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. 
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​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.  
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​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.  
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​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.  
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​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.  
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​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.

Ask anyone and they will tell you that it is difficult to focus these days. We have more competition for our attention than ever before. Smart phones have truly undermined our ability to enjoy a moment of quiet reflection or creative energy. Rather than helping us to communicate better, they have added a layer of stress and expectation.


When cell phones first came out, a friend hassled me for not getting one. She wanted to be able to reach me anytime of day. On the day she said this, I had been at a place called St. Mary’s Glacier that day on a hike, which is a mile hike straight up to reach a gorgeous glacier-fed mountain lake. My day had been quiet, which allowed me time to think and reflect.   

​Why would I want to carry around a device so that anyone could disturb me whenever they feel like it? The phone had always felt like an invasion of privacy to an extent, because I would never predict when it would ring and break the silence. For a person who spent years in college and has always been a heavy reader and writer, quiet space is not a luxury, it is a necessity.


Today, like everyone else, I have a smart phone, and it is attached to every attention-seeking application on earth. Like everybody else, I have my email and Google on the phone, and I take a zillion pictures of the kids and the cats. I have Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram—and all of my social media I justify having because I need to stay connected with my students and readers, even though I know that social media is distracting for me.   

And that is what smart phones do to us. They stop us from slowing down. They turn our jobs into 24/7 tethers that drag us back to check for one more work email just in case the boss is up. They sit on our phones and flicker reminders that someone might want to talk to us, so we had better pay attention. They nag at us to keep checking in with the technical world to ensure we are still plugged in, still connected. Back in the olden days, we used to blame the television for our distractions, and it was and is still a distraction, but since the phone fits in a back pocket, its effects are more nefarious indeed.  

So, how do creative people deal with this situation? Do we have to become Luddites and eschew all technology? Do we have to leave our phones behind and maybe even our laptops too since the internet features connected to our computers are no better than those on the smart phone? How does a writer manage the technologies that compete for our attention?


For starters, we have to take control of the situation and accept responsibility for what is happening to us. It can be appealing to fall back on the idea that we lack self-control or that we have lost our ability to focus on a single task. I have heard more and more people suggest that they lack the ability to focus with a tone of resignation. Just because the situation of owning a smart phone creates a challenge of feeling distracted does not mean all is lost.


When we can accept that the phone is not doing anything to us, but rather the outcome of being distracted is the way we are engaging with the device, a solution presents itself. The way we are engaging with the device is the problem, and we can change that.   

​So, what are some ways that we can unplug for short periods of time?

How can we create a space between ourselves and the devices that take up our attention? That space should be physical space and mental space. When we physically separate ourselves from our devices, our attention moves elsewhere. It may take a few minutes to realize the calm that comes from being away from the device, but that space allows us to decide how we can organize our personal space in a different way.


We also need to consider the mental space that we need from our devices. The panic some people feel when they do not check their email accounts or social media feeds creates a fear of missing out condition which makes them feel like an amazing party is happening and they were not invited. Taking a break from that level of stress gives a person the ability to reconnect with their own thoughts. Instead of worrying about what everyone else is doing, a writer can finally take a moment to breathe and to think. Writers need quiet, reflective time to be able to compose quality pieces.


If we are constantly pulled into devices that take our attention away from our creative projects, then where will we get the energy to be able to write at all? If we can recognize that the connection to devices is one that we have to take charge of and control, then we can redefine the way we interact with the devices and take back the quiet space we need to create.


While you are thinking about how to use your device in a different way, take steps to create more space between you and your devices.


1. Turn off the phone
2. Put the phone in another room or in the car
3. Turn off the internet router or the internet key on the laptop
4. Leave the house to write and leave the phone and laptop behind
5. Schedule specific time during the day to write. Turn off all devices during this time.
6. If you cannot write at home, then leave the house. Go to a cafe, a restaurant, a library—any place where you can write and focus without your devices.
7. Set up a partnership with another writer, reader, or creative friend. Meet up to write together and monitor each other so that neither of you are getting distracted by a device.
8. Create a rewards system for your writing time. When you meet your daily goal (word count or time on task), then give yourself the reward that appeals to you—a latte, time to watch TV, time on your device goofing off, etc.


