WHY CAN’T I JUST WRITE WHEN I WANT?
Many would-be writers never finish their first manuscript. They start it with a determined passion that seems unending and write every day. However, they often either burn themselves out very quickly trying to write six hours every evening after working all day, or so much is going on in their lives, that they keep putting their writing aside and never get around to finishing it. When they finally have time, the passion and excitement are gone, and so is their dream of being an author.
Whether you are writing for fun as a hobby or are trying to get started as a professional author, you have to take that passion that is currently driving you and spread it out.
What does that mean?
It means you can’t do it all quickly and burn yourself out or end up with a horror of a manuscript that is disorganized but done. It means you can’t ignore your writing and let other things pull you away and take your time.
It means you need to create a writing schedule.
When we set a deadline for the completion of a project, we are saying we have this many days, weeks, months to complete this project.
This doesn’t mean we leave the writing to the last day before our given deadline, even if we were the one to set it.
When you want to write, whether as a hobby or career, you have to create a sustainable writing schedule.
Factor in the Crazy Variables
Let’s say we want to write a non-fiction book on backyard ponds. We suspect it will be about 30,000 to 50,000 words. The deadline we set for ourselves is 12 weeks.
Some of you may be asking yourselves, “Why are you pushing this out 12 weeks? Why not four weeks?”
The answer is “variables of life.” If we want to write a book of 50,000 words in four weeks, then we have to write 12,500 words a week. If you get sick and can’t write for two weeks, then what happens? You stress about the four-week deadline. Then, instead of taking the time to feel better, you work your normal job and write and actually wear yourself down more because you are trying to write 25,000 words a week. This means you will probably feel sick longer, but you’ll have gotten that book done in four weeks.
However, if we say 12 weeks, we are looking at about 4,100 words a week. This means if we get sick, have to work overtime at our regular job, or if any other event interrupts our writing, we can miss two weeks and still be done on time without much stress.
If there are no crazy variables, we can easily write 4,100 words a week and still have a life. There would be no burnout. Or we can decide to write more each week and be done when we are done, as long as we meet our deadline.
Know How Often You Will Have Time to Write
Another factor you have to consider when creating a deadline is how often you will have time to write. You need to pick a day or two or three and the hours on those day or days that you will write. Block that time out on your calendar for those 12 weeks, so that you use it only for writing.
If you know you only have two hours a week on Wednesday nights to write, then a four-week deadline would be almost impossible unless you can write 12,500 words in two hours.
Few people can do this, so a short deadline is not realistic. When setting your deadline, be realistic and consider the time you have to write on a weekly basis. Write on the same days and times each week. Get into a routine, which will not only give you time to write, but will help you be more creative during those times, since they will be your designated writing times.
This is the third step to becoming an author if you haven’t figured it out yet. Your writing schedule has to be consistent and work for you. Only then can you continue to thrive as a writer and not lose the momentum to do frustration or burnout.
You know your topic and your audience. Now go create your writing schedule.
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Content credit: C. Storm
Image credit: Towfiqu barbhuiya