One of my greatest excuses on days that I don't write is I just don't have time. Have you ever said or thought that? Well, in fact, the opposite is true.
Here's the thing about writing:
No, it's not easy to write on the days when you feel like you just don't have time. But it is possible.
The secret to finding time and maintaining successful writing habits is to set an intention.
An intention is an aim or a plan to do something. In writing, there are three things you need in your intention in order to be successful: when, where, and how much.
When will you write?
It's important to decide when you write. That decision will enable you to create a habit you can hold yourself accountable to maintain. That habit is important to the success of your writing=.
We all dream about getting up before the sun rises to create our masterpieces, or maybe instead, to stay up writing until the sun rises. While writing during these times can be inspiring and even productive, for most of us it is not sustainable.
When is a realistic time you can set apart and dedicate to your writing?
Where will you write?
Where you write can be a deciding factor for your success. It's also a very personal decision. Each writer has an ideal writing spot, but what works for me might not work for you.
Proust wrote his best work in a solitary, cork-lined room. Hemingway wrote in cafes and bars. Maya Angelou wrote in the isolation of hotel rooms and Virginia Woolf wrote in her basement.
To decide where your ideal writing spot is, you need to consider three factors: focus, space, and inspiration.
1. Focus. You need to find a place where you can focus. Do you need isolation? Does it help you to be around other people? Do you need complete silence?
2. Space. When you write do you need to sprawl out all of your materials on a huge table? Or do you just need a spot for your notebook or laptop?
3. Inspiration. Where are you inspired? Do you need to be outside near nature? Do you like to surround yourself with blank, white walls to give your mind the freedom to wander?
After you’ve answered these questions, decide where you will write. When that decision's made, you'll be well on your way to developing regular, sustainable writing habits.
Heidi Grant Halvorson, a researcher at Columbia University, says:
Deciding in advance when and where you will take specific actions to reach your goal can double or triple your chances for success.
Visualize the steps to get to your writing spot: Will you have to wake up early? Will you have to drive, or just walk down the hallway?
Where will you write?
How much will you write?
The answer to this question often depends on what you’re writing. Are you writing a short story or a massive novel?
(Not sure how much you're writing? Here's a tip: A full-length novel can be anywhere between 60,000 and 150,000 words.)
It’s also important to know yourself, how fast you write, and how much time you can dedicate to writing every day so you can set yourself up for success.
Some of the most productive writers, like Stephen King, suggest writing 1,000 words per day. Depending on the time you have, I suggest writing between 500 and 1,000 words a day.
Give yourself the freedom to write longer on days the writing comes easily. Let your writing guide you, but most importantly, make sure that you keep writing.
Create Your Intention Today
What does an intention look like?
Joe's intention while he was finishing his Parisian memoir was:
Each morning before work, I will write 500 words at Carroll Street Café.
When I was writing my last book my intention was:
Every morning from 8:30 to 11 I will write at Octane.
No, writing every day isn't easy. But when you know exactly when, where, and how much you'll write, it takes much less energy to follow through.
And soon enough, you'll hold your finished manuscript!
Do you have writing habits? What challenges do you face in maintaining them? Let us know in the comments below.
PRACTICE
Set your intention! Take fifteen minutes to craft one sentence that answers the three questions:
- When will you write?
- Where will you write?
- How much will you write?
If you have time left over, use it to make progress on your daily writing goal. Pull out your work in progress or start a new story and see how much you can write.
When you're done, share your intention and your writing practice in the comments, and be sure to leave feedback for your fellow writers!
I like the quote:’If you don’t have the time to write…)Really it is an eye opener for those who are vacillating whether to write when they don’t have time to write.In a way it is helpful to me also.Thanks a lot.
Agreed, it’s a good quote. It’s also very strangely true. So glad you found the post helpful!
“The secret to finding time and maintaining successful writing habits is to set an intention.”
This rings so true. I’ve never done this exact thing – set time and place and amount, and I am easily pushed off course. So I’ll give this a try. Thanks, Kellie
My intention: Each morning from 6 to 8 I will write at my writing desk. I will write 800 words.
Picking up from yesterday’s work:
“Don’t you touch that.”
His face hardened when he looked up. “I’ll touch it if I want to.”
He was infuriating, and there wasn’t a thing she could do about it. “Yes, you will. But, Poppa said you were to be a man while he was gone. A man tends to his responsibilities. You, however, will do exactly as you wish.”
She turned her back to him and resumed her march across the ridge with Sookie behind her. Without the collar, she had little to barter but cheese. Perhaps the sisters would exchange Lizzie’s labor for the breeding fee. Lizzie knew how to work.
A half hour march and she topped the ridge. The Rawlins’ fence was a quarter mile away, downhill now.
Sookie bawled and their ugly bull answered. She was a purebred Red Devon cow and the Rawlins’ bull, a white-faced mixed breed so ugly Poppa said that last year he had to cover Sookie’s eyes before she’d accept him. They needed the milk, so she must be bred and this was the only bull available. Besides, any calf Sookie had would pull a plow or feed them if it must. When the war was over, Poppa would go back east and fetch a decent bull for the cow.
When the war was over. They said that often.
This is great! I love the voice of your narrator, and that last line carries a lot of emotional weight. One thing I’m confused about though – what exactly are the two characters arguing about at the beginning of the passage?
Love your intention! I realllllly need to work on getting up earlier. You’ve inspired me! 🙂
Your piece is also great. The story line is interesting and I want to read more. Love those last few lines too!
True for me: I need to be intentional. Here’s the problem: I write best on airplanes. I need a seat at the right angle and a tray at the right height. Then all the other surroundings disappear. Yesterday I was reading notes from my editor, who said my airplane scene needed expansion. “Describe the other passengers,” he said. So I just looked down my row at the other 5 people and put them in the book. Easy. Can’t find that in my home, but I don’t fly that much, and I don’t want to go to Starbucks. What other location replicates economy class?
