seven late night thoughts with zoe

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Hello and happy new year!! I hope everyone is doing great, staying safe and warm and getting ready for a year filled with love and adventures. If like me, you like new years because they represent new beginnings and new chances to plan new projects and accomplish new things, then this one is for you.

Today, I am writing a post that I hope may help more than one. It is nine writing tips and tricks you can try right now if you want to be a more productive writer.

If you’ve been following my blog for a while, or have read my last few posts, you know I have talked about making 2021 the year I finish writing the queer fantasy project I have been working on for the past year. I have decided to focus less on reading and more on writing for the year 2021. It is why I have decided to come up with a list of tips and tricks on how to be more productive as a writer/author. Without further do, let’s get into those tips and tricks for you to try.

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Set timers

Setting a timer is something that I do find helps me stay motivated when I have a chore to do. I tell myself i’ll focus and work for 15 minutes then i’ll reward myself with small break afterwards. It’s also a great way to write daily; sitting down and writing for just five minutes a day is better than not writing at all

Set the ambiance

Just like when doing anything, wether it is cleaning, cooking, driving, homework, etc. I like to be comfortable and make the thing I have to do the most enjoyable experience possible. Depending on the day, my mood, and how focused or not I am that day, I might decide to put on some music, light a candle, put on a comfy outfit, sit outside or near a window, if possible, I like to go sit in coffee houses or coffee shops where I know I won’t be getting distracted by the piles of laundry in the corner. Finding the ambiance that works best for you when you want to sit down and write will make the event more fun and fun which will in turn make your writing better and you’ll be more motivated to keep on writing.

Set achievable goals

This is an easy one, set out achievable, obtainable, and realistic goals. I like to set my goals before each writing spirits I do and for my project as a whole. So for example, before doing a 30 minutes writing sprint, i’ll set a goal of 1000 words and if I don’t reach that goal I’ll take a break then do a 10 minutes writing sprint and so on until i’m out of inspiration or have reached my goal. I’ll also give myself goals of how many words, and how many chapters I want the final product to approximately have. This gives me an idea of how far into my project I am and how much work I have left to do.

Connect with the community

Connecting with the writing community or making friends with people who are also writers is a great way to keep yourself motivated all the while helping them stay motivated as well. When you have other writer friends, you have the opportunity to share ideas, thoughts, and opinions with people who will understand what you are talking about and appreciate the help you bring. Just like they might be helpful to you, by reading your works and giving out opinions and ideas, if you turn the situation around and read your friends work and criticize it, it will also help you become more mindful of how words can be used and give you more in depth understanding of the art of writing itself.

Put distractions away

This is an easy and helpful one. For starters, find an environment that will be as distraction free as much as possible. Make sure you phone and/or notifications are turned off so that you won’t be tempted to look away from you writing project during your writing session or writing sprint.

Carry a notebook at all times

Just like for those who want to read more should always carry a book with them in case they have five or ten minutes to spare throughout the day where they can just read, you should also carry a small notebook with you. Firstly, you’ll never know where and when the inspiration might struck you. Secondly, I like notebooks more-so than simply writing on my phone because sometimes small doodles of things I see are also very useful for my own creativity.

Write everyday

An easy tip, try and sit down and write a little bit everyday even if its just for a few minutes or if you write only a few words. Practice makes everything better and a few words here and there will quickly turn into entire fleshed out story.

Focus on how to write better. you can edit later.

This is one i have to work on bettering for myself. I tend to always worry that my writing isn’t good enough or polished enough instead of just sitting down and letting it pour out of me. I do believe i would get more words on the page if was to not focus on the quality of content as much as just getting the story out. I need to remind myself that the story is integral and I can always come back later to edit. Good writing will come with practice.

Enjoy what you are doing

Remember that you are not defined by how fast or how well you write. Do what you love and enjoy doing it. You don’t need a book deal right now, you can always start a new project and you can always go back to an old one.They are no rules when it comes to creating art; as long as you are doing what you love, everything will eventually fall in place.

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So that is it for today’s post. I hope you find something helpful for you in the tips and tricks I have written below. If you already have something that works for you that I haven’t mentioned, please feel free to share in the comments down below as I would like to know.

You can find all my social medias linked down below, thank you so much for reading, please keep an eye out for the next post that will be coming out on January 7th because it will be a very special one.

Thank you all again so much and until next time! xoxox

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