Dear Susan,
I am finally determined to make writing a priority. Can you suggest an amount of time I should devote / set aside for writing each day?
A woman emailed me recently to ask me how to write a novel. Since I’ve written a bunch of them, I responded with what has worked for me. Keep in mind, this advice isn’t just about how to write a novel, this is about how to get started doing anything creative. Here is my answer:
Dear A,
In answer to your question, I would suggest that you start with writing 20 – 30 minutes, three to five days a week. Set a kitchen timer–or the timer on your phone–and sit in the chair or at the desk and write until it goes off. If you’re in the middle of a scene, keep going. This is the minimum time. If you can do more, keep going. Time is never wasted when writing, even if you don’t end up using a scene.
Also, it helps if you can write at the same time every day and in the same place, so that your body and your creativity gets used to showing up.
Turn off any devices that will distract you. Don’t answer the phone. Don’t check email. Lock the door. No visitors. Avoid anything that you usually use to distract yourself. You know what these are!
Suspend judgment. Tell the inner critic to f***k off. Repeat it often and loudly. You wouldn’t want to do this at the grocery store, but if you live alone, it works. 🙂
Write a “shitty first draft” (as Anne Lamott says in Bird by Bird). First drafts are always shitty. Get used to it. If the inner critic weighs in, you know what to do. In other words, be willing to make mistakes! It’s part of the job.
Don’t tinker, fret, judge your writing or worry that you’re not good enough. Every writer does this, but it is counterproductive and a waste of time. Self-doubt kills writers. Pretend you are good enough. Fake it till you make it. Keep going until you write the next scene in a first draft and then the scene after that and then the scene after that.
Start with 20 – 30 minutes, then work up to an hour. If 30 minutes breezes by, then write for an hour. Add a minute or two every day. You will learn very quickly how much you can do before you are creatively exhausted. This is a wonderful feeling by the way, and worthy of pursuit. You may even have the urge for a cigarette afterward. 🙂
Most importantly, experience the joy of writing. The joy of connecting to your creative side and expressing what you find there. In the service of this joy, tell a really good story. Write the book you’d like to read.
Thoughts? Questions? What would you add to this response? xo
P.S. I am an ex-shrink who writes novels. Check out my books here.
Write when the muse kisses you.
There’s really no other way to do it.
Your response to an excellent question was spot on, Susan. I love your directness in this matter. Thank you.
Unfortunately, a lot of muses play hard to get, John. They also may want you to prove your loyalty before they pucker up. 🙂
Thank you, Kenny. I love that you let me know. 🙂
Really good advice Susan. It sounds so easy and we are the ones who complicate it. I find when I want to write; my minds imagination is really telling me just write. Never mind what comes out; just write. And then I pity the poor person like me who has more notes piled up waiting for me to add in my Word. I tried something and found it works for me. I write it to myself in an email and send it. I make a copy and file it, if its not something I want to work on right away. As a poet most of the time, it works for me. I rarely if ever have writers block doing this. I never know when that day will arrive that says; this is the piece you really write today and then I ‘have at it.’
Hi Rachealgrace. Great to hear from you! I like your idea of emailing yourself your ideas and then filing them that way. It sounds like a very creative way to deal with all those piled up notes. I’m all for any idea that keeps us writing.
Thanks for stopping by! xo
This is on a lot of people’s bucket list (though not mine – I wrote my “novels” when I was young). When it comes down to it, I imagine that it’s probably too hard for most people. Kudos to those who persevere!
Hi Anne,
Like any big dream, I think you have to really want it, even if it means you have to persevere for years. It’s kind of like training for the Olympics or wanting to climb Mt. Everest. You’ve got to really be willing to work hard and see it through, one step at a time. What really helps is if the process makes you feel stronger, more alive and more passionate. Then it’s a lot easier to commit to the long game.
That said, I don’t think you have to be writing and training for the next twenty years. If you write a little bit several days a week, you have a first draft of a novel in less than a year. Thanks for commenting!
I love your comment that “time is never wasted when writing.” Spurs me on.
Hi Barbara, I really do believe that time spent writing is never wasted. I also believe that if we can find the joy in writing (again or for the first time) that the joy will nourish us and make us more fulfilled even if we don’t actually finish things. It’s the process that is more way important than the product. Of course, we live in a consumer-driven culture where what you produce is everything. I am seeing more and more value in just having fun.