How do you find time to write?
Writing requires discipline and total focus. Set an hour or two every day where you give yourself over completely to sitting in front of the page. No text messages. No phone calls. No waving at the neighbors. When you feel the urge to check your phone or click on an ad, will yourself back to the page. It matters not that during that hour, whether you write three words or or a thousand. What matters is that you must do this until it becomes as routine as brushing your teeth. Compell yourself to sit there at least thirty minutes, even if you only stare at the cursor blinking patiently back at you. Writing is a choice–a way of spending time with ourselves in the depths of our minds.
If you can’t find sixty minutes to shut out the world, then consider what you might accomplish in five minutes. That’s right. A successful author once told me she writes whole novels in five or ten-minute increments–five minutes tapping away as she waits in the doctor’s office, or waiting for the school bell to ring so she can pick up her kids. It works. Five minutes soon add up to an hour, and then two and three. Try it, and share your thoughts with me on my social channels.
What is the best time of day for you to write?
For me, the best time of day is 6 a.m. just after letting my beloved dog out to pee. My house is quiet. I guard that precious hour as if protecting a hoard of gold. I ignore texts and phone calls that have arrived over night. When social media notices flash up on my iPad, I will myself to ignore them. This is my time. Story time. The slightest distraction will cause my muse to turn into thin air. It feels selfish. But the solitary prfession is indeed a little selfish. Those who do not claim the time rarely produce anything of substance. It doesn’t matter what time of day in which you engage your inner thoughts. It can be morning or midnight. The trick is to rule out distraction. And just do it. Share your thoughts with me on my Authorlink social channels (after my precious writing hour, of curse).
How do you know what to write?
The thoughts that keep me up at night, those that whisper over and over, suggest what I should write about. When an idea won’t let go of you, there may not be the need to rush to the keyboard. Instead, silently mull it over, turn the notion inside out and upside down. Then move away from the thoughts and let them simmer. After a while, the shape of the story might magically appear. One element of storytelling ie essnetial: conflict. Without conflict, there will be no story. There are five universal themes: love, death, good vs. evil, coming of age, and power. They resonate across all cultures. Which conflict do you know intimately, or wish you knew, or wish you didn’t know? That is probably the story yo theme that calls to you to tell the story. Share your thoughts with me on my Authorlink social channels.
How long does it take you to write a book?
The length of time required to finish a novel can vary from writer to writer. Some are faster than other. Generally, howevver, a trade novel typically can range between 280-and 320 pages, or about 70,00 to 80,00 words. Some– though rarely if ever shorter– are much longer. Let’s assume that you write three pages a day (750 words).You’d have a little more than 20,000 words a month. If you write every day, you’d have roughly 80,000 words in four months. But you are not done yet. Now the hard work begins. Profesional writers edit and polish their work as often as 50 times before turning a work over to an editor or agent.
What is the most difficult part of writing a book?
Many writers find difficulty in plotting, the elements that give the story an overarching structure. Others find difficulty in developing rich charaters. Characters must have their own story arc, too, beyond the overall theme. A story arc or charater arc follows the charater’s progress through a challenging journey from beginning to end. The charcter moves through stages of development. The rise and fall of the action creates a sense of purpose and direction. And that is the element that engages the reader. Obstacles usually arise for the author in the process. It is essential to m
