When I teach memoir workshops, one of the topics we discuss is the difference between fiction and nonfiction writing.  When we write memoir, writers tend to approach the writing with a stiff spine and a list of facts to impart upon the reader, and that can lead to factual, though lifeless writing.  Unfortunately, one of our first inclinations as memoir writers is to turn off the reader with dull, encyclopedia factual accounts of events.
 
If you have ever read a school biography project, these tend to start with the facts: date of birth, place of birth, and parent’s names.  Invariably, the writer has lost the reader by the end of the first paragraph because the writing, although factual, functions as a better sleep tonic than engaging piece of writing.

For whatever reason, many writers fall into this pattern when we write nonfiction, especially memoir.  We tend to think of life as a series of facts rather than a series of stories with full sensory details and depth of emotion and thought.  All too often, the result is writing that fails to inspire the reader. 
 
So, how do we fix this situation?  Memoirists, like writers in every genre, can use fiction-writing techniques to capture and keep their reader’s attention.  We can use our fiction story-writing skills when we write nonfiction to bring our personal stories to life.  Though they are factual, they need not be boring. 

If you have not yet read Eat Like a Fish by Bren Smith, I recommend that you pick it up.  He documents not just his life stories as a Newfoundlander fisherman turned sea farmer but lays out his philosophy around providing highly-nutritious food during climate change and restoring the ocean’s plant and animal diversity. 
 
I picked up the book because I wanted to learn about his ideas on sea farming, but when I found was a crisp, lively writing style that engaged me from the book’s beginning.  Smith had me hooked from the first page to the last, as he took me along the journey of his life from Canada to New England to Alaska and beyond. 
 
What tools did he use to pull me into his memoir?  First, he used sensory details and deep descriptions in his writing.  He gives the reader a sense of the images, sounds, and tastes in the events that he experienced, and that brings us into the story right away.  When I read his narratives, I’m there watching the scene and taking it all in.  He’s showing me what is happening rather than telling me what the facts are. 

Second, Smith focuses on the story not on the facts.  Of course, he includes the facts of his life in the stories, but the focus is always on the story itself.  As a Newfoundlander, he has an unfair advantage over the rest of us mere mortals.  Newfoundlanders are famous for their storytelling abilities and lovely ways of reorganizing language from a dull series of words into lyric poetry.  When you read the examples I cited below, you’ll see what I mean.  The man can write a story! 
 
Let’s take a peek into the book Eat like a Fish and see how he does it.  Below I included two quotes from the book.  What I want to point out here is that he pulls the reader into the situation with just a few words and with just one paragraph leaves us with a vivid sense of the story.  We didn’t need a laundry list of facts and figures to get a sense of what was happening, what the tone was, or how Smith felt in this time of life.  He is able to tell a story in just a paragraph.  Take a look at the examples below. 

Bren Smith’ Eat Like a Fish
 
The ER nurses wouldn’t let me be.  The first day I pushed my cart into their domain, they swarmed, demanding to know my story.  They were all ages and sizes, but all shared a mix of warmth, strength, and irreverence.  They made fun of my teenage silence and anger, forcing me to unfurl.  I’d join them at the nurse’s station, listening to gossip about new patients, shitty boyfriends and husbands, grim tales of bad sex, frustration with sloppy and arrogant doctors.  They were great storytellers, able to slide from ridicule to compassion mid-sentence. During that time in my life, they were my ballast.  No wonder I later married a nurse.  Page 28
 
I had been welcomed by the new urban class of “foodies,” a strange, ritualized culture marked by the trancelike state they’d go into after the first bite of a new dish.  A slight smile curled onto their faces as the oyster liquor hit their taste buds.  Their eyes would close.  A moment of silence.  Then a practiced attempt at poetry, as they detailed the swirls of flavor.  Never one to fetishize food—I still ate at the gas station most nights—I found this new and, at first, alienating.  But, God, how they loved my oysters, my pea crabs, my slipper shells.  I’d quickly become proud of the food I grew, and adopted their culinary dialect.  Page 107
 
I love this book, and I loved reading it.  It filled me with fog and mist and green leaves and salty sea and cold sand.  As I was reading it, I had a clear sense of the place in life where he was, the ideas he was wrestling with, and the life questions he had.  Those types of stories and types of storytelling give the reader a glimpse into one’s life, and that’s one of the most powerful effects that we can have.  When we pull the reader into our little corners of the universe and give them a peek behind the curtains, we create a level of intimacy and clarity that readers seek.  A memoir reader wants to know about you, wants to know your stories, and wants that revelation of self.   When you tell a story for the sake of the story, you can give them what they want without boring them. 
 
Smith, Bren.  Eat Like a Fish.  Knopf, 2019.

 Yes, Writers Need to Read  
 
Every once in a while I run across a non-reading writer.  Some part of me is fascinated by the non-reader for a zillion reasons.  Why would anyone write without reading?  Why would a writer refuse to read what others are writing?  How can a writer engage in the process of sharing information without reading?  How are the non-reader’s messages so valuable that they won’t read from anyone else?  How on earth would the non-reading writer become a better writer if they don’t read? 
 
I don’t understand it, but I’m fascinated by it.  And, I want non-reading writers to know it's OK to start reading, because reading supports our writing.
 
Maybe it’s connected to our couch-potato culture.  Maybe the idea comes from the idea that a person is athletic if they watch football.  Or that someone is a film critic if they have seen the last dozen Marvel movies.  Or is it that we have a hopeful, positive spirit as a people and envision that any of us can grow up to be anything we want?  Isn’t that part of what drives us to keep buying lottery tickets on Saturday mornings? 

 Unlike football or watching movies, writing is not a spectator sport.  Writers may be hiding in the back of the café with their noses pointed into a laptop screen, but they aren’t separated from society; rather they are closer to it.  
 
I think most writers read and love to read.  For many writers, the writing process is a cyclical flow of how we live our lives.  We read, we interact, we observe, and we write.  These steps flow together in a sort of creative pattern that engages us with the pulse of what’s happening around us and allows us to process life into stories. 
 