Writers can be distracted by the features that our modern devices offer, but we do not have to be affected by them. We can redefine the way that we connect to our writing by creating more time to write. We can choose to redefine the way we interact with our devices and make a better space for our writing. Because the more uninterrupted time we have to write, the more writing we do, and the more productive we are as writers. Unplug and write.

Unfortunately, I got to find out this one the hard way.  While saying goodbye to my exhausted laptop, it crashed while I was in the process of backing up my files for transfer.  Although I am reasonably good at backing up my files on a regular basis, my desktop had new files that are now gone.
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At least a dozen short stories and two academic articles as well as an annotated outline for a nonfiction book were among the losses—around a hundred hours of writing disappeared in an instant.  

Like any writer, I was devastated to watch the writing disappear into the ether as the proverbial blue screen of death popped up.  $200 later and not a single computer geek on earth was able to retrieve the files. They were just gone. 
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My first thought was of Anne Bradstreet, believe it or not.  In her poem, “Verses Upon the Burning of Our House” from 1666 when her house burned in front of her and she lost everything.  Thinking of losing the whole house definitely lessens the blow of losing some files. Yes, I lost writing that I have been working on for the last couple of months, but I do not have to rebuild my life, just the words on my pages.
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As writers, we hold onto our words in a different way than other hobbyists.  Think of another hobby—woodworking or knitting. If I am knitting a sweater and it turns out horribly because the wool is stained after I started using it to make a sweater, I accept defeat and move on.  If the wood pile that I use as my store get soaked overnight and I run out of good ash or oak for finishing the dresser I am building, then I accept defeat and move on. We seem to recognize that when we engage in a creative activity, there may be setbacks and those setbacks are acceptable. 
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When we write, those words feel like a basket of butterflies—precious, delicate, and fragile.  One harsh wind and they could be gone forever. For a variety of reasons, when we write, the activity is so personal, so connected to our development and revelation of self, and so real and true that to lose words can feel like the loss of a part of ourselves.  

And yet, we kill our darlings every time we engage in the writing process.  With each edit, we replace a favorite phrase with a better fit, even though we may be less emotionally connected to it.  We cut whole paragraphs and whole pages to hone the rough edges of stories and make them clearer. Every time that we approach writing, the editing process is part of our thoughts.  
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Words are temporary.  Yes, the process of writing is therapeutic, it is restorative, and it is trans-formative.  When we write, we become writers. We become not just craftspeople but masters of the art of literature; our thoughts, feelings, hopes and intentions all get wrapped up in packages of words that we long dearly to share with the world.  

Our words hold meaning beyond what they say about your chosen topics.  They hold meaning in that they proclaim who we are—essayists, memoirists, novelists, and poets.  Our writing is more than writing, rather it is a definition of self and a clarification of personal and professional purpose.  ​

​Most novice writers view themselves as active in their craft, regardless of how frequently they write.  When we spend a week or a month or a year not writing, we are still loosely engaged in the writing process by reading, taking classes, and thinking about writing.  Although those activities may not equate to putting words on the page, they are necessary to cultivate a healthy creative mindset to write.

But at the end of the day, writers write.  And writers who write infrequently are less likely to meet their personal and professional writing goals.  Regardless of whether one’s goals are to write a series of love letters to a spouse or to write the next bestselling novel, writers need to put words on the page to make progress toward their writing goals.

Many of the professional writers recommend writing every day, 7 days a week 365 days a year.  Stephen King’s non-fiction book On Writing is a popular read with novice writers.  King covers his development as a writer and the tools he uses to crank out a minimum of a novel a year. 
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​“If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot. There's no way around these two things that I'm aware of, no shortcut.”

Most writers produce a lot of terrible writing and a little bit of high-quality writing.  The time spent producing the terrible writing is part of the process that opens us up to the possibility of creating the good stuff that we want to share with our audience.  We need the time and space to practice our craft. 

