If you want to become a better writer, all you need to do is practice. Write a little bit each and every single day.
15 minutes.
30 minutes.
An hour.
Dedicate to writing a certain amount of words per day. There’s even websites that help you keep yourself accountable, like 750words.com.
Of course some days are harder then others. Well all experience the occasional “funk” (I know I do). But it all comes down to structure and practice.
Creating the Perfect Environment
You need to create the perfect environment for yourself. For me, that includes:
- A clean desk with nothing but the keyboard and an outline of what I’m going to write on a sheet of paper.
- Pandora (set to Techno, Jack Johnson, or Nora Jones – yes really).
- Redbull, Rockstar, Monster or a Grande Americano with two brown sugars (not all at once of course).
- A Timer (this helps me stay focused – you should try it).
I don’t like to be disturbed. And when I’m in the zone, I’m in the zone. Other times, I really have to work hard at it. That happens. But like I said, the more you practice, the easier it gets.
But also, what time of day you write matters too. For example, I prefer to write between 8:00 – 10:00am or late at night between 9:00 – 11:00pm. I try and have posts written and saved as a draft at night so that I can edit and publish first thing in the morning. I use Sunday evenings to outline post ideas for the week ahead and write for my Real Estate Blog Topics Community.
Sometimes, it’ll take me 1-2 hours to write a post and I’ll spend 30 minutes to an hour editing and re-writing. (Your time will vary).
Some Stats:
Here are the numbers for the last couple of months:
- 14 blog posts on the company blog (September)
- 9 blog posts here – my personal blog (September)
- 16 blog posts on the company blog (August)
- 9 blog posts here – my personal blog (August)
- 8 full-length PDF’s/newsletters for my Real Estate Blog Topics Community (August & September). Here’s a preview of one the weekly lessons.
That’s not including newsletters, Forum posts and emails. But I think I can safely call myself a writer. Some days, the words come out easily. Others, I wrestle with myself. Not for a lack of ideas, but rather, struggling to articulate what I want to say via written form.
Some Tips To Help Your Write More:
- Show up. Meaning “do the work.” Write a little each and every day.
- Keep to a writing schedule as if you were booking an appointment at that time, at that hour of every day.
- Create the perfect writing environment for yourself. (I prefer the office or the local cafe)
- Cut distractions (the Timer helps and Pandora keeps me focused).
- Know what time of day you tend to be most creative.
- Schedule writing time, but also time to edit, refresh and refine your work before you publish.
- Start with the title, then add bullet points (talking points) to go with the title. I’ll often sit for a day and draft 10 – 15 post titles. Call it an “idea bank.”
Over to you…
What would you add? Do you have a set schedule for writing? A routine? How often do you write per day, per week, per month?
Ricardo
Some good tips there.
The must read book on this topic is THE WAR OF ART by Stephen Pressfield. Lots of the points you touch on in this post are expounded there – the most important one is to show up and commit to the work.
Another tip I’d add is to separate the task of writing and editing – they are done with different hemispheres of the brain. Editing as you go along is – for most people – a killer of productivity. I have a phrase I use when I talk about this – COMMIT TO THE QUANTITY. You set a level for your writing sessions – 500 words, 750 words, 1000 words whatever – and you don’t quite until you’ve at least hit your daily quote.
Even at 500 words every day that’s 180,000 words in a year. Which is the length of approximately two contemporary novels. Start by making a habit of it….and then make it something that’s just part of your day like brushing your teeth. In one writer’s group I was in we had a motto: Brush Twice, Write Once!
Good post. Keep at it.
Paul
Re: “separate the task of writing and editing – they are done with different hemispheres of the brain.”
I didn’t start doing that till earlier this year. Editing as you write DOES kill your productivity. It takes 2 if not 3 x’s as long to write and publish a piece. Definitely much better to separate both tasks. If I can, I’ll write at night, then strictly edit in the morning. Never both in one sitting.
Thanks for the comment and the book recommendation!!
Totally agree with separating editing and writing. There’s nothing like a critical eye on every word you write to quickly kill any creativity or motivation.