Reading provides tangible benefits for writers.  It keeps writers abreast of new writing in the world.  It provides constant connection to the writing world.  Every writer I know asks, “Have you read this book?” as part of their everyday conversation.  Reading gives us connection to each other and to the writing world.  And finally, reading hones the writing muscles.  Although writing is a different process from reading, the act of reading hones our sense of language, structure, and flow.  We have a better sense of what our writing should look and feel like when we read. 
 
So, what should writers reach for?  I mean, bookstores are big places after all.  What kinds of books provide the most fuel for the writer’s tank? 

 Read in your genre
 
What is your genre (or your genres) that you are writing?  Are you a novelist focused on writing science fiction, horror, or post-modernist fiction?  Is your current project a memoir that is taking on a life of its own?  Or are you intent on writing a nonfiction series to share what you learned in your career with newbies to the field? 
 
Regardless of which genre you’re writing in, you should be reading other writers in that genre.  Every once in a while I hear someone say they don’t want to read in their own genre, because they’re afraid of accidentally stealing other people's ideas or allowing another writer’s style to rub off on them.  Honestly, that’s just silly.  If you run across a good idea, use it.  If someone else has a smoother style, learn from it.  Whatever you write will be your own and will continue to develop over time.  Reading in your genre will clean up your own writing, will inform your practice, and will help you hone your space within the genre. 

 Read out of your genre
 
Not only is it a good idea to read in your genre, I’d also recommend that you read outside of your genre.  There is so much to be gained by reading across the bookstore’s aisles.  For example, I recently recommended Eat Like a Fish by Bren Smith.  It’s a nonfiction account of his experiences as a fisherman and later sea farmer.  The writing is exquisite and highly engaging.  It doesn’t feel like nonfiction, although every word is true. 
 
When I recommended the book, it was to a group of novelists.  I think there is a lot that fiction writers can learn by reading good-quality nonfiction.  Smith is a master at telling a whole story in a single paragraph.  His narrative style pulls the reader straight into the book and makes you care about the depth and complexity of the issues.  And guess what?  That is exactly what novelists are seeking to do.  Read outside your genre and seek out the gems hidden in the pages of those books.  It can go far in informing your writing style.

 Read about writing
 
There are at least a hundred books about writing.  As you peruse the bookstore’s shelves, you’ll find books on how to be a better writer, memoirs on writer’s lives, and guide books on everything from the business of writing to the challenges of editing your own work.  Read these books.  Every one of them doesn’t have to speak to you, so lean toward the ones that stand out, but read them.  I find that most writers have a few of these books they love and tend to return to time and again to re-read. 
 
Three of my favorites are On Writing by Stephen King, Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott, and Zen in the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury.  They’re spectacular in that every time I read these books, I’m reading a new book and learning something different.  By reading about writing, you can better understand both the art and business of writing and where your work fits into the puzzle.  Too, you can sharpen your own practice and work out the details so that your writing process fits your lifestyle and needs.  By reading about writing, we become better writers. 
 
So, if you aren’t a reader/writer, it’s OK.  You can change your ways and start reading today.  And if you are reading already, you may want to take a look at what you’re reading and how well that genre guides your practice and supports your craft.  Are you getting everything you need from your current process or do you need to update your choices to include more options?  I tend to read in one genre too often, so the reminder to read in multiple genres helps me to branch out and read more broadly, and that reading pushes me to consider a broader audience when I write.  You may be similar. 
 
If you aren’t sure where to start, look at the genre you’re writing in now.  Hit your local bookstore (or library if you don’t have one).  Start with one genre and grab what interests you.  If you’re writing horror and you want to start out reading in your genre, grab something that jumps off the shelf at you and make that your starting point.  After you read that book, branch out and read a book about writing or in another genre. 

Read. Rinse.  Repeat.  With every book you read, you will be a better writer. 

​I didn’t spend a lot of time thinking about reading purposes until I had to teach it.  When I sat down with my students, I quickly realized that I naturally shifted from one type of text to the next without thinking about it, but they needed explicit instruction around how to do this. 
 
Reading for Pleasure
 
For whatever reason, I have always read upside down.  I have no idea why this is, but I absolutely love, and I mean love, to read with my feet in the air while lying on the couch.  Ever since I was a little kid, I remember throwing myself down, my feet on the couch’s back, and settling in for an afternoon of reading. 
 
Reading for pleasure should be a pleasurable activity.  When you look back on your life and think about the loveliest moments, some folks may include their pleasure reading.  This is the type of reading that we do while drinking coffee, hot tea, or wine.  This is the type of reading when we fall asleep and feel like a mid-chapter nap is just part of the process. 
 
For pleasure reading, the book is one element of the experience.  When we read for pleasure, the whole action should be pleasureable: dozing off mid-chapter, drinking a favorite drink, snacking on delicate morsels, snuggling with the cat, and wrapping up in grandma’s homemade afghan.  The reading is part of the whole experience.  

​Reading for Information
 
When we read for information, we are there to learn.  We come to the textbook to prepare for an exam.  We read a series of articles to figure out a solution for a problem.  And we read nonfiction books so that we can be better informed. 
 
Everything about this type of reading is different than reading for pleasure, although certainly we experience a kind of pleasure while learning.  While reading for information, I read upright and likely have a notepad nearby to take notes.  The research supports taking notes while reading to increase memory, and I have found it to be true for myself. 
 
I have a few different ways of taking notes while I read for information.  I use sticky notes to mark passages in the book where I need to jot down an idea related to a specific passage.  I also use the smaller sticky notes that allow me to mark an important page so that I know where to reread after I finish the first read-through on the book.  And, if I’m reading something detailed then I pull out a notepad and take notes by hand while I’m reading.  While reading for information, I’m upright, prepared to take notes, and focused.  No naps and cat cuddles here.  