“Good description is a learned skill, one of the prime reasons why you cannot succeed unless you read a lot and write a lot. It’s not just a question of how-to, you see; it’s also a question of how much to. Reading will help you answer how much, and only reams of writing will help you with the how. You can learn only by doing.”
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​Although writing takes time out of the day, and setting aside that time can be challenging for many writers, daily writing is the path to successfully meeting one’s goals.  Writers do not improve their abilities without engaging in a regular writing routine, and for many people that means writing every day.  Just as we take our professional careers seriously and take part in professional development, pursuing advanced degrees, and keeping up with the research in our field, that same level of seriousness is needed to write well. 

“I like to get ten pages a day, which amounts to 2,000 words. That’s 180,000 words over a three-month span, a goodish length for a book — something in which the reader can get happily lost, if the tale is done well and stays fresh.”

OK, King produces a lot of writing and functions beyond the realm that most of us are able to do and only a few of us could keep up with his pace.  This is true, but all writers can engage deeply in the writing process.  Even though most of us will never write 2,000 words a day, we can write 200 words a day or even 50 words a day.  The key element of writing every day is more about connecting with one’s writing on a daily basis as much as it is about writing a lot of words on the page.  
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​So, how does the novice writer improve one’s writing practice without becoming overwhelmed by King’s high expectations?  Think about it this way, King writes for a living.  He doesn’t pack a lunch, take the train an hour each way to work, sit at a desk for ten crushing hours, then commute home before despairing that his children are growing up without him.  He writes for a living.  Most of us do not have that luxury.  So, for a writer whose sole professional obligation is to write and support his writing (i.e., marketing, speaking, and engaging his readers, etc.), for him the time is easier to schedule. 

For those of us who work full time, volunteer in our communities, raise children, and live generally chaotic lives, 2,000 words a day may feel like an impossible task and for many, it may feel like a goal so lofty it isn’t worth attempting.  So, adjust the goal. 

If King writes 2,000 words a day, what can your schedule manage?  Can you swing 500 words a day? 200 words a day?  50 words a day?  At just 50 words a day, a write would pen 18,250 words a year, which is a quarter of a novel.  Pick a goal that is manageable and works for you.  You do not have to be King to be successful.  
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​For me, I work on my writing every night for one to two hours before bed.  My family falls asleep around 8pm and I stay up in the living room and write until 10pm.  On a good night, I can write 1,000 words in two hours, but usually I am closer to 400-500 words a day.  As well, I spend that time editing, revising, submitting my work to publications, editing my writer friends’ pieces, backing up my writing, and researching ideas. 

Regardless of what specific task I focus on each day, I focus on the writing process and the task at hand.  Just spending this amount of time on my craft daily makes me feel successful because I am making consistent progress towards my goals of completing my writing projects. 

So, if you are not writing on a daily basis, what is the hold up?  Can you carve out 15 minutes a day?  30 minutes a day?  Maybe you can set aside more time than that?  Writing on a daily basis keeping your writing mojo flowing and helps you maintain a high level of creative energy to put towards your work.  And the consistent practice can go a long way to raise your confidence level and will certainly improve your writing skills over time.  So, if you are not writing every day, start.  

Over the last 20 years I have taught writing to people from the age of 12 on up, and one thing that novice writers have in common is a true desire to become better writers.  One of the things I appreciate so much about new writers is their drive to improve their abilities.  We can all learn a little more and become better writers if we are willing to follow the formula.  

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The formula for improving one’s writing is surprisingly simple.  First, read every day.  Next, write every day.  Finally, open yourself to change.  That may come across as an oversimplification of a revered profession, but for anyone who wants to be a better writer, these are the steps. 
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“Just write every day of your life. Read intensely. Then see what happens. Most of my friends who are put on that diet have very pleasant careers.” Ray Bradbury

“Be ruthless about protecting writing days, i.e., do not cave in to endless requests to have “essential” and “long overdue” meetings on those days. The funny thing is that, although writing has been my actual job for several years now, I still seem to have to fight for time in which to do it.” J.K. Rowling

“If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write.” Stephen King
Yes, the process to improving our writing is simple.  We need to spend time reading, we need to write, and we need to be open to change.  This list brings up some common questions.

