How I Write Words & Get Shit Done
December 12, 2011
I did math the other day.
I don't particularly LIKE doing math. Not because I'm a girl (thanks, Barbie), but because I'm me and I have trouble with numbers. But I recalculated it a few times and found that yes, indeed, I've written about 450 000 words this year in various novels and short stories.
I finished one new novel, completely gutted and rewrote to others (not revisions--I mean rewrote from the bottom up, into entirely new books), finished another new novel, am about to finish a third, started two other novels, and wrote some short stories.
It's a lot of words. Especially when you work full time.
So. How do I do this? Am I magical? Maybe a robot? Do I have copious amounts of free time?
No, I STFU and work. So here are some fast and easy tips to help those of you having trouble with output.
1. Count how many words you've written on Facebook today. Is it more than what you've written in you WIP? THEN GET THE FUCK OFF OF FACEBOOK.
I visit FB twice a day, if that. I try to keep up with my fan page first and foremost. Then I scan and see what friends are up to. And I swear, the same goddamn people spend all fucking day posting shit. Sharing every meme, updating their status four times an hour, getting into debates.
IF YOU ARE NOT DONE WITH YOUR WRITING FOR THE DAY, GET OFF OF FACEBOOK.
Social networking is all well and good but it's also a fucking timesuck. If you've written more status updates than paragraphs in your novel and can't handle the temptation, delete your fucking account.
Whiny Writer: "But you play on Twitter all the time, Skyla."
Yes, and I get my motherfucking writing done. I've written nearly half a million words on my WIPs this year. If I wasn't getting my writing done, I wouldn't be on Twitter--I'd be writing. I get privileges because I do my chores and eat my dinner.
Is it fair that some people can network and do other stuff and still get writing done? Maybe not. But whining doesn't get your shit done.
Need extra help? Get Freedom: http://macfreedom.com/ It blocks your internet while you write and the only way to get it back is to reboot your computer.
2. Beat Writer's Block with a sledgehammer and make it your bitch.
Stare at the page? Having trouble getting the words out? Well, suck it up, buttercup--so do I. So I set a timer and start writing for fifteen minutes, and get myself going.
Are there legit reasons to not write? Yes, there absolutely are. Do the odds say that your problem is a legit reason not to write? No. The odds say you're being whiny and lazy. I know this because I do it too. "I don't want to write today. It's Saturday and I'm tired and I want to see my husband Farkas in Skyrim and kill shit and eat Cheetos all day and I DON'T WANT TO WRITE SO STOP JUDGING ME."
Well, that's fine. If I don't write, I don't make my words. And then I get behind. And then instead of having 450K at the end of the year, I have half that or worse. Instead of having three or four new books done at the end of the year, I have one if I'm lucky.
So if you make that CHOICE and let *affects whiny writer voice again* "writer's block" bend you over and fuck you up the ass, well, at least have the decency to shut up.
Picture this: NaNoWriMo. Mid-month, I decide to switch books so I start from scratch while all my friends are approaching 40K. Then I suffer horrible wrist pain and can't work for a few days or I'll be laid up for weeks.
Monday, November 28th rolls around. I'm at 31K. I know I can't do it. Can. Not. Do. It. It's physically impossible. I work 8 - 10 hours a day. I'm tired and in pain, and it's not a weekend. Impossible. I can't even pry the words from my brain, I'm already so tired and clueless as to what has to happen in the book.
Well, guess what, honey? Even after I gave up, I kept writing. And writing. I wrote 19K words by 11:59pm on November 30th because I am stubborn and insane and NO FUCKING WAY was I going to let anything stop me. It was like a fucking boxing movie where the hero shows up and wins last minute, only way more boring and with more blood. And profanity.
Again, need help? Meet my secret weapon--my coach, my finishing move, what have you. Write or Die. I have the desktop version and when the words weren't coming, I set a goal and just wrote, and if I didn't, HORRIBLE THINGS HAPPENED. http://writeordie.com/
3. If you want the time, you make the time, slay the dragons, find the treasure, and beat the fucking boss level or die trying.
Kids/spouse/pets/family/friends/life getting in the way? Won't let you settle down and just write?
I'm sorry, but what?? Won't "let" you? Excuse me?
You are The Writer. You are called to sit your ass down and tell the best fucking story you have been chosen to tell--and something "won't let" you?
Writers all play video games now, right? So you're the hero in Skyrim or whatever. There are dragons to be slayed and guilds to rise up in and Farkas to seduce and marry (what??). You have a noble quest. A destiny.
But, you know, you don't have time. You can't go save the world because your kids need you to entertain them 24/7. Your husband/wife won't stop asking you things. You have to make dinner. And that show is on TV. And someone posted something awesome on Facebook. And look, you'd LOVE to be able to save the empire, but you have LAUNDRY TO DO.
No. Just, no.
You accept the mighty calling of being The Writer, you MAKE TIME. You teach your children to respect the time when your office door is closed. You tell your spouse that he or she might have to lift a finger and share chores equally. You decline spending every weeknight in front of the television and curl up in a chair with a notebook if need be. Your loved ones--if they do indeed care about you--will learn to respect you if they don't already. And it starts with you respecting yourself--building your own boundaries and taking yourself seriously.
You make your quest a priority--or go off and be a peasant and leave the dragon slaying to the grownups.
How do I do this? Well, I used to write when my ex-fiance was at work and I could squeeze in time. Or I'd give him the death glare if he bothered me once and then didn't again. Or I tell cute boys that no, I'm sorry, I can't go out tonight because I have a deadline. Or I tell my mother that I can't go out for lunch because I have work to do. Or I don't bathe for a few days and dishes pile up to the point they could fall and kill me.
If I want to finish a book, the book gets priority.