​Reading for Inspiration
 
When we read for inspiration, we can find the middle space between reading for pleasure and for information.  Some say that we read to know that we are not alone.  Some say we read to connect to the collective intelligence of the universe.  And others say we read to take the next step on our personal journeys.  I would agree that all of these are true. 
​
Each of us comes to the printed page for a different reason, but many of us come to it to be inspired.  In many ways, life can be a challenge, especially for those with health, money, or professional problems.  But when we come to reading, books don’t judge us.  In fact, many dozens of authors are solely dedicated to writing pieces intended to inspire. 
 
The reasons that we need inspiration are endless.  Have you been thinking about remodeling the house and need ideas on upgrades you can afford?  Has earning your PhD been a lifelong dream that you’ve yet to fulfill and you need to know what programs are out there?  Is the alluring call to visit Paris finally got its hold on you and you are curious about which restaurants serve gluten-free menus? 
 
While reading for inspiration, you may not need to take notes, but nodding off mid chapter would likely defeat the point of finding inspiration.  Reading for inspiration is reading to reconnect a frayed connection, and you have to pay attention to make that happen.

​Reading to Share
 
I will admit that I lack consistency when it comes to reading aloud to my kids, though when we read together, I love it.  Believe it or not, reading was a group activity until very recently.  If you go back before people wrote stories on paper, all information was passed on verbally from one person to another or from one person to many. 
 
Not until the 17th century did humans even consider reading silently to themselves.  We are group-minded creatures and have always shared information aloud: stories, poetry, songs, histories, and government edicts.  In fact, until the 17th century, people would expect that if you pulled out a book you would share the information and read it aloud to everyone present.  To read silently would have been rude.
 
If you happen to have a person under the age of ten sitting around, then you likely read aloud quite a bit, even if inconsistently like me.  Reading aloud changes the relationship between people.  When we read in a group, the reader takes the attention from all other activities.  If you spend any time with a toddler, you know that it is impossible for a small child to ignore a book.  When my kids were little, we would pull out a book and they would instantly race over to see the pictures and hear the story. 
 
Reading aloud gives power to the reader, which is why many teachers have kids read aloud in groups.  The reader can perform, be in charge, and lead without coming up with their own stories.  It allows for a kind of power for the reader.  Some elementary schools bring in therapy dogs for reluctant readers to build their confidence.  The act of reading aloud brings the reading alive.  It changes the relationship between people when reading.  And it encourages conversation and discussion during the reading process.  

​When we read, we have to set our mindset for the purpose.  What do we want to achieve?  What do we want to gain from the reading?  How much attention and dedication will the reading require?  Do we need to take notes, be super-alert, or access other resources while reading? 
 
When I first encountered the idea of using different techniques for different reading purposes, what I realized is that my students were trying to read for pleasure all the time.  They weren’t learning while reading for information because they weren’t focusing, taking notes, or dedicating their time to the text.  Instead, they were petting the cat, drinking tea, and putting their feet up: all the things I would tell them to do while reading for pleasure. 
 
As I started working with them on this, we identified that our bodies can look different when we read different books.  Our minds need to be in a different mindset to tackle different books.  And we need access to different resources when we read different books. 
 
When we identify what we need from a book, we can show up ready to read, and that leads us to meeting our purposes.  

What do you think about, focus on, and look for when you’re reading?  I think when most of us read, we seek out entertainment and information.  We want to fall into a story and let it take us away from our personal dramas for a little while, and we seek to improve ourselves by expanding what we understand about the world. 
 
When readers approach a book, they should identify why they are reading.  What is the purpose that brings them to the page?  I know, of course, that many of us grab a book at the library and automatically dig into it like it’s chocolate cake because we have an inkling of what to expect.  But if we take a moment to identify our needs first, our reading process can be more targeted.  We can develop a writer’s mindset while we read. 

As a writer, we tend to read differently than other people.  Whereas many people takeaway a love of language, an appreciation of the depth of narrative, and an acknowledgment of the writer’s talents, we look for the how, what, and why of what went into the writing. 
 
While we are reading as writers, we tend to ask more questions of the piece like:

• How did the writer conduct research for this book?
• How did the writer organize their thoughts and ideas?
• How did the writer go through the writing process?
• How did the writer know this idea would lead to a compelling book?
• How did the writer engage the reader throughout the piece? 

When we read as a writer, we look not only at how entertaining the narrative is or how instructional the piece, but we look at how did the writer go through the process of coming up with an idea, researching the idea, then writing, editing, and revising the piece until it landed in the publishable form. 
 
When we read as a writer, we have the get into the mindset of being the reader and the writer simultaneously.  As the reader, we want to be entertained or guided.  We want the book to make us better people, better informed professionals, or happily entertained readers.  We know how it feels to have a book take over our thoughts so that when we aren’t reading, we’re thinking about the book.  It’s a bit like being in love.  

As a writer, the complications of writing a book become clearer.  We have to think about how to take an idea from its infancy into a fully-developed piece.  We have to think about the language and the wording we use to make sure that everything not just makes sense but connects with readers so that people get the most out of the reading that they can. 
 
When I read like a writer, I ask how the writer constructs a book-length piece, but I also ask about what and why:
 

• What are the tools the writer used to construct the piece?
• What was the writer thinking while working on the book?
• What were the challenges the writer overcame during the writing process?
• What phrases came from the writer naturally and which ones were carefully crafted? 
• Why did the writer make these particular choices about the piece?
• Why did the writer want to share these specific messages with the reader?
• Why was the writer drawn to this topic in the first place? 
• Why would the writer dedicate so much time to a project like this?  What are the implications and effects this book could have on readers and society generally?

 

​As we read with the writer’s mindset, we are digging into the writing: how it was constructed, what the writer meant by information they included, and why the book had a particular effect. 
 
What a writer does when they read is to analyze the piece while reading.  We have to think not just in the way that a reader does but think about what was this like for the writer to create this piece.  By getting into that mindset, every book we read becomes a roadmap for writing.  Every book is a manual and if we can pull it apart then we can get a peek behind the curtain and understand the writer’s life a little better. 
 