I once had an English teacher who told us that he expected to see “every word as a polished gem” in our essays. It wasn’t until I figured out that I simply needed to JUST WRITE – about anything and everything related to the topic – that I was able to come up with enough content to be able to polish those words into gems. Until then, I was stuck with nothing but small piles of rubble – not a gem to be found.
Great tips Ricardo…although for me, zero music – I can’t think in a focused creative manner with music in the background. I also need to turn off all social media and have total focus on the writing task at hand. I’m sure if I followed your outline above, I’d write more!
That’s where the timer comes in. I use it to help me focus on the task. Might seem silly, but otherwise, I’m all over the darn place.
As for the music, it’s weird. I’ve always worked/studied well that way. Though it has to be music without lyrics because if it’s anything I’ve never heard before, I get stuck trying to memorize the lyrics instead, heh.
Ricardo you are spot on with your advice about blogging. I too share the same times as you for when I’m best in the writing zone. I’ve never tried a timer, I’ll have to try that out. Great post.
I tried the timer hesitantly based on someone else’s recommendation. TOTALLY keeps me focused. And I tend to wander… Best $3 investment I’ve made!
Who has time to write? I barely have time to read….
I shoot for a little bit of both 😉
Indeed.
I don’t think the structure (although essential) is nearly important as the commitment. Before you create a schedule or a plan, you have to have a conviction. That no matter what, you MUST write every day. That’s what keeps me going even when my schedule has to be thrown out the window. I get up early, stay up late, do whatever it takes. Then, I ship. And do it again tomorrow. Great question, Ricardo. Going to check out that 750 words site. Sounds interesting.
The 750 words site is my way of keeping myself accountable. Well, really, I do my own word-count at the end of the day. Like you said, it’s about making a commitment to show up, write, and ship every single day.
It’s true. The hardest part about writing is actually sitting down and doing it.
It’s like going to the gym… The hard part is doing it consistently for about that first month. But once you bake it into your daily routine, it gets so much easier!
Great post, Ricardo! I definitely need to keep my workspace cleaner, and I’m going to try the techno, Norah Jones, Jack Johnson thing 😉
Works for me at least… This morning it’s “Apocalyptica” – check ’em out on Pandora. Totally gets you pumped!
OR…just get on a phone call for 4 hours and ignore the people on the phone while you write away. 😉
Yes, I agree with that. Let’s all get on the phone for 4 hours, write, and ignore each other 😛
HAHAHA! Indeed!
Good ideas, Richardo. A lot of us concentrate best with a relaxing distraction, like the music. I find that I can make myself write, but it goes so much better when I am inspired. My subconscious works on it, and boom it comes out much more easily. It has always been that way for me. Luckily, I am inspired quite easily! LOL
Heh, I dig your style Sally! When you’re easily inspired, things work out much better that way 🙂
Ricardo, I love the stats! What a great idea. I write at multiple blogs, and sometimes feel like I’m not doing enough writing. You’ve inspired me to look at the big picture and collect data on the posts I’ve written across all of them. When you look at it that way, I’m prolific!
The part I’m finding difficult is deciding what to post where, and making sure that I don’t over-lap on topics. And if I do over-lap, how can I mix it up just enough. Know what I mean?
I hadn’t really considered how much I’ve been publishing. In a way it’s pretty neat, but I also want to write longer, thorough posts. And I’m trying to go through the stats to see what type of content people are resonating with the most so I can keep that going.
Anyway, so far, so good 🙂
Very true. I use my weekends to write now unless there’s something urgent that needs to be posted. Great helpful tips as always 🙂
Sunday’s are my writing days 🙂
Great post Ricardo. I never keep a clean desk. I’m bad at staying organized. I need to change that. I definitely cannot write with music playing. Its a big distraction. I find writing early in the morning helps me write more, than in the afternoon or at night. I’m sure if i stick to your tips I’ll write more though. 🙂
I have a tendency to use lots of post-it notes, I have papers scatter all over the place and not to mention a stack of books laying around. I keep the books around because I’m always looking for something to read and well, they’re within arms reach. But all of that is also a HUGE distraction for me. I find my eyes wandering and I don’t end up making progress on what I’m trying to do…like finish that blog post.