City bus?
Too scary.
maybe you can find a virtual flight to watch and observe other passengers.
Interesting idea, Debra.
its a lot cheaper then buying a ticket and waiting to board. I do virtual things whether trips car rides or water slides both for entertainment, and for writing ideas.
Never thought of this. Thanks for sharing.
your welcome. Glad I could help.
try a bus ride to your local shopping centre….
Wish this were possible. I’d do it. Unfortunately in some cities, riding the bus is dangerous. You have to always be aware of your surroundings.
so sorry, its very different in Australia….
Well my son may be moving to Sydney this summer, so maybe I can ride the bus when I visit him!
Ooh, I like this. Traveling and planes ALWAYS inspires my writing. Interesting that the tray and chair angle are so perfect!
I say go to a cheap furniture store like IKEA and try alllll the chairs and desks until you find the right one! 🙂
I write for one hour every morning in my living room, whether that means writing 1,000 words or revising a scene.
I like it Michelle! Good idea to even switch between writing and revisiting older pieces!
At one time I had the write practice as my home page so every day I started out writing at least for 15 minutes. But my boyfriend and I have one computer and he is taking courses on line and has set his school as a home page… But I still try and write 15 minutes every day. Or revise something for 15 minutes at least.
I will write at least 500 words every Tuesday morning from 7:04 til 9:40 at my kitchen table.
I realize Tuesday is not everyday.
1) Don’t judge me.
2) At least it is a start.
As for 7:04, my daughter’s school bus picks her up at 7:03, which gives me a full minute to come back inside and get started.
And I always seem to write at my kitchen table.
Ha Bruce, this is great! I was wondering why 7:04. I think setting realistic goals (like starting with a Tuesday) is soooo important! Let me know how it goes!
With a house full of room mates, I write when I can. But my ideal writing space is library where its quiet, but there are others coming and going to observe when I need a break or need to observe a person for a character. As for how long, depends on what I have to do that day. If nothing I write til the library closes or the story is complete.
Can you make being at the library intentional?
when the weathers nice and I can get out in my power chair. It’s stored at a friends house and they have a porch that the chair needs a ramp to get to the side walk. So I’m at the mercy of rides and their schedules.
Debra, I agree, the library is such a good place! I would recommend trying to set even a flexible schedule so that you can look forward to when you’re writing and see if that makes a difference in your writing!
I just may talk to the person who drives me places and see if she would drop me off and then come back in a few (not 3 few but 4 or 5) hours to get me.
You should! That’s a perfect amount of time to write!
A good piece. In 2017 I’m setting small goals and meeting them. Intentions. My writing goal is to write 1 hour each day. Through practice I have learned that the best time for me to write is in the afternoon. It seems so strange as I always thought I “should” write in the morning, but mornings just don’t lend themselves to writing. I write in one of two places. When I write by hand I sit at a desk with a view of a tree. When I write on my computer, I am in the office. I write both ways depending upon what I am writing. Writing from my heart is always though my hand. Poetry, for example, always starts through my hand.
I like that you take what you know works for you and go with it.
Ooh I like this. I am very similar in finding what works when. Especially depending on the work. When I write poetry I am very dependent on the fleeting inspiration unfortunately.
These specific intentions are better for pieces you HAVE to finish and write.
Love that you’re being more intentional this year!
1-will write for twenty minutes every day at 5:30 P.M., whether it’s a journal entry or something else, everyday at 5:30
2- I will write at my desk, which I rarely use, because it’s the least distracting spot.
3-300 words
I’m impressed that you can pour out 300 words in 20 minutes. That’s a good goal!
Lol thank you, some of them are misspelled and it doesn’t always make complete sense but it’s really lighting a fire under me
Glorie, that’s awesome! I love that you’re starting with just 20 minutes too. Very realistic! Let me know how it goes!
So far I’m actually writing for longer, and it’s a great way to get started and not get in my own way! 🙂
Thank you. I’m in a rut right now.I am writing poems. And, another book. I usually get back into writing after a break…
I feel you! I actually took a break this winter for a little while, about to start a new book though! So I’m with you! New intentions 🙂
Developing a daily habit of writing is tough for me. My work schedule varies from week to week, and I work two jobs. And just recently, I joined a gym, so I have to make time for that. But I do believe in setting the intention to write. On the days I work my primary job, I go to an area where I won’t be disturbed and set my timer to write for fifteen minutes. It pretty much works for me. I think if I had a bit more freedom to write, I would be writing more than just in my journals. I’d be writing stories.
I will write twice a week from 3.30.pm to 5.00. pm, in our small study, and try my best to put in two pages… i don’t know how many words that’ll be.
My best moments are after lunch, when my husband rests and doesn’t need my help.
With a growing family, we had to get a place with a little more space. We moved into the army barracks which doubled as the housing projects, the land on which the Old Will Rogers Park stood. By this time, I had 1 older brother and 3 younger sisters.
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I have been following the below schedule. But to make it formal for my peers: I will write from my study overlooking downtown Doha, Qatar and the Persian Gulf. I will write from 0430-0530 every morning. And, I will continue to generate 400 words a session. This number works for me.
I’m never sure how many words I write, it depends on what I’m writing and what draft I’m doing. But I usually set a time. Daily for at least 2 hours. If after that I don’t having anything pressing to do I will continue adding until the thoughts or ideas are gone. If later I find they aren’t needed then its easy to delete them or move them.
I will write at least 500 words per day five days a week at my desk.
By committing to five days a week, I allow for some flexibility.
My desk is located in my laundry room, which has served as my office for many years. I may experiment with writing in other locations just to see if that makes any difference.