Should writers read specific books?

Should writers read books in their genre?

Should writers read books about the writing practice?

Pondering what decisions to make can feel overwhelming, because novice writers have a strong drive to become professional writers.  Writing is their passion, their dream, and their chosen path.  It can feel like one wrong step and the dream will be destroyed, but happily, that is not the case.  As new writers move through the steps by increasing their reading and writing times and open themselves up to change, they activate their own sense of self-reflection, which allows them to hone their practices into a more efficient and personalized experience. 

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Read the books that you enjoy.  If you devour young adult literature, even though you are in your 40s, then read every young adult book you can get your hands on.  Read them, read them a second time, analyze them, and read them out loud.  This will give you not only immense pleasure by reading the books you love, but it will allow you dedicated time to study the specific aspects of your craft.
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You cannot know a genre if you are not interested or willing to allow it to take over your reading life.  So, if you have the idea that you will write science fiction because it sells well, but you are not terribly interested in reading science fiction novels, then get rid of that idea.  Writing is as much about lifestyle as it is about producing a completed story.  Read what you love. 

Yes, definitely.  But do not let that limit your reading.  If you write historical fiction novels set in Medieval Europe, it is perfectly acceptable to read modern Scandinavian thrillers too.  There is no expectation that writers need to limit themselves to one genre or to a short list of writers.  If it appeals to you, read it.  Oftentimes, I find that when an unusual book calls me to read it, I have something important that I need to learn from that book. 
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Over the years, I have met a handful of people who cannot read in their writing genre while they are writing a larger project (like a screenplay or novel).  I have only heard of a handful of people who say that reading in their writing genre alters their writing style and voice.  To correct that situation, they read outside of their writing genre until the project is finished.  Voila, problem solved.  Most writers do not run into that issue, but if you find yourself in an unexpected situation, then be open to change by altering your normal routine to create a better fit for your writing.  

Absolutely.  Every writer should be reading about how to write, and there is a hefty list of books available on the subject.  If you have a mindset of being open to change, then you realize that everyone has something to learn, and none of us were born perfect writers.  Many writers do not realize the array of books available on how to write, but these books can be a game-changer for many novice writers.
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Eudora Welty, Stephen King, Ray Bradbury, Anne Lamott, William Zinsser, Natalie Goldberg, Annie Dillard, and Julie Cameron all published books about the writing process.  These books offer tips and tricks on improving one’s writing habits, reflections on the writing process, and stories of what inspired people to pursue writing—as both a hobby and a career. 

So, when you look over your writing practice, where can you make an adjustment for a small improvement?  Perhaps if you are not reading at all, you can add in 15 minutes a day of dedicated reading time?  Or if you are limiting your reading to magazine articles, you can change your focus to books.  If you want to write better, you have to put in the work to make that happen, but reading, writing, and being open to change is natural for most writers.  Sometimes, we just need a little nudge to get ourselves on track. 


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​Have you noticed that everything comes back into style again?  Those platform shoes you sworn no one would ever want to wear made a comeback.  So did polo shirts, motorcycle jackets, and cropped jeans.  Not only do clothes make a comeback, but activities do too.  Hula hooping becomes exciting again every few years.  Cruising is being embraced as a way to bring communities together, when it used to be outlawed as a public nuisance.  If you have not noticed, knitting, wool spinning, gardening, making model planes, and keeping chickens are all back in style.  
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​When people think about what parts of their lives to write about, sometimes they think there is nothing exciting enough to captivate a reader.  Sure, maybe you can write about a few good vacations, offer some advice about saving money, and make a suggestion to find true love, but do people really want to read about your life?  To some people, it seems like the popular memoirs are about people who had miserable lives and experienced pain and loss.  What about the everyday life well lived? 
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​Your potential memoir readers are all around you.  Your niece who just finished college is desperate for good advice on how to start her career.  Your son who just had a third baby is uncertain how to keep his marriage strong while managing the complexities of parenting.  The people at your local knitting/motorcycling/kayaking/volunteering club want to more about your interesting past. 
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The people around you are all potential readers for your memoir, and they want to know about you.  You may not realize it, but people are interested in your thoughts, opinions, experiences, and observations.  The unique experiences that make you a fascinating individual are what people want to read.  The essence of the memoir genre is connection between the reader and writer; the reader wants to know more about the writer as a person. 

