How to write more words faster
Hey fiction fans,
A particularly productive dude called Henry C. Blanchard (I love when people use their middle initial. They're either an author or a black comedian [think Steven K. Amos or Reginald D. Hunter]) started a WhatsApp and a Facebook page devoted to getting people from the YesTribe together to jump on the NaNoWriMo bandwagon.
For those of you who aren't in the know (or missed my previous post) NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month where hundreds of thousands of would-be authors get together to smash out 50,000 words in November. It's like a massive unstoppable train that you're allowed to jump on board for one month and join loads of other directionless wordsmiths to the destination of 'Finished Novel'.
It's brilliant at motivating you to get off your arse and write some stuff as loads of other people are doing the same thing and, thanks to Henry and the group, you've got the accountability, peer pressure and group enthusiasm to get the bloody novel finished. If you drop the baton and miss a day's writing you'll know that 50 other people have got your back and will push you on to succeed and get to the end.
It's what has made me get out of bed every morning since the 1st Nov at 5am.
What about these tips, Jon?
Alright, I'll get to that. I didn't want to be a complete freeloading waster and just sponge motivation and naïve excitement out of the other members of the group. I want to give something back. With the hundreds of hours of writing podcasts I have listened to and the vast array of self-publishing books that adorn my shelf I must have some knowledge that would be useful for some of the other members of the group.
So I decided to list a tip each day to help my other authors to reach their targets.
And I thought you might be interested in this topic too. So as the month progresses I'll share more and more of the productively tips and tactics for writing a novel (or any other written text for that matter).
I'm like a first draft Christmas fairy come early.
Disclaimer - All of these tips have been nicked from various other sources or are common knowledge. They won't work for everyone so just pick and choose whichever you think will work for you. Oh, and have fun!
Productivity Tip #1 - Get up at 5am to write your book
First off, there are far fewer distractions at 5am. No one is going to email you. You're not likely to receive a phone call. And your kids, though you love them, won't be pestering your every 5 minutes to come and play with them.
You'll also have the added benefit of getting your words written first thing in the morning. This mean that when the rest of the house wakes up they will be really confused with the self-satisfied smile that you have plastered all over your smug face. You'll also be more productive for the rest of the day having already achieved a major milestone each morning. Probably.
You brain is at it's most fluid just after you have woken up (like the existence of aliens, I'm not 100% on the science of this one but it could be true). Therefore your creative brain is more susceptible to new ideas or to visualise exciting settings or characters. It could be a load of old bollocks but it's nice to think that this could happen.
Productivity Tip #2 - Turn your phone off when you sit down to type
In today's world we are constantly alert to the beeps and whistles from that bloody device that sits in our pocket all day. For the one hour that you plan to sit down and write, if you turn the phone off...
1) you will avoid the distractions of the internet, emails, calls, text, Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, Instagram, Snapchat, Tinder, Grinder and all the other gazillion apps and sites that make your phone sound like a poor man's R2D2.
2) you will release your mind from the permanent state of anxiety that it is in with the perpetual FOMO thoughts like, 'Has he got my message?', 'Do I need to respond?', 'What is the weather in Barbados right now?' I promise you, it doesn't matter if you don't respond to your phone within a nanosecond of it vibrating.
I also promise you that the world will NOT end if you turn your phone off, and if it does we'll all die so you won't need your phone anyway. I'm pretty sure you won't get 4G in heaven!
On Monday I'll be sharing Productivity Tips #3, #4 and #5.
Have a lovely weekend and keep adventuring (and writing!)