10 Effective Productivity Tips for Writers

Written by Tejvan Pettinger - 22 Comments
Categories: writing tips

Pen and red ink
Photos by Esther G and Mezone.

“Writing is easy: All you do is sit staring at a blank sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead.” – Gene Fowler

Perhaps this is a sentiment that all writers can share to some extent. However, writing doesn’t have to be a tortuous experience akin to banging your head against a wall. Frustration rarely helps our writing; good writing is perfectly compatible with efficient and reasonably quick writing. If you would like to become a fast and efficient writer, the following are 10 suggestions that have the potential to dramatically increase your productivity.

Clear Mind

Writing is a creative exercise which benefits from having a clear mind. If your mind is cluttered with distracting thoughts you will struggle to write effectively and fluently. When writing you need to concentrate on nothing else other than the subject of your writing. This requires a combination of one-pointedness and concentration; only if we can absorb ourselves into writing will we be most productive. How can we write anything meaningful if 50% of our thoughts are worrying about miscellaneous events in our lives? To cultivate a clear mind, it is helpful to set aside certain times just for writing – then, during this time, be disciplined about keeping your mind free of distracting thoughts.

Start Somewhere

Often when we write the first sentence can prove to be the most challenging. It is also by far the most important because it will determine whether people keep reading or not. For this reason it is common for a writer to become overly concerned about getting the ‘perfect’ start to an article. The problem is that aiming for perfection becomes a block to writing anything. If you are struggling to begin, start anywhere – even in the middle. Once you have written several paragraphs it may become more obvious how you can best start the article.

Accumulate Ideas

As you go about your day, try to accumulate ideas for articles in your mind. You can use this time to consider various titles for your articles and to recall relevant anecdotes. Keep a notebook for ideas. I find that an article becomes quite easy to write if I have:

  • A good title
  • 7 key points / paragraphs.
  • I know the subject relatively well.
  • Write from Experience / Knowledge

Having written on many different topics, I know how difficult it can be to write on a topic you know little about. Also, if you are writing on new topics, it can be hard to be original and offer something unique. Stick to what you know and are able to write knowledgeably about. If you need to research articles, wait until you have developed a good background in the subject before starting to write.

Practise the Art of Writing

There is no secret formula for writing effectively. Like any activity, practise will enable you to get better. It is important to be able to get into a flow of writing; for example, many suggest it is advisable to write quickly but then be willing to throw out the bad. Ernest Hemingway was a great believer in writing and then being willing to toss out 90% of what he wrote. This might not sound very productive, but it can help because you are free to write without worrying about perfection.

write4.jpg

Write in Unlikely Situations

Travelling on a train or even at a airport can give us several spare hours. These can often be very productive times for writing – because we have little else better to do. Don’t imagine that writing has to involve retreating to a Himalayan cave. If you wait for the perfect environment you will wait in vain.

Positive Attitude

Related to a clear mind is the importance of maintaining a positive attitude. Here, a positive attitude really involves avoiding negativity. Sometimes as writers we can easily become discouraged and feel our writing is not good enough. When we have a fear of failure or feeling of unworthiness, it is hard to do anything worthwhile. Our worries act like a subconscious break on the flow of our writing. We don’t need to have an excessively positive attitude, it is sufficient just to abandon negative sentiments.

A Working Environment

It is important to find an environment suitable for writing. Avoid noisy and cluttered places. The less distractions you have the better chance you will have of being able to concentrate. If you write from home, try to create a space where you will not be continually interrupted. A simple “Do Not Disturb” sign can do wonders for your productivity.

Music / Silence

To gain fresh inspiration, it is good to write in different surroundings. Finding a good cafe can make a welcome change; the only drawback of writing in public places is the background noise which can be distracting. Using an MP3 player can drown out the background sound; however, you have to be careful you don’t let the music distract you. I went through a period of going to cafes with my laptop and listening to my favourite playlists; I was really enjoying the music, but I hardly managed to write anything. If you do listen to music, make sure you choose something fairly ‘neutral’. If music doesn’t work you can always try noise cancelling headphones.

Be Committed

To write well you need to be fully committed to your writing. It doesn’t work to write tentatively, worrying about whether it will be good enough. Be bold and committed. When you write, concentrate on writing and don’t do anything else. By giving writing your 100% attention you are guaranteed to boost your productivity. For example, if you are a blogger, try writing away from the internet and the temptations of mindless surfing.

Tejvan writes for several blogs including Net Writing, a site which features tips for writers and bloggers. Netwriting has a variety of articles focused on productivity, suggestions for improving writing and also general blogging tips.

  • http://thefoglifts.wordpress.com Lisa White

    Great post Tejvan!
    I especially liked the reference to Hemingway and his view of editing. I have problems with getting into the flow at times myself and it’s always nice to see good suggestions for it!
    I think the key to habitual writing is to make sure you always have a notebook with you, for those odd flashes of insight in an otherwise ordinary day!

  • http://www.contentblog.net Amrit Hallan – Content Blog

    These are great tips Tejvan. There is another thing that I do whenever I don’t feel it starting to write — I decide to write miserably. I don’t complete sentences, I use lots of punctuations, a great lines wherever I feel it; I mean it’s totally chaotic. Then a clear picture begins to manifest and then slowly I start inserting words and expressions I want to use. This mostly works.