​My son has the amazingly-annoying habit of looking over my shoulder while I read, and since we get the newspaper on Sundays, he always reads over my shoulder.  Today, he asked, “Who is Kamala Harris and what’s going on with her?” 
 
I looked at the column on the right and there was an announcement that she’s running for President.  I relayed the message and his response surprised me. 
 
“Yes!  Finally a woman and not just another man.” 
 
What prompted his excitement about a politician, I really don’t know.  Maybe it was watching Captain Marvel last weekend.  Maybe it was that he sees women in most leadership roles in his life since all of his teachers and doctors have been women; even his martial arts teachers have been women.  Or maybe he has deep thoughts about gender in politics that go beyond our dining room. 
 
What struck me is that his viewpoint is so different than what I expected from him; he is nine after all.  The article in the newspaper jumped out at him, whereas I glanced over it without taking notice.  The whole idea struck me as interesting that we would have different reactions to the same article. 

​Why does this matter to writers?
 
Well, have you ever worried that spending time writing your book about the history of African-American aviators would go nowhere?  Have you considered picking up a different hobby worried that no one wants to read a book about driving Land Rovers off road?  Or what about the fantasy book series that has elements of history and science?  Have you been concerned that publishers will laugh at the idea? 
 
Guess what?  New and interesting ideas sell and they have the potential to sell well. 
 
Before JK Rowling was picked up for her Harry Potter series, publishers didn’t see a market for her books and thought of young adult fantasy as a money-losing genre.  Before Ray Bradbury released Fahrenheit 451, the interest level in dystopian fiction was dried up.  And before Stephen King published Carrie, no one could have predicted that the horror genre would be taken over by a Maine English teacher and become a best-selling sensation.  

​Is this true only of novels?  No, not at all. 
 
Do you remember 2010?  This was the time when films made it to the box office because they were written, produced, and directed by men.  And their protagonists needed to be men, especially though white men.  But then Frozen came along, and suddenly Disney broke their formula by offering a story about sisters saving each other and the love story was secondary.  Then we got Hidden Figures, Diary of a Teenage Girl, and Wonder Woman.  It seemed like out of nowhere people were excited to see films made by and about women. 
 
About two weeks ago, a writer who had attended one of my memoir workshops reached out to me.  He asked if his book idea was worth pursuing.  Did it have any possibility of being picked up by a publisher?  Was there any kind of market for his ideas?  Would anyone want to read about his life? 

And you know what?  The answer is yes.  Definitely yes. 
 
You see, when you have an idea that is different, there may not be an open market in that first moment you have the thought.  You may not have the easiest time finding an agent or a publisher who is ready to take on that project and run with it.  But that doesn’t mean the story won’t find its audience.   
 
Because if you have an idea that people want to read, then you have a market waiting to be tapped.  Just as my son surprised me that he wants to have a female President, new ideas can be refreshing, interesting, and liberating.  Sometimes we get wrapped up in what we think is true that we don’t always open ourselves up to what could become true. 
 
Same thing for screenplays.  Who knew ten years ago that female-centered films would take over Hollywood?  I don’t know that anyone predicted the change in the industry, but when it happened, the whole field shifted. 
 
The same can happen with your book idea.  Just because your book doesn’t have a clear market or audience today doesn’t mean that it won’t have an audience when you are ready to publish. 
 
People are on the lookout for new ideas, and when something appealing comes along, people tend to jump on it. 
 
So, keep your pen at the paper.  Keep working on your book and stick with your stories, even if the ideas seem unusual or unpopular.  We can’t predict today what people will want to read tomorrow, so give your ideas the time and energy to develop. 
 
 

​Ever since I can remember, I’ve heard a second voice in my head.  We all have the usual inner monologue, but creative people oftentimes have a second voice that narrates the creative process.  I’ve referred to mine as the nuisance, the artist, and most recently, the beast. 
 
At the least opportune moments, the beast comes up with amazingly creative ideas and starts narrating in my head while I’m busy at another task.  My beast is especially chatty while I’m driving or working out at the gym.  And naturally, my beast never chooses to share incredible story ideas when I’m sitting at the computer.  She only talks when I’m without paper and pen. 
 
Of course, the ironic thing is that I feel like I would lose my creative energy altogether if I didn’t have that second voice in my head.  Without her, I might limit my pursuits and stop writing altogether.  For me, when she starts rattling off an idea in my head, the drive to write explodes and writing is all I can think about.  She can drop a few words on me and in an instant, all I can think about is getting back to my book and dedicating more time to the craft.  

​If you have an inner creative beast, then you know what I’m talking about.  That inner voice that whispers sweet everythings in your ears and seems to have the pathway to exceptional creativity laid out in front of her.  That’s the one. 
 
A lot of writers have talked about this situation.  Elizabeth Gilbert gave a Ted Talk where she discusses her writing process and how she is overcome with magical ideas and must stop everything she is doing to write them down before they’re lost.  Maya Angelou wrote about being overwhelmed with a creative idea from an inner voice and having no choice but to stop and write when the moment hit. 
 
I used to ignore my beast but after a while, I realized that if I fed her, then my creative process became more efficient and productive.  I can’t necessarily pull the car over mid-commute to collect the ideas she whispers, but I can support the creative process when I’m not writing.  

​Get Up and Move
 
Ray Bradbury talked about walking as a vital element in his creative process.  He walked most nights after the sun went down, and even got himself into trouble.  As the story goes, one night police questioned him extensively about why he was walking around town at night (which later became the impetus behind his short story “The Pedestrian”). 
 
Stephen King walks every day.  Of course, many writers are active and make a point of getting outdoors.  Henry David Thoreau, Isabella Bird, and Sarah Orne Jewett were all well-known to be outdoor enthusiasts.  Of today’s writers, Jon Krakauer, Tom Wolfe, and Jim Carroll are all known to be active outside of their writing. 
 
