C h a z z W r i t e s . c o m

I’ve written, co-written, and worked as a book doctor for a long time. People have asked, how do you keep your ass in the chair long enough to be that productive? I do have a robot in my watch that tells me to get up and move around once an hour so I don’t become pudding. I set alarms to get me to bed and get me to work, too. Setting alarms is not just for nagging you to get out of bed.

Here are my simple suggestions for increasing your word count:

1. Clear your workspace of distractions. (I have a blanket fort because I like to hide.)
2. Clear your calendar so you have dedicated time to write. Be specific about when and where.
3. Get excited about the current scene you’re writing. If it’s not exciting for you, it’s not exciting for the reader. If that’s the case, maybe it’s good you’re dragging your feet on writing it.
4. Set a timer and, especially for that first draft, get the words down as fast as you can while you race the clock. You can accomplish a lot in short bursts.
5. Shut off the internet so you focus on the job rather than checking out the latest on Huffington Post and Twitter news. The world’s ending. There, saved you some time.
6. Do not wait for inspiration. Inspiration strikes at the keyboard, not while you’re playing Call of Duty.
7. Since the hardest part is starting, tell yourself you’ll just write for ten minutes. Once you start swinging that hammer, you’ll get caught up in doing more damage.
8. Take notes between writing sessions so you’ll have prompts when you’re back in the saddle.
9. Drop your writing session on a note that’s easy to pick up again.
10. Accountability is helpful. That could be just you counting your streaks in an app or on a spreadsheet, getting a writing partner, or finding a writing group. Tracking and reporting keeps you writing. My mastermind group has a writing room in Slack which tends to get me going.
11. Visualize your success and how good it will feel to publish a book. You can’t get there without the homework part of being a writer, so do the thing.
12. Picture the sad faces of all your haters when you hit it big. Cackle about it as you type. Motivation comes and goes, but fear of failure, terror of poverty, and ambition born of spite are strong emotions.
    
    What keeps you at the keyboard in this ridiculous, capricious business?
    

~ I’m Robert Chazz Chute. I write apocalyptic epics with heart and killer crime thrillers with muscle. Find links to all my books at AllThatChazz.com.

Filed under: writing, writing advice, writing tips, books, books by Robert Chazz Chute, do the thing, how to write faster, how to write more, publishing, Robert Chazz Chute, writing