Tag Archives: productivity

One of the most common complaints I hear from fellow writers is how hard it can be to write and be productive with all the distractions prevalent on the information superhighway. While the usual advice “Just Write” still burn strong, when you write every day the temptation can be too much. It can be an email notification, or just a quick pause to look something up. Next thing you know you’re lost in the throes of reddit and the time you allotted yourself to finish this chapter ended hours ago. If you’re one of these types that often find the allure of the web a little too much to resist, here are some ideas that may help. I’ll start out easy and move to the most extreme so you can choose a solution that works best for you.

Close all programs that distract you. This means your email program, instant messenger windows, web browsers, and other alert programs. Keep a notebook in front of you to write down all ideas that pop in your head or items you want to research. Stay in your writing window as much as possible.
If you absolutely need to have internet access for research, but find yourself always clicking on those same websites, look at getting a browser add-on that blocks websites for certain time limits. Examples are leechblock for firefox and StayFocusd for chrome. These apps let you choose a website and set up access restrictions. You can block the site for the entire writing session, or grant brief access to the site for 10-15 minute breaks every other hour or so. While this method is easy to circumvent, it will remind you to write when you absent-mindedly click on that reddit or facebook link.
If nothing else works, block the problem sites permanently. Almost all routers have an access control functionality. The access control pages, much like the plugins, let you choose a website and a time period. If you have it in your schedule to write every morning from 7-9am, you can have your router block these pages during that time. You can even specify the computer so your family/roommates aren’t blocked as well. You can even turn off the internet during this time so there is literally nothing online to distract you. If you’re really desperate, bring a friend in and have them change the password to the router. That way, it’s blocked from the router and you’re free to work.

While this won’t solve all distractions, it does help get you away from the ones online.

Writing Guerilla Warfare Style

July 11, 2012

clancy

This last weekend I spent four days in a large house in the middle of the woods with seven other women. It was understood from the get-go that this was a writing retreat, so excessive visiting would not be tolerated. While there, we had a morning snack, lunch, an afternoon snack and dinner (we ate really good), and each of us was responsible for preparing one snack and one meal. We had to clean up after as well, but that was the only time we really had to take out of our writing time. We would stand around chatting for a few minutes during snacks and we would all eat together and check on our progress during meals. This was fun and bonding for all of us. But mostly, we were writing from when we woke up till we went to sleep.

Our commander-in-chief (and retreat organizer) aka the “Write or Die Nazi” said she would keep us on task. And she did. We used Dr. Wicked’s Write or Die program ($10) and competed against each (I even did this virtually with a friend who didn’t come). If you’re not familiar with this program, you set a word goal and a time limit – I use 1000 words in 60 minutes most of the time – and then hit the WRITE button. It opens a new screen and this is where you start typing. It shows you how many words you’ve typed and how much time you have left to go. If you pause for too long, the screen starts turning pink and will go to red while simultaneously a heinous sound of your choosing starts blaring at you, but as soon as you start typing again, it will go away. Trust me when I say this keeps you motivated. When done, you can then copy/cut and paste your text into your main document.

Not all of us would participate all the time, but several times a day, our Nazi would call out, “Write or Die” and whoever wanted to join in would get ready and when called, we would all start at the same time. An hour later, we’d check in and see how we each did. After the brief cheers, we’d go back to writing. Some would turn the sound off so as not to bother others (the red screen still keeps you hopping) and do it by themselves in between the group competitions. We were writing almost all day of every day there.

The energy was supercharged and we all kept each other going longer and more productively than we would have if home alone. This was exceptionally good for me because I’ve had a hard time writing lately. I sit there thinking, fingers hovering over the keyboard, waiting for ideas to come. At the retreat, I did this the afternoon of Day 1 and the first half of Day 2 and I had 800 words to show for it. I was frustrated. I had the Write or Die program on my computer but hadn’t used it in a really long time. So, the next challenge that was called, I participated. I did more words in that hour than I had in the eighteen hours prior combined. I used the program and the challenges the rest of the retreat and ended up getting almost 18,000 words done by the time I went home. Our highest gal did 24,000 total. We are romance writers who write in our free time when jobs, husbands, kids and everything else in our lives allows. Some are better at making that time and being productive, others less so, but no one left from this retreat left with less 15,000 new words.

There are many of you out there that can produce like this or better without breaking a sweat, but for me it was huge. Having the pressure of the red screen/screeching violins looming kept my brain from sabotaging me. My inner editor couldn’t keep rereading and fixing the same material or searching for the perfect word. My doubt couldn’t sneak in and plague me with whether I was going the right direction. I couldn’t stall by doing research ad nauseam. I had to just write. And I did. Sure, I have to go back and edit it and add a lot of details that do take some thought, but it’s easier to do that when you have something to work with. Surprisingly, it was even good material. It’d been in my mind, I’d been thinking on it for a long time, but I’d been sabotaging my efforts to get it on the page. Write or Die was like guerilla warfare blitzing my inner adversary.