  • http://www.stephenmartile.com Stephen Martile

    Praxis makes perfect. This is how I have come to acquire my own writing style. To learn more, browse:

    How to Change Your Beliefs with Praxis, Part 2
    http://www.stephenmartile.com/?p=108

    Stephen Martile
    Personal Development Made Simple
    http://www.stephenmartile.com

  • http://financialphilosopher.typepad.com/thefinancialphilosopher/ The Financial Philosopher

    “Only in quiet waters things mirror themselves undistorted. Only in a quiet mind is adequate perception of the world.” ~ Hans Margolius

  • http://www.writingpower.net Loren – Writing Power

    Nice post, Tejvan. You’re absolutely right that the only way to be a writer is to write. Or to think about it another way, the only thing you have to do to be a writer is write. Just write. So simple, and yet we make it so difficult, right?

    That’s why posts like yours are so great — they give writers the help they need to remove their stumbling blocks and write. That’s the only way to get better at it.

    Thanks for a great post. (And here’s a post that you might be interested in: http://writingpower.net/2008/01/29/3-new-ways-to-get-started-drafting/ )

    Cheers!
    Loren

  • http://www.upbeatbrain.com Mike

    These are all great tips, Tejvan.

    Over the years, I’ve found that I run into trouble on a story if I start too soon. That is, if I haven’t done the necessary research or don’t know where the article is going–start, middle, and end–I can write myself into a corner. If I do the background thoroughly, I find that the actual writing can be the easiest part of an article.

    I especially feel your tip about listening or not listening to music. I have different playlists for different tasks. When I really need to concentrate, I often listen to white noise. It helps me to focus.

    Thanks for the great post!

  • http://www.pickthebrain.com John Wesley

    All excellent tips, but I think for me the most important part is the environment. In any type of noisy or crowded place I can’t produce anything.

    I also think it’s helpful to go into writing with a basic structure in mind. Its easy to get stuck if don’t have a plan for how one idea will flow to the next.

  • http://www.varsityblah.com/about Eugene (Editor, Varsity Blah)

    Gathering ideas is a great way to start. I spent about six months gathering ideas and jotting down thoughts for my first book. Once I had those in hand, I was able to write the entire manuscript in less than two weeks. It helps to come prepared!

  • http://www.phillipkhan-panni.com Phillip Khan-Panni

    I agree with all that has been written above, and have written a book called “Blank Page to First Draft in 15 Minutes”. It is primarily for those struggling to write a speech or presentation, but the problem (and the principle) is the same.

    In simple terms, it works like this:
    1. create a simple template for the speech / presentation / chapter
    2. Brainstorm ideas and write them down, taking care to number them.
    3. Decide where, on your template, to place each of the brainstormed ideas, writing their numbers on the template. For example, you may want to use idea number 3 for your opening Hook. On your template, alongside ‘Hook’ just write 3.
    4. Wite about each of the selected ideas in the sequence indicated by your template. Edit later.

    This discipline breaks through the major barrier to getting started: the inclination to get it perfect before you get it down on paper.

    Phillip K-P

  • http://www.adversityuniversityblog.com Stephen Hopson

    Tejvan:

    For a lot of writers, this is a great set of tips. The first sentence is usually the hardest when ideas don’t seem to be flowing. But once you start writing without any regares to punctuation, etc., a shift takes place from within and the words, phrases start to flow out faster. It’s a most amazing, uplifting experience when that happens.

    Lately I’ve been stuck in a rut, writing-wise so this was very helpful!

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  • http://tnwae.blogspot.com Chris A of TNWAE

    Thanks for this tp…
    It will be really helpful in my coming online literary arc.

  • http://patriciasingleton.blogspot.com Patricia – Spiritual Journey Of A Lightworker

    Noise has never been a problem for me when reading or writing. At an early age, I learned to tune it out. It was always noisy at our house.

    I buy lots of notebooks in several different sizes because I like having a notebook with me in my purse or in the car to write whenever the mood strikes or the words start to flow. Sometimes, I will sit down and write a whole article in one sitting. Sometimes it stretches out over a week or two. Sometimes I get just a title or an idea that I want to get written down to come back to later. I will sometimes just start writing. Sometimes I post the finished result and sometimes the words are there but for some reason it just doesn’t feel quite right at the time. I may or may not come back and finish it at some future date. These were great tips that you gave. Thanks to Stephen Hopson for sending me here.

  • http://www.elinconformista.net Oscar

    Thanks for the post. I am beginning my blogging experience and this kind of ideas are great. Finally what is a blogger? A writer.

    I make a brief in my spanish blog of course with a link to yours and to Tejvan blog:

    Trucos de productividad para escritores.

    Keep blogging, thank you very much.

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  • Ben

    Maybe I’m crazy, but i think that quote at the beginning is an Isaac Asimov one.

    Or…not

  • ramsay

    tejvan,

    uhh… I think you should include an eleventh tip: have a good editor or a dictionary by your side.

    you write: “However, writing doesn’t have to be a *tortuous* experience akin to banging your head against the wall.”

    I think you mean “torturous” experience. This is a common mistake, but someone who is teaching how to write should definitely know better!

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  • http://www.google.com/ Bunny

    This is the perfect way to break down this infrotmiaon.