Melinda Copp asked:


Writing projects often take longer than anticipated and that’s simply because many writers don’t have a process that helps them work efficiently. All experienced writers develop a rhythm to their work with practice and experience. They understand how they work, when they work best, and the different phases of the writing process—and they accomplish more as a result.

 

However, because writing is a creative process, it cannot be fully systemized. You cannot expect turn out copy with the same precision and degree of excellence every time. Still, by working out a system that you can live with and one that works reasonably well, you can expect to have reasonable degree of proficiency that can be counted on.

 

Remember that writing systems vary from writer to writer, and even a writer that uses the same system over and over may vary their approach according to their experience on the subject and the kind of writing being done. It’s difficult to pin something like writing down and give it an exact schedule that can be counted on again and again. Still, most writers go through similar phases with each project.

 

Procrastination, Hesitation, and Writer’s Block

The first stage of almost any writing project is, unfortunately, hesitation. Even professional writers panic a little when faced with a project. So don’t beat yourself up if you have no idea where or how to start at first. This feeling is quite a common and most experts suggest that this is actually a great way to warm up to the topic that you’re writing about.

 

The trick is to not let this initial hesitation overcome your ability to write what needs to be written. Try setting a strict time limit for yourself—say ten or fifteen minutes of procrastination before you start a project. Allow your subconscious to take over, but only for a specific amount of time. Then jump in to the writing and don’t look back.

 

Planning and Organizing

The next step is where you decide what you want to say in the piece you’re working on. Before this point, you may have had a general idea, but now you need to actually figure out the message you want to communicate and the best way to do it. This step will be a lot easier if you write down all your ideas first, without evaluating or censoring them. Then you should select only those ideas that are essential to the topic or to your reader. This can be difficult, but you’ve got to throw away the ideas that are only marginally good so the better ones come to the forefront. Next you’ll need to organize the ideas and one of the best ways to do that is to experiment with different approaches until you find one that does justice to the content.

 

Write Away

Writing the draft comes next and, if possible, you should write the whole first draft in one sitting. This obviously doesn’t work for longer pieces like books, but you should avoid editing yourself until you have a complete draft. Resist the temptation to get it right the first time and overwork your writing at this stage. Expect that the first draft will be rough, and revisions will always be required. Take some time after your draft is done to gain a little perspective by putting it away for as long as your deadline permits. Remember too that one of the final stages, revising the draft, may take almost as much time as it did to write the original copy.

 

Finding Your Rhythm

All writers develop a rhythm with experience and practice. As a new writer, the key is to stick with it and be conscious of these different phases of the writing process. When you know what it takes to get the job done, you’ll be able to work more efficiently.

Earma Brown asked:


Are ready to finish your book writing stronger to sell sooner? No worries. With a little extra knowledge, you can still complete writing your book this year. Implement the following secrets; complete your book and prosper:

Secret 1 Create a sense of urgency

Many less determined writers get discouraged and quit because their book journey is not as easy and fast as they thought. May I gently say, “Get over it.” Most worthwhile endeavors take perseverance and hard work. Here’s a different perspective; the attention, direction and intent it takes to overcome most obstacles can be developed into new strengths and skills.

Get your book finished now; for now is better than later. Remember you become a successful author the minute you start moving toward your worthwhile book goal. I don’t know anyone that regrets they wrote a book. But I know plenty of people that regret they didn’t do it sooner.

Secret 2 Keep going after life interrupts.

It is a common challenge for book writers to find their place after being interrupted by family, work and daily life. After all that’s why many think you must get away to get it done effectively.

Yet, there’s hope for those who can’t get away or choose not to. Successful writers all over the world use the tracking approach. They succeed because they commit to doing a little each day.

Set yourself up for success; use the book tracking approach. The most popular method to use for tracking is time. Time is the method where you commit to a writing a certain amount of time each day.

With the cumulative factor involved your commitment doesn’t have to be that much. For example, to accomplish my book writing goals I commit to writing one hour a day in a.m. (my most productive time.) With this method don’t be overly concerned about how much you write, just keep the time commitment.

Secret 3 Find your writing rhythm.

You don’t have to write each chapter one after the other. If you get stuck on chapter two, you could be stuck a very long time. This type of thinking comes from grade school where we are ritually taught to do everything in order.

If you have been thinking that way stop right now, no need to raise your hand. You have my permission to work on whatever chapter moves you or you feel passion bubbling for at the moment. Feeling stuck on a chapter, try another. There you have it now go with the flow.

Don’t become chained to writing in order. Jump around and fill in the blanks. Review your chapters and whatever subject or topic you most drawn to, begin there.

Secret 4 Push past writer’s block.

I am stuck. I have to stop writing until I feel it again. Unseasoned writers may play the martyr, give up and try again another day. We would never get it done like that. When you get stuck simply close that chapter, pull out your chapter outline and choose another chapter. Choose a topic from that chapter and begin there.

Keep going; stay on course. Maintain your writing commitments. Go around writer’s block by working on another chapter. For example, while writing this book in one of my writing sessions, I wanted to finish my fourth chapter on titles but I ran into a writer’s block. Instead of breaking my momentum, I came down to chapter eight about easy writing and began there. I was able to complete my time commitment of one hour and keep my momentum.

Secret 5 Turn off editor mindset when writing.

Many newbie and seasoned writers are perfectionist. When writing, they feel the urge to stop and change something every few paragraphs. Or they finish a page and want to perfect it before continuing.

Turn off your editor voice while writing your first draft. Your goal should be to get the message on paper. Avoid re-writing during your first draft. After your message is written completely out, then you can turn the editor’s voice back up. It’s true successful authors rewrite and organize their ideas for the strongest impact.

But in the beginning stages of writing your book, concentrate on finishing each chapter. Use later writing sessions to self-edit. When it’s time to edit, check your ideas for flow, grammar, spelling, and chapter endings. Work on your chapter titles and lead in introductions.

Secret 6 Treat your book as a business.

It was one thing to write your family’s history book. You had no plans of marketing it to the world. It’s another thing to write a book about a topic in your field. Your expectations are different and quite higher. You can expect your book about a topic in your field to brand your business, make you a sought after expert and draw hundreds of new clients.

Set your book up to succeed with a book marketing plan. Your book marketing plan is what I describe as your map. It describes your book, what you will do after the book is completed and published. It also describes who you hope to sell your book to a target audience. In short you can say your book marketing plan is your roadmap to success and profits.

Secret 7 Ask for help.

Many writers are natural loners. So it’s no surprise when they fall into thinking, “I have to do it all myself.” Do your research and reading time apart from your writing sessions. You may be able to ask your spouse, a teen-aged son or daughter, a friend to help with your research. Know when to let go of your chapters and book. Don’t self-edit and pick your book apart word by word.

Learn to use your skills at the highest level possible. Some of the mechanical tasks of proofreading ask a family member, part-time employee or again a friend to help. After you have done the best job you can with your manuscript, don’t be afraid to pass it to a professional. Learn to delegate faster and faster.

Don’t put it off any longer. You owe it to yourself and those who love you to finish stronger and sell sooner. Your audience is waiting. Implement the above secrets, get your book finished, release it to the world and prosper.