Description:
Struggling with being a productive writer? We all fall into distraction traps and periods of low productivity. All productivity tips are like tools in a toolbox, and having multiple is a great way to break out of writer's block. This episode covers the last 5 of 10 productivity tips for writers to keep in mind as we start 2025!
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You are listening to The Novel Writing Podcast, Episode 161.
I'm your host, Colleen Mitchell. Grab a cup, cozy up, and let's get to writing!
Today's episode is the last 5 of 10 productivity tips for writers that I've both used myself, and have seen used successfully by the authors I work with in our coaching & critique group. These are in no particular order, and are not all-inclusive, so if there's a particular tip that works for you that isn't on this list, we'd love to hear it!
Let's finish these up!
6. Measure and track your writing metrics over time.
Examples include word count per session, total words written on a project, chapters or scenes completed in relation to structural beats, time spent writing, writing streaks (daily or weekly), and number of writing sessions per week.
Why this works:
What gets measured gets managed, and if you can't track it, you can't improve it. The only way to know that you're getting better at something is to keep track of your progress along the way. In weight loss terms, this is taking progress pictures, tracking your food intake and weight over time, and associated things like mood and external circumstances. We can use the same approach with writing. If you're data driven like me, then this kind of productivity tip will light your progress on fire.
Pro-tip for those of you using Scrivener -- it will automatically keep track of your project stats every day that you work in a project. It'll track your words in-draft and elsewhere (determined by the binder location of the files you are writing in), total writing days, average words written per day, and a few other neat metrics. If you've never seen this before, check it out in the Project Menu and then Writing History.
Whatever way to track that works best for you is the right way to do it. And if you're new to tracking this data, start small with something easy to track, which could be words per session, and how long each session is. That will give you a great place to start with your writing speed. Over time, you can add other metrics to track, and improve from there.
7. Break big writing goals into smaller chunks.
Why this works:
Our brains get really overwhelmed when we look at a big goal like "write 50,000 words" or "write the 2nd draft" or even "write chapter 12". Usually, that goal is too big to complete in a single session, and so our brains use that excuse as a reason to not even start. This happens to all of us. The way to combat it is to shrink the goal. Instead of focusing on writing an entire book, break it into chapters, then scenes. You can go smaller to paragraphs and even sentences if larger chunks intimidate you. When you start accomplishing the little chunks, that momentum builds over time until you actually finish the bigger goal.
8. Use placeholders and comment functions for words, descriptions, names, etc. that you can't think of in the moment so you can come back to them later.
Why this works:
I can't keep track of how many times my authors tell me they're stuck because they can't decide on a name, or they don't want to write out of order, or they can't figure out how to write a transition, or they aren't great at descriptive narrative, and on and on. We all get stuck with these things, but the difference between moving forward versus spending months stuck is using placeholders and comments.
I'm rewriting book 3 right now and I introduced a new artifact that I'm literally calling, in all caps, NAME BOW, because I haven't figured out what its actual name is. Knowing its name is not important to the rewrite right now, just getting it included is what matters. So I'm using a placeholder (and then highlighting each instance of that placeholder so I don't miss them when I come back).
Using placeholders and comments frees your brain from the perceived need to make it perfect immediately, or to do all the edits right now, and instead lets you focus on writing the rest of the story. You can work out the little details in rewrites and editing.
9. If it's feasible for your situation, silence your phone and put it in a drawer out of sight.
This is just one method to combat distractions, but another is using blocking software like Cold Turkey Writer to lock out your entire computer until meeting a word count or time goal.
Why this works:
If in your visual field, phones will still capitalize on your attention even if they're turned off, face-down, or silenced. The very existence of the phone in your peripheral means that a portion of your brain is wondering if you're missing literally any notifications. Putting it in a drawer (out of sight, out of mind) will cut off that visual cue, letting your brain fully focus on the thing you're trying to focus on.
Similarly, when using blocking software, you can effectively eliminate the desire to go down a research rabbit hole or check Facebook one more time when you should really be writing.
10. Don't get bogged down with improvement editing while you're still in the first draft phase.
Why this works:
Getting the first draft done is an important goal for every single writer, but even more so when you're first starting out. I like the concept of the first draft being a fast and messy draft, because that gives me material to work with during rewrites. Rewriting happens to be my favorite part of the process, so this works out well for me.
When we get sucked into the trap of improvement editing while still in the first draft, we run the risk of never ever making it to the end. This includes things like constantly rewriting your first chapter (you're probably going to change it again in the second-to-last draft anyway), trying to perfect each act before moving on to the next one, and obsessing over balancing POVs if you have multiple. Improvement editing in the first, unfinished draft makes it far more likely that you will never write the words "the end", or if you do, it's years later than you originally wanted.
All of these things can be fixed in later drafts.
For me, and this is also how we teach it in The 60 Day Novel Writing Challenge, first drafts are easier and faster when I outline them first. That makes it a lot easier to bang out a first draft in a shorter period of time because I have a basic structure and ideas to draw on when writing. Having an outline doesn't mean you know 100% of what you're going to write, because stories will evolve as you write them and sometimes outlines will make hairpin left turns when you don't expect it. But having the outline to begin with means I'm far less likely to worry about improvement editing while writing the first draft.
This wraps up these 10 productivity tips for writers! I hope these have been helpful for you!
If you'd like to learn more about The 60 Day Novel Writing Challenge and our Coaching & Critique Group, where we implement a lot of these productivity tips, check out the links in the description.
That's it for today's episode! Thanks for joining me, and remember, the first draft is supposed to be garbage.
Show Notes
Dive into the first episode of the Novel Writing Podcast with your host Colleen and her sometimes-guest Halie Fewkes Damewood! Here, we give you the gist of who we are, what we do, and what you can expect from this podcast.
What to do next…
Halie & Colleen are both authors! Find their books below:
Secrets of the Tally, by Halie Fewkes Damewood
The Chronicles of Talahm, by Colleen Mitchell
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