Writers are well-known for spending long hours sitting at the desk, but those who get up and move are likely to feed the writing beast.  When you move your body, you alter your body chemistry by releasing endorphins, deepening the breath, releasing toxins, and boosting energy.  Exercise is a personal choice, and some writers are drawn to weight training, whereas others prefer the hike through the trees. 
 
Whatever your activity of choice, do it to feed the writing beast.  For me, I’ve found that when I exercise, my thoughts are clearer, my stress level is lower, and my ability to focus on writing is higher.  Spending time moving the body can help you ignite your creativity.   
 

​Create Something Different
 
Most of the creative people I know do double duty.  They’ll write, but they’ll also crochet, paint, or garden.  The writing process isn’t just about finding the right words for the right piece; it’s also about fueling the fire on a continual basis so that you can keep writing. 
 
Most of the writers I’ve met deal with some form of writer’s block.  That sometimes looks like staring at a blank page with no ideas on what to do.  Other times, it feels like a total lack of motivation to write anything.  And it can also look like a downward spiral where each day it’s harder to write. 
 
Sometimes, writing can feel overwhelming just to sit at the desk, and sometimes writers lack the mojo to begin writing anything.  When this happens, feed the creative beast with some other type of creativity.  Just stop writing and create something else, then come back to the writing.
 
Crochet, garden, carve wood, restore that old motorcycle, take photographs, and draw.  Whatever your back-up creativity process is, use that as a way to feed the creative beast.  When you engage in a creative exercise, it opens up the pathway to writing and allows you to restart that engine.  

​Read Outside your Genre
 
I feel like even though it’s so hard to make time to read, we have more reading options available to us.  At work, we have a little group of people who do audio books while commuting.  I have several friends who use an e-reader, and a colleague swears by listening to podcasts. 
 
Although, I do believe that reading ink on a paper page is the ultimate reading experience, I don’t think that means that other forms of reading and ingesting material should be discounted. 
 
I always have an audio book going in my car, and I get a lot of ideas for my writing from listening to audio books.  I read the newspaper on Sundays.  And I have at least three books that I’m reading at all times. 
 
The benefits we gain from reading are nothing short of phenomenal: developing empathy, expanding our understanding of other cultures, extending our professional development, and increased comprehension and processing abilities. 
 
The other amazing thing that reading does is that it supports the creative process.  It feeds the creative beast.  When we read outside of our genre, we come across many tools to use in our writing: different sentence structures, facts and opinions that we could integrate into our stories, methods of description, and different ways to present ideas. 
 
When we read in the same genre we write, sometimes that can stifle our creativity.  It can limit our thoughts and even encourage us to imitate another writer’s style.  When we read outside of our genre, it can create new pathways for ideas, style, and presentation. 
 
The little voice in the back of your head can be a powerful tool when you’re putting the pen to the page.  If you support your writing process by feeding the creative beast, then your process is likely to be more efficient and productive.  The creative process includes more than just writing.  It is also about becoming better versions of ourselves, expressing our creativity in different ways, and learning on an ongoing basis.  Feed your creative beast, and may the ideas keep flowing onto the page for you. 
 

Today, we are distracted, overwhelmed, and overworked which can leave us drained of creative energy by the end of the day.  When we do have time to write, the little voices in the back of our heads can get loud as we attempt to focus.  Instead of enjoying our writing time and making efficient progress, many of us dabble in our writing in between checking email, social media, and researching the obscure question.  Setting aside writing time is hard enough, but when we use our writing time poorly, we can leave the desk feeling defeated. 
 
One of the biggest obstacles to writing is focus.  Many writers mean well and want to engage in the creative process and make progress on their projects.  But when we sit down to write, if we wander off task and end up down the rabbit hole of distraction, our writing time can feel like a waste. 
 
So, with the pull of social media, the responsibilities of work emails, and the curiosity of writers to find a quick answer to a question, how do we control our urges which interrupt our writing and wander onto the path of distraction?  In all honestly, it isn’t easy.  But successful writers set limitations on themselves and dedicate themselves to the craft.    

Leave the House
 
I have an image in my mind of the perfect writing scene.  In a beautiful home office, I have a huge desk that sits next to a window that leads to a gorgeous scenery of trees and flowers.  On my desk sits my antique typewriter to inspire me to keep writing.  And I spend hours and hours tapping away at the keyboard. 
 
In reality, I have a hand-me-down standing desk in the corner of my daughter’s bedroom.  The desk isn’t even mine, because she got a planter for her birthday so I have to share the desk with her planter.  Every time I go in there to write, the frustration of being a grown adult without a real desk eats at me, the pile of laundry in the corner of the bedroom shouts to be cleaned, and the mismatched books on the shelf call me away from my writing project. 
 
Writing at home is nearly impossible for me.  There is no end to the laundry. The dog wants to go out.  The cat walks across my keyboard.  I need another cup of coffee.  The dog wants to come back in.  I really should vacuum the living room.  Who left that cup without a coaster?  The dog wants to go out again.  The coffee is done, so I pour a cup.  No one has dusted the bookshelves in a month.  And I still haven’t written a word. 
 
To focus, I have to leave the house to write.  My two favorite places to go are the library and the coffee shop near my house.  These days, it is totally normal to show up at a coffee shop with your computer in tow and plop down for a couple of hours to work.  Millennials live at Starbucks for pity’s sake; they figured it out.  If working at home leaves you with a blank sheet of paper at the end of an hour, then leave.  Find a public place where you can write.

Control the Net
 
Each of us has a different poison.  Is yours Facebook?  Instagram?  Pinterest?  Work emails?  Googling weird questions related to the novel you are writing?  What is it that pulls you away from writing and wastes your time?  For me, email (both my personal and my work) pull me in. 
 
Escape the control the internet holds over your writing time by blocking the sites.  One option is to turn off your internet access on your computer.  Most computers have an option to shut down the internet with a toggle switch.  If yours does not, then disconnect from the internet by going into the internet settings and disconnecting from the wifi source. 
 
