5 Habits To Propel Your Writing
By Lois Hoffman
The Happy Self-Publisher
Make A Writing Schedule
Write like it’s your job. Put writing on your calendar and guard it from other appointments, errands, and the lure of other time-sucking activities. For example, set a modest goal of writing once a week for two hours at a specific time. Make it your priority and let other obligations fall around it. Set boundaries and get support from your friends and family by talking with them about your goals and why it’s important to you.
Start with small, achievable goals on a monthly, weekly, or daily basis to keep you driven and engaged. For some writers, that may be just to sit down and write 100 words. Others set time limits with “butt in seat,” even if it’s just 15 minutes. Once you know you can accomplish small goals, you may find longer-term goals, like 1500 words per week or 4000 words a month, get you more charged up about writing.
Set Up Your Space
Make it easy to write. Create a warm (or cool), inviting, and uncluttered space to lure you into the writing mood. You may want candles or a favorite hot beverage or even your lucky sweater to alert your mind and body that it’s time to write. If you’re at home, call dibs on a space that you claim as yours and surround it with creative inspiration—photos, quotes, figurines, etc.
Block out distractions. That may be a bit harder if there are Tasmanian-type creatures running around your house screaming about the injustices of the latest Lego warrior battle. You may be a coffee shop writer preferring the din of clanking dishes and intimate conversations as background noise. If the cone of silence is your thing, carve out the space or seek the quiet of the early day or late night to find your muse.
Mindset
Call yourself a writer. It may be hard to think of yourself as a writer if you’ve just started. But, once you proclaim your status, your mindset shifts to become one. Give yourself gold stars when you succeed (achieving your goals or the perfect word), knowing that not every sentence will be on par with Angelou or Tolkien.
Write down your dreams or create a vision board and keep it near your writing space to remind you why you’re making the effort in the first place. Your passion is fueled by a clear vision for the future.
Share Your Passion
Find your writing tribe either online or in your community. Look to libraries and arts organizations for meetups and seek out writing conferences to hone your craft and meet aspiring authors like you. It may be that a writing partner or a critique group gives you the support you need to keep on task, especially when inspiration or confidence wanes.
Share your words. Along with exposing yourself to new ideas from others, open mic events ease you and your words out into the universe. Supportive writers provide soft lift off as you launch your writing career.
Find Inspiration
Read. A lot. Observe yourself, your clients, people in a park, a restaurant, or the mall. Act like the artist you are by cultivating curiosity at art museums and galleries, trips to cities, out in nature, listening to live music, and attending other artists’ endeavors. Ask questions and explore the answers, even if you don’t immediately find them.
If you’re ready to write your next chapter, contact The Happy Self-Publisher at happyselfpublisher.com.
Bio
Lois Hoffman is the owner of The Happy Self-Publisher and award-winning author of Write a Book, Grow Your Business and The Self-Publishing Roadmap. Her online course, Adventures in Writing Nonfiction, challenges aspiring authors to imagine what is possible and helps them realize their vision. She is a book and author coach, speaker, and workshop facilitator, and brings the joy of authorship to determined writers through personalized writing, publishing, and author services.
Testimonial
“Lois Hoffman is a consummate professional. My memoir would not have been published but for her guidance every step of the way. I could not have asked for a better partner in this endeavor.” ~ A. Panwalker
