fingers or encouraging any sort of self-flagellation. The truth is, most writers and professors have several articles, sometimes even a book, stuffed in a drawer waiting for “more time to work on this.” Psychological reasons for not working on a book may include fear of rejection and failure: “I’ll have to do this over, revise and resubmit,” or “I’ll have to let it go,” after spending a lot of time and energy on a project. Sometimes it’s fear of success: “Now I’ll have to come up with something new to work on,” or “People will always think I am the expert on this topic but I don’t really feel like an expert.” Additional explanations might be: “I’ve lost interest in this project,” or “I’m stuck,” that is, “I don’t know what to do next.” It could relate to a feeling of isolation, that no one else understands or cares about your project.
Physical reasons for procrastination may reflect an external reality: you have no regular space to write either at work or at home; you write where interruptions are constant; your materials are disorganized and aggregated over several locations (meaning nothing is ever where you need it); there are technical problems with your computer like outdated software or access to resources you need; you think about writing but don’t have a way to write down your ideas when you have them; you write best early in the morning but you are commuting to your job then.
You may even be dealing with some major life issues like marriage, new baby, divorce, illness (yourself or others close to you), coping with elderly relatives that need help now, or handling with the aftermath of someone’s death from funerals to cleaning out a house to probate. Every one of these things can be time-consuming and emotionally draining.
So, practice some compassion toward yourself and admit there are a lot of obstacles. Then commit to writing anyway.
My writing partner, Mary Beth Averill, and I developed this 7-step process to help our academic clients get their writing done. Here they are:
1. Start with a clear, concise statement of purpose: This is a clearly articulated, well-thought-out succinct, declarative sentence. “The purpose of this [insert type of project] is to …” An example: “The purpose of this post is to present easy ways to stop procrastinating and start writing.” If you find yourself stuck or blocked in your writing process, your statement of purpose is a good starting place to return. Think about it while you work on your study and while you do menial chores. Dream about it. Play with it. Expand it. Narrow it. Refine it. Don’t leave creating your statement of purpose for later.
2. Break your project into small, doable steps. Do small stuff when you can’t figure out the big stuff, at least you get something done. One of my clients calls this creative procrastination. I call it the “process” side of “producing” your writing. You can even make lists of what you need to do.
3. Develop a daily writing schedule and stick to it. Find the right place and the right time and have the right tools and the right information readily available for yourself. Schedule appointments with yourself, because what gets scheduled is what gets done. You can set writing appointments as short as 15 minutes, but writing every day keeps your project “top of mind” and keeps you from staring at a blank page for hours on end. Write right from the start of your project.
4. Use a writing journal. Items you might include but are not limited to, are:
- A time when you sat down to write
- What you did (a phrase or two, no need for paragraphs)
- Progress: word count or page count
- How long you spent
- Where you will start tomorrow
It’s your journal. Tweak it to suit you. There are plenty more ideas than what I have written here.
5. Learn when to edit, and when not to. Get all those ideas down first, without worrying about grammar and punctuation in the first draft. Don’t try to polish the sentences while you are writing them. Begin editing only after you have a draft. A lot of writers actually say “the real writing is in the editing.” Do not read more stuff or “run down the research rabbit holes” because you think you don’t have enough information. At some point, you have to say, “there will always be new information, but I have to get this done now.” Whatever you get finished and published is better than the perfect product you have in your head.
6. Reward yourself at every step. Rewards should be comparable in scope to what you have accomplished. Finished a paragraph? Maybe a three-minute stretch break. Finished a couple of pages? Maybe a cup of tea or a walk around the block. Finished an entire chapter? Maybe go out to a movie or watch one on Netflix. Big finishes deserve big celebrations, like dinners out or weekends away.
7. Get support when you need it to get your writing done. There are plenty of writing groups on the web or in person you can use to help find some accountability for yourself. You may even be able to create a group of your own peers that are also struggling to get their writing done. Meeting at coffee shops, libraries, or via computer conferencing have all worked for people. And, of course, you always have the option of hiring a writing coach like me.
What’s the result of all this effort? Your writing gets done! Now, enjoy the season and the new spring in your step.
Tags: academic writing, writing