If you are like me, you might turn off the internet then want to turn it back on after five minutes because you have a question about how far a person can fall before they break a leg or what is the difference between rhinovirus and the flu.  Writers are curious creatures and tend to research while they write.  Instead of researching in the moment (and turning on your internet) insert the question into your writing and come back to it later.  This will keep you focused on writing and off the net. 
 
If social media or specific websites work to your detriment, you can use a browser blocker to keep yourself off of them.  For example, if you find that you check Instagram 30 times in 15 minutes when you are supposed to be writing, then block the site during your writing time.  You can use a browser blocker to keep you off the time-sucking sites.  Browser blocking sites include: Stay Focused, Freedom, Focal Filter, and Waste No Time.  There are a dozen more, so search for one that fits your preferences if these do not fit the bill. 

Unplug the Phone
 
I have a writer friend who shows up to her writing time with her phone in hand.  We write together with a group of people once a month, and her pattern is the same every time.  She opens her computer and turns it on.  Then she pulls out her phone and starts searching the web.  For two hours, she will search around the web on her phone and not write a single word.  If this is a challenge you face, leave the phone at home so that it isn’t there to distract you. 
 
Create Tools to Focus
 
For some writers, the computer is an impossible tool.  There are just too many distractions, the pull of the net is too great, and the multitude of files is impossibly interesting.  I am sure no one is surprised that the computer is an inefficient tool for many people, regardless of the promise that technology would solve our problems. 
 
Instead of using a computer to write, choose a different tool and improve your focus.  Plug in headphones with music.  Have you ever looked at people working on their laptops in public?  Many of them are wired into music while they’re working.  Listening to music blocks out the noise around you and can help you focus.  For me, I go to You Tube and search for classical music for studying, because listening to jazz or classical music works well to keep me on task. 
 
Another option is to dump the computer entirely.  Instead, write with an old fashioned typewriter.  Yes, this is a thing.  Some people, including the playwright Sam Shepard and the writer Tom Hanks, compose on typewriters rather than laptops.  The feel is different, the focus is much easier, and the mind has no where to wander. 
 
If a typewriter doesn’t work for you, buy a paper notepad and a decent pen.  I teach writing workshops to adults and we use paper and pen to write.  Sometimes, people say that using a pen is uncomfortable because they are used to using a computer, but in an afternoon-long workshop, I can get them to write several pages more than they would have on a laptop. 

Plan to Write
 
Finally, if you are serious about writing and using your writing time efficiently, then set a goal for each writing session.  When you sit down to write create a list of three things: set your goal, create your plan, and decide how you will keep yourself accountable.  Your goal might be to finish the chapter you are working on or to write a certain number of words.  Set a realistic goal that you know you can achieve but don’t set the bar so low that you are bored and open yourself up to distractions.  For me, I can write 1000 words in an hour if I am focused.  Time yourself and determine what your production rate is, then use it as a guide for your goal. 
 
Create a plan by listing out the steps you need to reach that goal.  If you can write 1000 words in an hour, do you need to break that into smaller chunks to make it manageable?  Are you really writing ten paragraphs that are 100 words each or four sections that are 250 words each?  Break down your writing goal in a way that makes sense for you to keep yourself moving forward. 
 
The last thing to consider is how you will keep yourself accountable.  I have a writer friend who will text me and say, “I am writing 1000 words by noon today.”  I’ll get her text and send back a smiley face or a few words of support.  Around noon, she texts me when she hit the goal.  She and I created this system to keep each other accountable, and it helps me stay on task while I write.  If you don’t have a writing partner, is there a carrot that you can offer yourself when you meet your goal (if I make my goal, I’ll buy myself a latte or give myself 30 minutes of goof off time)?
 
The unfortunate truth is that technology hasn’t really solved our problems.  Rather it has complicated our lives and made it harder for creatives to set aside time to engage in the craft.  But, if we can identify what is holding us back from creating as efficiently and effectively as we want to, then we can improve our processes and use our writing time well. 
 

​If you could show up to work late without penalty, would you?  How about work projects?  If your boss gave you an unlimited time to turn in reports, would you submit them early?  How about working out?  If you suffered no ill effects from skipping workouts, would you still hit the gym several times a week or would you spread out your workouts? 
 
In all areas of our lives, we are surrounded by layers of accountability.  Our employers expect us to meet their expectations of timeliness and quality.  The IRS expects us to submit our tax returns in on time.  The library expects us to return books on time and fines us when we do not.  And professors mark a zero in the grade book when we submit an assignment late. 
​ 

​When there are expectations connected to an activity, then we tend to meet them.  They add a layer of accountability that ensures the success of the endeavor and lessens the chaos.  Without accountability, would any of us pay a parking ticket?  I think my Aunt Mary Jane would because she is a highly organized, detail-oriented lady, but I can’t say that I would. 
 
So, how might accountability affect writers?  We tend to work in solitary environments made of one writer at one desk.  Most of us work without someone to supervise our writing.  For the majority of writer, we work on our projects when we carve the time out of life’s less-interesting responsibilities.  Without someone to shout, “Where is the manuscript?” will we complete our novels and edit our stories well enough to send them off to an agent?  In many cases, no.  
​

​For whatever reason, when we are beholden only to ourselves, we tend to fail more often than succeed.  Likely this is why 97% of writers do not finish their novels; no one but themselves expects them to. 
 
Think of it this way.  Have you ever tried to lose weight, quit smoking, or start a meditation program solely for your own benefit and without any external accountability?  How effective was it?  But if your doctor instructed you to lose weight, drop your addiction, or relax or face serious consequences, you may be more successful at achieving the goal. 
 