So, keeping the space clean and distraction free is DEFINITELY a big productivity boost.
Early mornings work for me sometimes. But mostly, I try and do editing then. No writing. I guess I’m just a little slower to push through then 😉
I’m big on an idea bank. My drafts folder is full of titles that I can revisit when I need a topic to write about. Some sit there for days, weeks, or months. But, it’s nice to have a stash of ideas to review when I need new content.
As for a writing routine or environment, my first job was as a TV reporter. Being in that industry trained me to be able to write anywhere, anytime, and under any conditions. I once had to write a story and do an on camera stand up when I was sick from traveling to the story site on a sea plane. Turbulence like you wouldn’t believe on the tiniest plane known to man. But, I had a deadline and a story that needed to air that night. Consequently, I’ve turned into a very adaptable writer 😉
Wow! I don’t even know what to say… That sounds like quite the experience. And I bet you have more than a few stories to tell 😉
I dig that you’ve grown to be such an adaptable writer. And I love how you have such a way with words. Me? I struggle. I can probably talk your ear off, but when it comes to articulating it “on paper,” I always find it a little difficult to come out.
Nevertheless, like exercise, I’m working out (writing-wise) day-in and day-out.
Thanks for the comment Amber!
Great tips and advice about blogging! Love the stats. Children screaming in the background is a definite No No when it comes to writing, so I write when they are in school in the evening most of the time. Thanks for sharing.
Heh, yeah, I could see how that’s distracting 😛
We need to get you a set of big, noise-cancelling headphones. Some really, really big ones! Then again, if you don’t do well with music (like me), that’s a no go.
You do A LOT of writing!
I don’t think I’d add anything to your list, but the only way I can write more is simply by writing even if I don’t know where to begin or have anything good to say. I find that if I just write- even if it’s garbage at first… something better will evolved from there. That’s why it’s best to make that time to edit, like you mentioned in your post.
Trust me, I get stuck A LOT!
So what helps is to start with the title first. Then from there, make a bullet list of everything that I want to include in that blog post. Just write.
Later, come back and edit the original piece. That’s my way of helping me work through it…or get un-stuck.
That’s what I also usually do – no great thoughts, and I often start with nothing. Great thoughts come by an accident! Ricardo, you’re writing a lot! And this is reflected on your wonderful posts – I can tell you’re very experienced!
Tim
Having read the article again, I have to go with what’s at the top of two of my blogs: Whatever I feel like bloviating about, whenever I get amped. I have seven different places that I write for, simply because that’s the way it works to separate my various interests and expertise.
Practice makes perfect! And wow you’re a prolific writer!
Absolutely great advice. I know the pains of finding time to write. It is very easy to make excuses or find something else that “needs doing” but in fact for us bloggers and social media workers, writing is of the utmost priority!One more tip I try to live by and give to others is to keep a notebook for ideas that will develop into editorial calendar items so that when you sit to write, you don’t have to think too much about the topic. You can just sit and write.
That is a whole lot of writing, friend! I don’t know if I could do that much. There was a period of time when I wrote a post every day for my blog and it was effortless after I had been doing it a couple of weeks. Now I am lucky if I post once a week. I agree with everyone who said that you should just “do it,” and it will improve as you go. This is great advice – and this was a very helpful article.
Great advice, thank you:)
It was a lot easier to schedule writing when my kids were younger. I use to write reviews on a few sites on a daily basis. Thanks for the detailed info in your post, this will help me stay focused.
Thanks for your advise.Its really important for us. I really like the concept of this post and I feel that this is a very unique and rare information that you have managed to compile. It is quite interesting to read about this very rare topic.
Thanks for this post.Keep it up.
Couldn’t agree more, Ricardo.
LOVE the idea of the 750words.com site. Having outside pressure is something all of us are raised on and something that’s hard to totally transition away from.
Consistency is the key. I’m a huge fan of what Stephen King said about this topic. He said, “If you want to get better at writing, you read a lot and you write a lot.” No rocket science or elaborate schemes required.
Congratulations on “Doing The Work”!