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After talking about some of the writing habits you need to drop, I think it’s only right that I suggest a few positive habits to replace them. Some of these may take a little more effort than others to master but once you have worked them into your routine, I’m confident you will find the whole process getting easier and easier, while the quality of your work is pushed up to the next notch.
Edit Before You Write… Difficulty: 3/10
Maybe you’re the sort of person who’s fingers hit the keyboard before their bum hits the chair and I really envy your lack of writer’s block. But before you throw yourself into the next chapter, I suggest going back and re-reading, preferably aloud, everything you wrote during the previous session. Being away from your work, even for just a few hours will give you new perspective on your writing and you will be in a far better position to notice your mistakes when a little time has passed.
This has the added bonus of letting you spot gaping plot holes before they become too ingrained in the story and, if you are anything like me, you will benefit from a warm up exercise like this before you start writing.
Get Rid of Common Distractions… Difficulty: 6/10
More distracting than ten internets.
–Image by Brian
As I have mentioned, the most productive writers are able to work in any environment. But that doesn’t mean you can’t create the perfect writing space in which to do the bulk of your work. Choose an area to transform into your writing studio and make sure it is clear of distractions. This doesn’t have to be a whole room; even just a small desk will do.
As for the things you should get rid of, this will vary from person to person but it’s very likely that you already know what distracts you. It could include your mobile phone, the internet or even that cute little sipping bird desk toy that’s oh-so-hypnotising. Unless it is essential to your work, it doesn’t belong in your writing space. And working on a computer is no excuse to get distracted by the internet, by the way. Use some of the great software out there which will block off access for a given amount of time.
Set a Challenging Word Count Target… Difficulty 8/10
This can be a frustrating method because we all get to a point in a writing session when we begin to think all of our creative juices are gone and we need to go watch TV instead. And while I’m not against taking breaks now and then, I will say that you can push through these moments of distraction and earn yourself a second wind. It’s a little like a runner’s wall.
It’s likely that when you start to lose steam, your writing won’t be as good. You may have to edit or even delete sections all together when you come back to it the next day, but that’s OK. Just the process of writing something, even if it isn’t something you end up using, will benefit you. And after a little while of working to a work count, your stamina will build and you will be able to produce material at your best all the way through.
Delete the Bad Parts… Difficulty 9/10
This is what my scraps folder looks like. I’m not organised enough for anything else.
This leads me to a tough but necessary part of writing; getting rid of stuff that just isn’t up to scratch. When you have spent hours working on a chapter that ends up being only half as good as the rest of the book, the temptation is to keep it anyway rather than lose all of that time. Of course, the ideal solution would be to edit it until it is good enough, but there will come a time now and then when you just have to concede, this isn’t going to work.
A good way to cut from your work with less heartbreak is to keep the removed sections in a “scraps” folder. That way, you know that if you ever change your mind or find a way to make it work, it’s right there waiting for you. And it’s also good to remember, as I have already said, that if you are writing something, you are improving your skills. It was never a waste of time, even if this particular section didn’t make the final cut and you will benefit from that in the long run.
If you enjoyed this article, please click like and follow, and join me again next week when I will be digging further into the world of managing physical space.
pilesofpages 
Good tips worth remembering! I see a fair amount of overlap between ‘edit before you write? and ‘delete the bad parts’ so that the two could collapse into a single tip. If you have Time Machine on your computer, you’re able to save every version of your text. That way nothing gets lost AND you can always have the latest (best) version at your fingertips.
Got to get back to my own writing now (not that I’m saying you’re a distraction, lol) 🙂
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I see what you mean! Although I would say that one big difference between ‘edit as you go’ and ‘delete the bad parts’ in my opinion is that when I am doing daily editing, I find I’m more likely to just take out sentences or paragraphs. The toughest part for me is when I come to do the big full-manuscript edit and I find I have whole chapter or two that just has to go. It’s heartbreaking! Good tip about Time Machine – I’ve not heard of it but I’ll definitely give it a go! It might just cure my editing horrors.
Best of luck with your writing. I look forward to hearing about what you’re working on 🙂
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yes, that’s true; the Big Edit once the novel’s finished is not the same as the daily edit. Won’t have to tackle that for a while.
i tend to feel that a chapter doesn’t ‘sit’ well long before the work is complete, don’t you? Then it’s a question of being honest with oneself.
Do you get a helping hand with the editing? How cagey are you about sharing your unpublished work? Not afraid of giving away too many good ideas? Sometimes re-reading what I’ve written makes me cringe, tho others say It’s great, leave it in. And sometimes I think: you can’t say that, it’s too daring, you’ll only earn yourself enemies. I guess there will always be a bit of a lump in our throats when the book goes to press. Good so?
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Yes I definitely agree that some chapters seem out of place long in advance. My usual habit is to leave any major cuts until I have the completed work in front of me, so I can assess how it fits with the full plot. But maybe that’s just my excuse for putting off the cuts!
I do share my work with trusted friends and family quite often. As it is young adult, it’s fairly gentle and there’s not too much chance of offending. Actually, that reminds me of something I admire about some of the work you have shared on your blog. I’m always so scared of writing something daring – my work is very light-hearted. I’d love to try something more like yours some time but I’m not sure I have the courage!
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I’m glad you said that. If you knew how long it took me to summon up the courage to post some of what I write. And then I fret because no one ‘likes’ it, till one day someone said to me: I bet they love it but they don’t want to be seen to do so. Could be some truth in that but I don’t worry about it any more, I acknowledge the fear and do it anyway. Gives me a great kick, by the way. We can’t write well if we are afraid of ourselves.
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I think that commenter was right! I’m guilty of not ‘like’ing as much as I should but it’s more forgetfulness in my case >__< And I think it's important that people like you are making this sort of writing available. The more people see it, the more it will become acceptable to like (and 'like') it 🙂
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Thanks for sharing! These are great tips. When I first started setting a daily word count goal for myself instead of only writing when “inspired,” it was revolutionary for my writing. I’ve never tried doing a daily edit consistently though – perhaps i should give that a try when working on my next novel.
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And thank you for the comment! Word counts worked great for me too and I really hope you will find the editing useful 🙂
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