As writers, we can recognize that this is the case for many of us and take steps t o add a layer of accountability to our writing routines.  
​

​1. Create a Writing Plan
 
Choose exactly how you use your writing time so that you are producing writing.  A friend told me about leaving her writer’s group to make more time to write.  I understand the mental space she was in, because writers are constantly challenged to work our writing into the little creases of life.  Sometimes, family or work or some other responsibility rears up and your writing time is gone.  For most of us, having a plan is a more successful path than operating without one. 
 
If you aren’t setting aside time to write, then you cannot reach the point of being accountable.  Your first step is to write, and that rarely happens without a plan.  Create a writing plan that includes routine and ritual with a balance between sticks and carrots.  The plan does not need to be complicated to work.  
​

​2. Get an Accountability Partner
 
I meet a colleague once a week to write.  At the beginning of our meetings, we always ask each other what we are writing and what we plan to accomplish.  This simple act of checking in during a writing session creates a level of accountability between us.  Too, we check in with each other throughout the week just to see how things are going with our writing. 
 
For me, I tend to work in fits and spurts, but I work on my writing every day.  Having an accountability partner keeps my forward progress moving, even when I am in a slower writing cycle. 
 
3. Hire an Accountability Coach
 
Some writers need an external accountability coach to support their writing progress.  Recently, I worked with a PhD student who had made no progress on her dissertation for seven years.  I created a production plan for her and we worked together on a daily basis between emails, texts, and phone calls.  Within about six months, she had her dissertation prepared for defense and no longer needed me as her coach. 
 
Spending the time and money on an accountability coach can make all the difference.  Sometimes writers get stuck in a rut and need additional support breaking free of the stuck flow and maneuvering onto a new pathway of productivity.  
​

​4. Join a Writer’s Group
 
Of course, this always depends on the writer’s group.  Some groups tend to be critical or competitive or unproductive, so choose a group that supports your writing path.  For many, a good writer’s group is one with people who encourage your development, offer constructive critique, and hold you accountable. 
 
If a writer’s group does not fit your needs, find another one.  I attended one group where no one talked to each other; they sat down at a café, wrote for an hour or so, and left without speaking besides a quick greeting.  I needed more interaction so left the group. 
 
Another group offered the opposite: constant talking and no writing.  It was more of an extrovert’s therapy session than a writer’s group.  Without time to write during the meet ups, I made my excuses and left the group. 
 
The process of finding a group that fits your personality, writing style, and needs may take a bit of work, but the payoff of joining a group of writers with similar goals can be immeasurably valuable to your success. 
 
5. Apply Your Inner Grit and Get it Done
 
Like all challenging goals, writing is about hard work.  The hardest step to take is sitting down at the keyboard.  Set up your space to write and get started.  It may feel foreign if you have been unproductive for a while, but hold yourself accountable by sticking to a schedule, working with a partner or coach, and buckling down to write. 
 

In all likelihood, each one of us has expressed that our writing is a dream. Some dream to become a New York Times bestselling writer. Some dream of traveling the world to promote their books. Others dream of reading glowing book reviews exclaiming their genius and celebrating their every word.


Keep in mind that having a dream can be valuable. It gives us something to work toward, something to look forward to, and a vision to give us focus. But a dream is just that—a dream. Dreams rarely come true. Dreams allow us to be passive and wait patiently for fate to deliver our dreams on a silver platter. Dreams do not come true, because they do not require that we work for them. They occur while we sleep, while we gaze out of the window, and during moments of spacing out during staff meetings.

But most dreams remain dreams, and that is the real problem.


If you think of your intentions for your writing to be dreams, then you are less likely to meet them. But, if you can make a viewpoint shift and think of your writing outcomes as goals instead of dreams, it changes the way you think and that can make all the difference.


When we have a goal, we tend to plan, study, and work in a different way than when we have a dream. When we have a goal, we are willing to work, because hard work and dedication were on the path we walked to reach other goals in life.


Think back to when you were a kid. You wanted to be the soccer team captain, but you were too young or too slow or too much of a follower. The goal was important to you, so you set out to achieve t his goal. You made changes to your practice, you worked harder, you networked with the right people, and you set out to improve yourself. In short, you made yourself into a soccer team captain, because you wanted to meet that goal.   

The same scenario played out for us as adults. We wanted to earn a college degree, date the guy/gal of our dreams, or move into a better work position, so we set a goal and took steps to achieve the goal. When we work towards a goal, we know that we have to change our behaviors and activities to make it. We also recognize that we have to give up things in our lives to make the goal happen. And most importantly, we accept that we need to change ourselves to meet the goal. To become something different, we must let go of who we are and accept an updated version of self.


So, if writers genuinely want to achieve their goals, what steps should they take to be successful?


Mindset Shift


If you have been writing for some time, you have likely come to the realization that nothing really happens with your writing career unless you dedicate your whole self to it. Writers spend decades scribbling down poems and stories but never land a book deal to match. If your writing is a dream, then that is where it will stay.


Make the mindset shift to update your writing from a dream to a goal. The mental change you make can be the catalyst that bumps your career from uneventful to overbooked. Dreaming is not going to get your book picked up by a big publisher, but setting that as a goal is the first step to making it happen.

Analyze What is Working


We all have complicated lives: work, kids, pets, commuting, and the stress of keeping it all together can take its toll on our writing productivity. Keep daily notes on how much time you spend on your writing activities: reading, researching, writing, and editing. After a week, evaluate the notes. What is working for you? When are you most productive? Where is your creative work coming from? Is there a location where you are getting your best work done? Does your time with a writing partner or writer’s group produce higher-quality writing? What day or time of day are you spending more time on your craft?


Analyze what is working and add it to your calendar. If your notes suggest that writing at night allows you to compose 500 words a day on a consistent basis, then add that time onto your evening calendar. If your notes show that meeting your writer friends on Saturday results in great conversation but an insignificant progress of your novel, then reconsider that event. Find what is working to move you towards your goal and do more of that.   

Be Courageous


I think that we sometimes self-sabotage our creative endeavors. I have spent decades calling myself a writer while writing infrequently. The idea of writing was there, yes, it was there in a dream state where I thought about writing and talked about writing and read about writing. But I did not write.


