One of the things I would dearly love to do is write a proper novel, be it historical, sci-fi, action, drama – I’d love to put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) and produce something worthy of being published. The trouble is, I know myself, and I am my own worst enemy in these circumstances – I am too easily distracted. I lose focus too easily. My mind spins around too fast sometimes, and there are too many other things to steal my attention. I need to put myself into a little box and just devote an entire day to writing whatever I can.
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I think locking yourself away for a day is actually the wrong idea. Forcing yourself to focus doesn’t work, it’s a skill that needs to be learnt and almost a muscle that needs to be exercised. You should start small. Commit to just writing 10 ideas on a piece of paper every day no matter how stupid you think some of them are.
Do this for a week. Then pick the top 3 from every day and elaborate on them a little. Eventually you should be able to whittle this down to between 1-3 ideas that you are generally more focused on.
I’d also suggest writing down other things that are in your thoughts, even if you don’t share them. This helps to unblock your mind. Then just start committing to writing 100 words a day and slowly start building up. Set yourself small goals that are part of the bigger picture. Tick these small goes off as you go and you’ll see more progress, feel more enthused and get more focus. Don’t try to write a novel yet. Write a short story and self publish on the kindle store.
https://medium.com/indian-thoughts/how-i-reclaimed-my-ability-to-focus-and-started-getting-more-done-in-less-time-cb0fa28d690a
Good comment. I’ll give it a try, thanks!
I think locking yourself away for a day is actually the wrong idea. Forcing yourself to focus doesn’t work, it’s a skill that needs to be learnt and almost a muscle that needs to be exercised. You should start small. Commit to just writing 10 ideas on a piece of paper every day no matter how stupid you think some of them are.
Do this for a week. Then pick the top 3 from every day and elaborate on them a little. Eventually you should be able to whittle this down to between 1-3 ideas that you are generally more focused on.
I’d also suggest writing down other things that are in your thoughts, even if you don’t share them. This helps to unblock your mind. Then just start committing to writing 100 words a day and slowly start building up. Set yourself small goals that are part of the bigger picture. Tick these small goes off as you go and you’ll see more progress, feel more enthused and get more focus. Don’t try to write a novel yet. Write a short story and self publish on the kindle store.
https://medium.com/indian-thoughts/how-i-reclaimed-my-ability-to-focus-and-started-getting-more-done-in-less-time-cb0fa28d690a
Good comment. I’ll give it a try, thanks!
TBizzle beat me to it! Everything I’ve read says to focus on writing a small amount every day. Locking yourself in a room for a full day isn’t wise, nor realistic (you’ve got work, a wife, a child, household chores, etc.). To me, it’s a recipe for writer’s block too – all that pressure, the idea that this is “my one day to write,” is daunting.
Tons of websites have different recommendations for daily writing. I found a couple that say about 3 pages or 750 words is a good place to start – but, it usually encourages people to just free-write to encourage you to get into the habit.
This is a fun site that keeps your writing private, gives you cute tags, & even tracks stuff about your writing – http://750words.com/ However, it costs $5 per month. I’m absolutely positive free options exist out there on the World Wide Web. Take a look around!
I think you should absolutely write more – you’ve got great ideas!
TBizzle beat me to it! Everything I’ve read says to focus on writing a small amount every day. Locking yourself in a room for a full day isn’t wise, nor realistic (you’ve got work, a wife, a child, household chores, etc.). To me, it’s a recipe for writer’s block too – all that pressure, the idea that this is “my one day to write,” is daunting.
Tons of websites have different recommendations for daily writing. I found a couple that say about 3 pages or 750 words is a good place to start – but, it usually encourages people to just free-write to encourage you to get into the habit.
This is a fun site that keeps your writing private, gives you cute tags, & even tracks stuff about your writing – http://750words.com/ However, it costs $5 per month. I’m absolutely positive free options exist out there on the World Wide Web. Take a look around!
I think you should absolutely write more – you’ve got great ideas!