If you are one of those who can produce consistently, I applaud you and hope to join your ranks sooner than later. For those who may need some assistance, Write or Die may help. I know that even since I’ve been home, if I use the program, I get more done. I turn to it as a tool when I find my fingers hovering instead of typing.

Have you used it? Do you use other types of warfare? The more tools I have, the better. Let’s hear it, troops.

Burst Writing – Case Study

May 9, 2012

Frank Morin

Frank Morin The Writing Life 3 Comments

Last week, I completed an extremely successful Burst Writing retreat. I wrote 50,000 words in five days, even though I lost almost 8 hours to travel each on Days 1 and 5.

I’ve spoken of Burst Writing before. I define it as an intensely focused period of time in which to write significantly higher word count than normal. This is not free-writing time with throw-away word count. A successful Burst Writing session takes a lot of preparation and produces well-crafted, effective scenes.

Most important is to know what you’re going to write before you sit down to pound away at the keyboard. There’s little time for blank staring out the window. For me, that meant scheduling the retreat only after several weeks of focused effort to develop the story fundamentals and outline the scenes I would be writing.

Last year, the first time I tried Burst Writing, I managed 50,000 words in 7 days, and finished half of that book. I’m now currently planning the third revision of that novel.

My goal is to eventually prepare well enough to where I can crank out huge sections of a clearly defined story that won’t need multiple major revisions afterward.

Last week, I wrote about 35% of a new novel. I believe I did a better job defining exactly what each scene needed to include from a plot and characterization perspective. We’ll see how that holds up once I complete the book.

I get a kick out of tracking stats. So, here are the stats for last week’s trip:

Day 1: 8 hours travel time. 1.5 hours writing time. New word count: 2700

Day 2: 10 hours writing time. New word count: 13,500

(Day 2, evening, couldn’t sleep. Wrote another 1800 words in the middle of the night)

Day 3: 6 hours writing time. New word count: 12,000

Day 4: 10 hours writing time. New word count: 15,000

Day 5: 3 hours writing time. New word count: 5,000. Travel time: 7 hours

As you can see, I started slow, but once I got in ‘the zone’, I cranked out far more words each day, as high as about 2,000 words per hour, which is twice what I can normally produce.

So, what did I do to prepare?

1. Outline. I spent a great deal of time working out the characters and plot of the novel. I had some advantages in this book over the last one because this is a sequel to another novel, so the world and many of the characters are already very well defined. Even so, I had to wrestle with some difficult plot issues in the second half of the novel that required changes to the first half to resolve. If I’d started writing chapters before I had the plan complete, my productivity would have screeched to a halt, and I would have been forced to throw away a lot of good work.

2. Find the right writing retreat. This year, I found the Colonyhouse, owned by the Oregon Writer’s Colony. Signing up to be a member was inexpensive, and the house was exactly what I needed. It was comfortable, located within driving distance, with a beautiful location (about 100 yards from the ocean). I experimented with several different locations in the house and settled on a layout that was comfortable for writing long periods of time.

3. Set lofty goals. I honestly did not believe I would hit 50,000 words. I wrote 12,000 words on my best day in last year’s retreat, so this year’s goal was a stretch. I hadn’t really factored in the travel time correctly, so when I arrived I realized I was way behind right on day 1. By staying focused on the goal, and motivated to reach it, I produced far more than I would have otherwise.

4. Set the right duration. Five days turned out to be an excellent length. Last year I took seven, which was honestly a little too long. I found that the four days in the middle of the trip were the most productive. This year, I had been planning a three day trip, and managed to squeeze in the other two at the last minute. I’m glad I did.

5. Reduce distractions. I did walk the beach a few times when I needed a break, but other than that, I did very little but write. On the drive out to the house I stopped and purchased all the food I would need for the week so I could pretty much lock myself away and not get distracted shopping or running errands. Once I got in ‘the zone’, I was able to stay there for a long time, which is so much more productive.

And, as always, I learned a few lessons about what to do better next time:

1. Bring spare batteries. I learned last year that having a full size, comfortable keyboard is key to cranking out high word counts for me. This year, I brought my cordless keyboard and mouse. And of course, on Day 2, the batteries died. I did not have spares, so I wasted an hour running out to the store to get some (the only excursion I took other than walking to the beach).

2. Sleep. One of the biggest challenges for me when I’m away from home is sleeping. I just don’t sleep well. I know I have this problem, but I forgot to bring any kind of sleep aid. As a result, I did not sleep well most of the week, and returned home very tired. I did bring some movies to watch in the evenings when I needed to unwind, and that did help.

