How to Make Writing a Priority

by Samella 

Most of us think of writing as more of a hobby, something that we do whenever there is “free” time. But the truth of the matter is there never is any “free” time because there’s always something else that you could be doing. But if you want to write, you have to make the writing a priority.

Here are some tips and ways to help you make writing a priority.

·        First, reprogram your mind to think of writing as necessary; as a job that you must show up to every day.

•      Then think about when you want to write. What is the best time for you to do your writing? If you have a full-time responsibility whether that is work or caring for your family think about what works best for you.  Take into consideration when you would be best for you to write; are you more a morning person or a night owl; people, pets or other things that demand of your time, etc. Even if you the flexibility to write full time, still think about when the best time is for you to write.

•      Your Schedule. Once you have picked a schedule, go ahead and get started as soon as possible. You can always tweak it later. Maybe decide that you are only going to write two hours a day. Some writers determine that they are going to write a set amount at a sitting or for the day. You decide what works for you. The best advise I ever got was to write one sentence. Anyone should be able to write at least one sentence. And the beauty of the one sentence is that writing one sentence usually leads to another sentence, then another until you have a whole paragraph and next thing you know, you have an entire page.

•      Preplanning. Think about any preplanning you need to do to prepare to write. What distractions may cause you not to write? Think of as many as you possibly can and be prepared. For example, coming downstairs to a sink of dirty dishes can distract me if I’m not careful. So, I try to make sure the dishes are washed the night before, and if not, I take a few minutes to just arrange them, so they at least are neat and ready to clean.

Allow a few minutes to dawdle, get coffee, a snack whatever you need.

If you miss a day, make sure to go back to writing the next day.

·        A log may be helpful. Something simple. You can make a slash on a calendar every time you write. When you see too many missing slashes, you know it’s time you step up your writing.

•      Last Thoughts. Don’t listen to people that say things like “you can write anytime; you can go back to writing later.” One of my favorite people in the whole world used to say this to me. But non-writers don’t get it! The more you write, the more you will want to write. That doesn’t mean you won’t have some challenging days—but you will get back up and go back to the writing the next day because you have gotten into a habit of doing what you said you wanted to do and that is to write.

There are so many more tips I could give, but I’ll reserve those for another day.

Self-published a novel several years ago, have written several Scarecrow and Mrs. King fanfiction stories and I am currently working towards writing a book.