It takes courage to put pen to paper. When we write, we express ourselves, challenge our skill set, and fulfill the personal drive to compose on the page. But we also make ourselves open to the world for personal and professional criticism. Writing for a goal requires courage not unlike the courage it took to achieve any other large-scale goal.


Take the Steps


The steps to reach your writing goals are straightforward. Decide on your goal, learn the skills to achieve the goal, and work towards the goal. Do not stop until you have met the goal.


If you do not step onto the path, then you cannot possibly achieve the goal. No one is going to sneak into your house in the middle of the night and read the poetry you stashed in boxes under the bed, exclaim you a genius, and offer you a million dollar writing deal. No, your path will be wrought with hard work, significant personal and professional development, and celebrations of milestones achieved along the way. To get to your writing goal, you must take the steps.

Be Accountable


It is one thing to set a goal and create a beautiful plan and another thing to push yourself to achieve it. One of the best ways to keep yourself on the path to achieve your goal is to have an accountability plan. When a professor tells us to turn in the paper on time, we do it. When a supervisor gives us a deadline for a project, we meet it. Having some kind of accountability can make all the difference between failure and success.


Your accountability could be self-imposed with deadlines attached to rewards and consequences. It could be an external by using an app or system that keeps you on track and acknowledges when you have completed a milestone towards the goal. Or it could be a partnership where you and another writer keep tabs on each other and keep each other accountable. Whatever works for you, do it and be accountable.


Your writing does not need to be a dream. Instead of daydreaming, restate your writing as a goal and create the path to achieve that goal just as you would for another other life purpose. Why would you stick to the path of dreams and fantasies when you can achieve your goals and accomplish what you have always wanted? Start working towards your writing goals.

I know. You are thinking that writing every day is impossible. You have a lot going on. Life is busy. People are demanding of your time. You have a lot of responsibilities and not much time, and what little you have leftover you are unlikely to give up easily. I totally get it.


I too live in the world of too little time and too much work combined with impossible dreams. And yet, we writers want to write. We think about writing, dream about writing, and visualize ourselves writing. Not only do we want to write, but the experts tell us to write. Stephen King, Ray Bradbury, and Barbara Kingsolver all recommend writers tap the keys every day.


But really, it is easy for a professional writer who spends all day drinking coffee and staring at the computer screen to tell everyone else to write every day. They no longer have to suffer through the workaday drudge of balancing life and love. I mean, they have personal assistants and lives of luxury, right?

I do not think that is true. I think they too struggle to sit down at the page every day—just like you and I do. I think the greats are just as challenged as the rest of us and create scenarios and schedules to keep them on track.

So, if King and Kingsolver can get themselves to the page every day, how do they do it? And how can the rest of us, who work jobs and have kids and deal with a lot of life, do it too?


If planting your backside in the chair each day is a struggle, then try out these tools to make it happen.


1. Take writing off of the lofty pedestal.

If you think of writing and your writing time as sacred or spiritual, then stop it. Treating your writing time as though it is a time of awe-inspiring inspiration could actually keep you away from writing. When we build up an activity in our minds to be overly important, sometimes we avoid it. If you can shift your mindset and think of writing as an enjoyable habit, akin to drinking a cup of tea, then you are more likely to write.

2. Make writing a ritual.

Many successful writers set aside a specific time to write. Some wake up early and write before the rest of the house is rustling around, and some stay up late at night to tap the keys while everyone else is dreaming quietly. Integrating your writing time into a ritual can make it more enjoyable and more engaging. We tend to stick with rituals once they are established, so this technique can be particularly effective. Connect your writing with a beverage, a snack, and a particular time of day. If you were to make a pot of coffee, grab a biscuit, and open your computer first thing in the morning, you have added writing into your morning coffee ritual.


3. Lower your expectations.

Stick with me for just a minute. I know this sounds bad, but it actually is a simple mindset shift that can bring you and your daily writing routine together. If, like many writers, you have enjoyed the occasional all-day writing extravaganza that allowed you to produce a large amount of writing, keep that memory but do not make that your expectation. Sometimes, as writers, we heighten our expectations of our writing time to become impossible feats—hours and hours spent producing everything from prose to poetry. But those instances are few are far between. Instead, set a reasonable expectation for your writing time. That makes the time you spend writing more enjoyable because you meet your personal expectation rather than fall short of it.

4. Set up your space.

What do you need to write? Do you need your notebook, the comfortable yellow armchair in the living room, and a foot stool? Do you need your wide desk with your white board on the wall next to you? Do you need to be away from home so that the house does not distract you? What do you need in your writing space? What you needed to write ten years ago may be completely different from what you need to write now. Take stock of what your real needs are—furniture, food and drink, tools and resources, and anything else that helps you focus and write.


5. Bring it all together.

If you make up your mind that writing is a simple, enjoyable habit that you do for a short amount of time each day, the pressure around writing can be lessened.


If you make writing a part of a daily ritual, like the first 15 minutes of your day while drinking a cup of coffee, then it becomes a part of your routine.


If you keep your expectations to a point where you can meet them no matter what the circumstances, like writing for 15 minutes a day, you are more likely to feel successful writing daily.


And if you have your space set up with everything you need to write, you are more likely to use your time productively rather than spending it searching for the pencil sharpener.


Writing every day does not mean you have to write for hours upon hours every day. Not at all. King and Kingsolver are spectacular professionals and have earned their place in the canon. For the rest of us, we can take their advice and engage in the writing process and communicate the desires of our hearts by writing every day. Sure, we work a lot, we have people to care for, and we have more responsibilities than time, but at the end of the day, the longing that we feel to write must be satisfied. We need to write.


If we can set aside just 15 minutes, we can successfully establish a daily writing routine. No one said that daily writing must take half the day to be successful. It is OK to write a little bit each day (in fact, writing a small amount each day can be highly productive). Give it a try. Put these steps into action and start writing each day.