​The answer to this question is really another question—how do you spend your time?  We tend to spend our time engaged in the activities that interest and fulfill us the most.  The moments when we get lost in a project and hours go whizzing by are the ones to write about first. 
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Do you tinker on your car and find that an afternoon has flown by?  Does the thought of developing your own software program send you down a rabbit hole where no one will hear from you for days?  How about gardening?  Do you find that you skipped lunch and dinner while working in the garden?  Or is constructing an intriguing sonnet the activity that pulls you in for hours?  

Whatever your activities of choice are, write about them.  This is one of the best places for a writer to begin the memoir-writing process—write about what you love, what pulls you in, and what captivates your attention.  Any passion that engrosses you will inevitably engage your reader as well.  Write what you know, and write what you love to do. 

The way you choose to spend your time, whether it is traveling, woodworking, or ice skating, is a great starting topic for your memoir.  What you have been doing for years or even decades can become fascinating reading for your audience.  

​Be careful about looking at your life as old-fashioned, dull, or uneventful.  Keep in mind that what is old is new again, because young people are always looking backwards for good advice before they move forward.  So, the years you spent knitting blankets for babies in need will make for an incredible memoir piece.  Your audience wants to know what made you want to knit in the first place, how you learned the process, what tools you prefer to use, and what suggestions you have for new knitters, as well as why you engaged with knitting and continued doing it for years, and what goals you accomplished by knitting.  
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​Start writing about your activities by answering questions about them.  What about this activity was interesting to you before you started?  How did you get started?  Did you have any goals or intentions when you began?  Did you have dreams of turning your activity into a career? 
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Once you started into your activity, what kept you going?  Were there experts in the field who inspired you to excel?  What successes did you have along the way?  What about the activity appeals most to you?  Why do you spend time at this activity?  What does it give you in return for the time you spend on it? 

Have you mentored any novices in this activity?  If so, did you find that teaching it was as rewarding as doing the activity itself?  Have you shared your knowledge in a book, lecture, or workshop with others?  What are your current goals with this activity and what are you learning about it now? 

Writing about ourselves can feel a little awkward at first.  You may sometimes feel like your activities might not be interesting or may even be old fashioned, and because of that, they may turn off a reader.  But keep in mind that everything old is new again, and everything that used to be popular comes back into style.  Young people and readers genuinely are interested in what you are doing, because the central idea of memoir is that it is about making the connection between reader and writer.  Memoir is about understanding a person—the writer.  Readers want to understand what you are all about—whether those readers are your close family and friends or whether they are a million reader audience of people you have never met. 

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Many writers have a memoir sitting in the back of their heads; they leave their personal stories packed neatly in the boxes of their minds to be unpacked someday.  The drive to pass on our knowledge is a strong one that many people identify with, especially as they age. 
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For people who write occasionally, or who do not consider themselves to be writers at all, there is a keen interest in collecting personal stories to share with future generations.  Everyday people—farmers, accountants, and furniture salespeople—all have stories to tell.  Where were they born?  How well did they get along with people?  What inspired them?  What were their hobbies?  What did they value? 

We all have a story to tell—practiced writers and non-writers alike.  Our stories are what make us who we are, because they help us to define our experiences through the lenses we use to process our adventures.  Everyone has stories to share, and now is the time to start writing your memoir.  

