How to Actually Focus on Your Writing

How to Actually Focus on Your Writing

Many writers I know are overwhelmed and struggle to focus on writing anything. Do I research? Get a draft down? Should I be blogging? Do I need to get a business license? What about social media? What’s for dinner? (Sorry, my kids added that one).

A few years ago, I learned a technique that helped me get a handle on my to do list, and freed me to prioritize my writing. Along with sneaking time to write, learning to write in batches has changed the way I work.

How to Find Time to Write When You’re a Parent

How to Find Time to Write When You’re a Parent

You want to write. Your newest idea or draft has been sitting there for days, accumulating dust and regret.

You have to write.

But you also have a family. The kids need picked up, dinner needs cooking, and that living room isn’t cleaning itself. Your spouse has an event tonight (that you forgot you agreed to go to), and don’t forget the children need help with their ever-increasing load of homework.

How can you ever hope to write a book and be a parent at the same time?

Is it hopeless? Or is there a way to pull it off?

How to Ditch Writer’s Guilt and Write Now

How to Ditch Writer’s Guilt and Write Now

Raise your hand if you’ve ever felt guilty about something related to writing. (My hand can’t get any higher.) Whether you feel that you aren’t writing enough or feel terrible about neglecting chores while finishing your novel, writer’s guilt is real.

Here are a few ideas for abandoning writer’s guilt to get your work done.

Motivation to Write: The 7 Fundamental Needs of Writers And How to Leverage Their Motivational Power

Motivation to Write: The 7 Fundamental Needs of Writers And How to Leverage Their Motivational Power

If you write long enough, at some point you are going to experience a lag in productivity. Whether you call it “writer’s block” or “resistance” or just “a slump,” the moment will come when you struggle to put words on the page, and you just can’t find motivation to write through the struggle.

One way to overcome that lag is to lean into what motivates you. Do you know why you write?