3. Have the first chapter or two already complete. I started the retreat on chapter 1 of a new book. The first chapter is always the hardest, and I wasted a bunch of time trying to set the tone, description, and locking in the characters in the setting. Luckily, I spent a lot of time on the drive up the coast working some of this out in my head so the writing time wasn’t an entire waste. However, by the time I hit chapter 3, I had things flowing well, and I could just roll forward at full speed. Next time, I’ll try to get the first couple chapters complete ahead of time.

I’ll be writing a series of blog posts on my web site www.frankmorin.org, discussing each day in more detail, for those who want to know more specifics.

What have you found helps boost your productivity at home or during a writing retreat?

To Pants or to Plan?

April 11, 2012

Frank Morin

Craft & Skills Frank Morin Rewriting The Writing Life Writing Tools 2 Comments

There are two opposing camps when it comes to how an author approaches writing their novel. On one side are the story ‘pantsers’, those who sit down with only a vague idea of their story and start typing. They discover the story through the act of writing it, usually through a multiple re-drafting process. On the opposite side are the ‘planners’, those authors who sit down and design a story to the nth degree before they actually begin the first draft. They might write almost as many words in the outline as they do in the first draft, but end up with fewer re-writes most of the time. Both camps have their avid followers who trumpet the benefits of doing it their way while pointing out the drawbacks of the other philosophy.

I’ve found that most authors fall somewhere in the middle between these two philosophies. We plan some, and we free-write some. Authors will shift along the spectrum between the two philosophies from one project to another, or as their level of experience changes.

I started as a total discovery writer, complete with many drafts of my first novel as the story evolved and I figured out what I was really writing about. Over time, and as I’ve gained a better mastery of the craft, I’ve crept across the spectrum toward the opposite camp. The more of an outliner I become, the more up-front work I invest in a story before beginning to write. Once the outline is ready, I can schedule a ‘burst-writing’ session – a focused period, several days to a week, where I can pound out tons of work based on that outline. I did that last year and wrote 52,000 words in one week. I’m planning to do so again soon with my next novel.

I’ve developed the following outline process:
1. First I do all the high-level brainstorming for the new story. This can take a while as I chew on a new idea and work it from the initial proposal into a viable story worthy of serious consideration. Lots of ideas don’t make it past this first step.

2. Once I feel the story has promise and I’m starting to get a good sense for it, I write down the foundational information I’ve developed so far. This includes character sketches, world-building, and initial plot ideas. The process of writing it all down and trying to work it into a logical, comprehensive whole identifies gaps and leads to new inspiration in fleshing out the world, characters and plot.

3. I develop the high-level plot outline. In my current story, this ended up being about 8000 words. I choose scenes, decide which characters to populate them, high-level conflicts, and how each scene will drive the plot forward. At this point, I’m looking to get my first full view of the complete story arc from beginning to end. I develop arcs for each major character to ensure I’m addressing things from each of their perspectives, and considering the plot through each of their eyes. This process yields tons of fresh insights, new twists to consider, and helps the story really come alive.

4. If this is a brand new story (as opposed to a sequel), I find it useful to write the first few chapters based on the high-level outline. This helps solidify the character voices and the feel for the world and how the story is going to work. I get ‘locked in’ to the story this way. I can usually tell if I’m on the right track now, or if there’s something still fundamentally wrong with the plot, characters, or world.

5. I develop what I call a mid-level outline. I run through the outline again, fleshing out the scenes, clarifying and adding detail. For some of the important scenes, I add sections of dialogue or work out how I’m going to approach the action sequences. This is particularly helpful in planning complex endings.

This is the step I’m on right now. I’ve taken the 8000 word high-level outline and expanded it to about 15,000 words so far. I’ll probably complete the outline at about 20,000 words or so. At that point, I could do another pass and produce even more detail, but the story is really coming alive for me, so I don’t think that will be necessary.

When I begin writing scenes for the first real draft, I keep the outline in mind, but this is where I free-write. The outline is the framework and helps me identify when my free-writing takes me off on new tangents. Sometimes those tangents are awesome – a flash of inspiration that I could not have figured out unless I was in ‘the zone’ writing full scenes. Sometimes they’re a bad idea that takes the story off a cliff. Any time I break the framework, I need to go back and analyze how this change will impact the story. Either it’s brilliant and the rest of the story needs to change as a result, or it’s a false-start that needs to be chopped.

If I decide to keep it, I have to make sure I can still maintain the story integrity. I have to ask: do my plot points and story arcs and character arcs still make sense? Will pacing be right? Will the ending still work? Adjustments often need to be made.

This sometimes seems like a lot of work, but it’s actually a lot less than the alternative. This way I can identify the impacts to the story early on and choose how to address it. Before, I would keep writing, maybe all the way to the end of the story before I realized other components needed to be changed. That would require an entire new draft, which was a lot more re-work and took a lot more time.

Through this blended outline/free-write approach, I’ve dramatically cut down how long it takes to write even a big-fat-epic-fantasy novel like mine.

How do you approach a new novel?