​Writing your personal stories helps to make sense of events from the past.  With time and maturity, the process of looking back at the past can be easier for many people.  Writing about your life events can support a more accurate sense of when different things happened, who was involved, and what the outcomes were.  By writing about your past, you develop context for it, explanations for what happened, and recognize outcomes that you could not see at the time.  
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​Oftentimes, when a person begins jotting down the details of a life well lived, some of the bits and pieces seem to have fallen out of view.  The process of collecting information about the past—brainstorming, taking notes, writing down memories, and composing whole stories—they work together in a way that improves your memory.  After working with the writing process, even if all you do is jot down notes of what you remember in the moment, new details emerge.  A person’s memory improves by practicing remembering.  The sights, sounds, shapes, and textures in events become clearer.  The events from your past can become clearer and you can remember more just by writing.  
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When you were young, did people make fun of your name, kick sand in your eye, or play jokes on you?  Most people experienced some kind of sophomoric behavior from their peers, and in many cases it takes a bite out of one’s self esteem.  No one likes being belittled, but luckily, people grow up and most of them learn how to behave.  Happily, most memoirists find that when they write about the sad events from the past, the pain dissipates and their confidence increases.  Writing about the past allows writers to know that past events happened but the marks they left were temporary.  Today is a new day that can be lived with full confidence.  
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​When we write about the past, we can process the details of earlier events and judge those involved from a distance that allows us to be less emotional.  We can make peace with our pasts by writing about those times.  Research dating back to the 1980s consistently demonstrates that writing about one’s past events, including the challenging times, encourages writers to dig deep into the closets overflowing with skeletons and write every word.  We can rewrite events to include sections on: what I wish I had said, if I had the chance to do it all over again, and the three changes I would have made.  This allows us to take charge of the incidents of our lives and rework them in a way that we can make peace with them.  
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​If I could relive any events from my life, it would be the birth of my children.  Those days were the most emotionally overwhelming, physically exhausting, and exhilarating episodes of my life.  I could write and rewrite and write again the details of the pain and anguish and joy and love from those awe-inspiring moments.  We all have days that would be heavenly to be trapped within.  If you could just relive your best days on Earth.  Writing lets you do that.  It lets you relive the past, it lets you reconnect with the red letter days, and it lets you capture the mindset, the vision, and the memories of the most beautiful days of your life.   
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​What do reader want to read?  What readers want is to connect to other people through the magic of story.  They want to get to know the writer, the want to know what happened, and they want to uncover the truth.  When a reader chooses to pick up a memoir, they are seeking out the answer to who the person is.  Readers want to read deep, personal narratives.  They want to know about your life. 
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​People who grow up with a clear understanding of their family tend to be more certain of who they are.  They know where they come from and seem to have an easier time figuring out where they are going.  When grandparents, aunts and uncles, and family friends take the time to collect their personal stories, they are helping young people to establish an understanding of who they are in the world.  Personal stories build confidence for the writer and the reader.  
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​People sometimes think that memoirs are only interesting if they are about extraordinary events like climbing mountains or great discoveries.  Not true.  Not only have historians used the journals, letters, and personal stories of everyday people to establish what happened during historical events, but so do other people.  Gardeners learn different techniques by reading the journals of the last generation’s green thumbs.  Fashion designers read the notes from last century’s seamstresses to understand intricate stitching.  And grandchildren recognize where their love of antique book collecting or bird watching came from by reading the personal stories of their ancestors. 
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​Young people spend a significant amount of time figuring out who they are as individuals.  They wonder if they are like their parents or their grandparents.  They are curious where their dominant traits and viewpoints came from and whose lives they can emulate to be happy.  Young people are on the hunt for themselves and are desperate to find deep personal connections within their friends and family. 

When an adult takes the time to share personal stories, they create a pathway for young people to follow as they search for themselves.  Memoir narratives help young people seek out connect, understand their value, and decide who they are and who they want to do.  The young people in your life: children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews, and family friends need your stories to feel whole. 
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​Yes, memoir writing can be therapeutic.  Yes, memoir writing can be personally fulfilling.  Yes, memoir writing can help improve memory, can resolve old grudges, can increase confidence and self-esteem, and can help readers connect with the memoirist.  Memoir writing is a multi-layered genre that supports our personal and creative development on so many levels.  And at the end of the day, it is just good fun.  People who collect personal stories and write their memoirs reflect positively on how much they enjoy the process and how much they gained from it.  Not only is it good for you, it is awfully fun.