I think we can all agree- sometimes it’s just hard to find time to write. If you’re like me, I work a normal forty hours a week and writing is the second job that I fit into the spaces between work and socialization, which doesn’t leave much. I decided to read a lot of suggestions from successful writers and ultimately I found that they all agreed- you have to make time to write.
With that being said, I decided to try it for myself and come up with a writing plan that I could fit into my schedule. In a Google search for writing plans, most of them suggested similar ideas: Decide how much time to set aside, write consistently at the same time of day, and keep track of your progress somewhere visible.
Easy enough- here was my writing plan:
Fifteen minutes, every morning for a week.
I should preface that I have to be at work in the mornings by seven-fifteen, so my new writing plan required me to wake up by at least six each morning that I worked, which again, is still doable, but I found I had to make some slight life adjustments.
First of all, I had to go to bed earlier, which was hard for me because I’ve generally been a night owl and will do a lot of writing at night. Some people might ask why I didn’t decide to do my writing at night as part of my writing plan. A large part of the plan is making sure that it’s consistent and I find that my nights are not always consistent. Sometimes you get tired and go to bed early after work, or you socialize with friends or have too many drinks. The evening just wasn’t as promising as first thing in the morning.
The second thing I had to do was upgrade my coffee maker. I had been using a single cup brewer but found with getting up earlier, I was having to make multiple single cups of coffee, and it just made more sense to switch to a pot of coffee. With my upgrade to a pot of coffee, also came the ability to prep my coffee the night before and set a timer for it to brew each morning before I woke up. This was quite the game changer for me, I will admit. It is much easier to roll out of bed with the smell of coffee in the air.
The third thing I did was take the advice of the articles I read and write my progress on the large marker board calendar on my desk. I marked my beginning word count and pages and made a box to check off for each day for a week to make sure I fulfilled the day’s writing. I also kept track of my word count and pages for each day, which was nice to physically see my progress and how far I had gotten from my starting word count. It also felt nice to put a big X in the day’s box to show I did my writing for the day once I was done.
Also, to add some backstory- the writing I have been working on has been a long project of mine- a book I started a few years ago. Since I started, with no writing plan, I would just write in my spare time, between poetry and short stories and I would write at varying times and lengths of times, so there was really no organization. My book had been more of a hobby than an actual book it felt.
With doing all the suggestions, I will say that I am super pleased with the results. For one, I felt so much better going to work after getting my brain started and doing something that I love. I felt more awake, more accomplished and I found myself looking forward to the next day and continuing with my characters and what was going to happen next.
So here are the results of my writing plan:
Starting word count: 21,926 – page 75.
After one week, ending word count: 25,567 – page 87.
Each morning started with a few sips of coffee and reading the last two paragraphs over before starting my fifteen-minute timer. I learned how quickly fifteen minutes goes by the first morning. I realized that each sip of coffee took time away from my word count or if my phone wasn’t on silent and I received a notification it took time from my brain and thought process.
By the third morning, I felt like a pro. When I sat down to my computer, I was only there to write my story. I felt like I was racing my timer and that every second counted. I would look at the previous day’s word count and challenge myself to beat it. I was waking up early and I genuinely wanted to be there; it was a proud feeling.
The only downfall I would include in this plan is the lack of time to think while writing. Previously, I have always been a writer that will dwell, think about one sentence or paragraph, and make sure it was perfect before moving on. But with a timed plan, there is no time at all to sit and dwell. This, of course, is why editing exists. So I didn’t have a hard time not micro-managing my sentences, rather, I was getting to significant moments in the story where I needed to think about how I wanted a character to act or what I wanted to happen next, but I couldn’t just sit there and think it through.
This downfall was good and bad, I think. It was good in the aspect that I felt all my scenes were drawn out and more detailed. I also worked on developing the dialogue among characters because I had the time to write through the scenes while trying to think where I was taking them next. The bad part was the actual progress of the story. I wrote through maybe one vital scene in the book, but most of the writing was spent on character development.
Overall, by starting my writing plan, my book gained 12 pages and 3,641 words in two hours, and that feels like a win to me. I actually enjoyed my writing plan so much that I’ve continued it on a regular basis. I will be honest, I am more relaxed with myself on the weekends, but throughout the week, I still set aside time to meet with my characters before work and I’m continuing to see my word count grow as a result.
From one writer to another, if you find yourself reading this post and consider developing your own writing plan, I would say do it, absolutely. I think each plan should be different and cater to the writer’s lifestyle or else you might find yourself resenting your writing time and develop it into a negative experience. So go forth, stay in love, or fall in love with your craft and get the words out. Just write.
-Brittany
thegingercollect.wordpress.com 