My other suggestion? How many hours a day do you spend whining that you don't have time to write/revise/etc? Yeah, spend that time WRITING instead of WHINING ABOUT WRITING.
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I am not saying everyone has to write half a million words a year. Or a million.Or one hundred thousand even. We all need to set our own goals and find what's right for us.
But if you want to? Start by doing the above and then we'll go from there.
Now, gentle readers/writers. What are your tips for being productive bunnies?
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Comments
#1 Best advice about writing I
Best advice about writing I ever got was from my mentor, Marie Dees. She said: If you want to be a writer, look at it like your job. Every day, you get up, get dressed, and go to your 9-5 job because you have to. Same thing with being a writer. Set aside a specific time to write every day, don't dick around on the internet during that time (just like you wouldn't at your 9-5 job), and keep yourself to strict deadlines/output results.
I've never forgotten that, and while I don't have nearly half a mil words banked this year (holy hell, girl!!!!), I'm still proud of what I've done in 2011.
Smiles!
Lori
#2 I get really, really fucking
I get really, really fucking twitchy when people tell me I don't have X, Y, or Z to worry about, so that's why I can produce a lot. Or I'm magical.
No, I trained myself. Like an athlete would, I spent years and years of training myself to sit and write, training my brain to move, training myself to put writing first and ignore distractions. We ALL have shit going on in our lives. We ALL have demands on our time. But guess what? I don't have cable. No TV at all, aside from shows I already have on DVD. If I want to watch something, I have to walk to my mother's to watch it. So when everyone else is watching the latest episode of The Timesucking Bachelorette Survivor Race or whatever, I'm over here getting shit done.
Professional writers who are able to write full time got there because they put in the work while working 9-5 jobs and raising children. If you can't be productive and prioritize, it doesn't matter how many hours in the day you have to write.
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"She wrapped evil around her like a large, evil Mexican serape."
#3 I was here. I wrote an epic
I was here. I wrote an epic response... and the internet ate it :(
Anyway, well said, and the essence of my comment was that everyone has shit that gets in the "way" of their writing. It might be a day job or kids or whatever, but just because their shit doesn't match your shit doesn't mean they don't have any.
And as for using laundry as an excuse, that makes me want to smack people. Stick the laundry in the wash and write while it's running. You don't have to sit there and watch the damn spin cycle. I promise.
~~*~~
Embrace pressure. It's only in that place where the true weight of the world is on it that a lump of coal can turn into a diamond.
#4 I am always behind in laundry
I am always behind in laundry because I have to do it at my mother's house and stay there for a few hours with no laptop, so it takes me away from writing/work and I am resentful of this. If I had a laptop, you can be damn sure I'd be in her living room typing while the laundry was going.
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"She wrapped evil around her like a large, evil Mexican serape."
#5 When I hate writing, I don't call it writer's block
Right now, I don't feel like writing. I have a novel that I want to submit in 3 weeks. However, a couple weeks ago, I realized that nearly 20,000 words were missing from it. That's right - 1/5 of the book had gotten lost. I've been able to piece together bits and pieces from archives and backups, but I now have to rewrite 1/5 of my novel.
I think it broke my brain.
I'm mentally exhausted. It's been a rough two months. My house has been under renovations for three weeks, in which an air compression is constantly bellowing in my kitchen for 8 hours a day, 6 days a week. My kids are out of control. My partner's been working overtime. The cats and the dog have been peeing everywhere because of the noise from the construction.
I don't have writer's block. I'm exhausted. It's really that simple.
#6 As I said, there are legit
As I said, there are legit reasons not to write sometimes. Last year I took six months off. It was the best thing for me. But, generally speaking, when we have legit reasons not to write, we don't bitch about it. You're not stomping around whining about how UNFAIR IT IS. You're tired and it's best if you take a break. End of story. That's totally different from spending hours a day on Facebook and then bitching you'd love to write but don't have time.
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"She wrapped evil around her like a large, evil Mexican serape."
#7 That's just it
I don't say I wish I had more time. I say I wish I have the energy. I say I wish I wanted to right now. I say I wish I hadn't lost 1/5 of my novel and now have to rewrite it and it's breaking my heart and I can't face it.
I DON'T HAVE WRITER'S BLOCK; I HAVE WRITER'S BURNOUT.
I've been filling up the mental reserve, reading some non-fiction about things I love, and just saying that it's ok to feel like this. I went away for the week and spend a couple of days having other people look after me.
Not because I had writer's block but because I'm exhausted. And I get pissed off when people listen to how I'm feeling and say "oh, yeah, isn't it tough being a writer" when they've written a short story in the last decade. Um, no, you have no idea how tough it is, thanks. Go away.
#8 Absolutely. Burnout is
Absolutely. Burnout is entirely different from "block" or "I'm lazy and want to play video games instead."
Know what happened to me four years ago? I had Life Trauma and a debilitating depressive episode in which I got incredibly self destructive, and I deleted all of my stories as well as destroyed the backup disc.
When I'd recovered, I was able to piece some things together but a lot was eaten up. Stuff I never got back. I had to rewrite the end of Hunter and it took me half a year to do, I was so upset. I've also accidentally lost huge chunks of MSS and had to rewrite them, and it is utterly PAINFUL. You need a lot of space from that book for awhile before you can come back and write without frustration taking over. You NEED that break.
*passes vodka*
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"She wrapped evil around her like a large, evil Mexican serape."
#9 Hey Skyla, I think you are
Hey Skyla, I think you are magical. ;) But not like others think, you have done the one thing so many (those who whine, hint hint) haven't done, or can't figure out how to do. That's what makes you magical... TIME MANAGEMENT!
lol.
Congrats on the number of words this year. That is amazing! :)
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