by Dave Chesson.
I’m a big believer in making the most of the time we have to write and getting the best possible output from it.
After all, for most writers, time is the ultimate luxury. We can always experience ebbs and flows in sales or followers, but time is truly a finite resource. Once it’s gone, it’s never coming back.
As a result, I’ve dedicated a lot of my writing life to finding the best ways to use writing time as efficiently and effectively as possible.
Today I’d like to share my six top recommendations.
1. Find Your Writing Tool
Most standard writing software, such as MS Word or Google Docs, isn’t really suited to the demands of professional writing. The lack of specific features you need, or the inability to create and compile lengthier writing projects, will likely result in a loss of writer productivity.
Instead, I suggest taking the time to explore the specialist writing software options out there. A wide range of book writing software exists with specific features to help authors with their work.
My personal pick is Scrivener. I love it because it’s incredibly powerful. But it doesn’t force you to make use of all its depths if you don’t need to. It allows you to customize the look of your work easily with Scrivener templates that have been created by the writer community.
You should keep the following in mind when choosing a specialist writing tool:
- Your personal requirements. Do you need something fully-featured? Or a minimalist interface which will help you zone in on nothing but the word count?
- Your publishing process. Do you need a tool which will be suitable for editing, formatting, and exporting? Or do you need something purely focused on writing?
- Your system/devices. Do you need something to work on a particular computer system? Or will you need a mobile app as part of your process?
- Financial constraints. Does it make sense to invest in a paid writing tool at this point in your writing career? Or is it smarter to stick with a free option for now?
Taking the time to research and get to grips with a specialist writing tool is an investment that will pay off in the long run. You’ll soon find the ease of using a tool truly suited to you and your work will help you increase your efficiency and output.
2. Finding and Optimizing Time
The time of day when you write is important. Most people find they will be naturally more creative and productive at one time or another. If you know you are a morning person, or a night owl, you should factor this into the equation when determining your writing schedule.
Personally, I’m an early morning writer. I like to get up around 4 AM in order to achieve some personal, distraction-free writing time, before my family get up and my attention is diverted.
Sometimes, it’s useful to experiment with switching up your writing time. While routine can be useful in writing efficiency, if you find yourself stuck in a rut, switching up the time of day you write can help you break out of it.
Some of my tips for finding and optimizing your writing time include –
- Analyzing your schedule to identify more time to write. Often, we think we don’t have enough time, but we’re actually just spending it on other activities. Authors often find that getting up an hour earlier at the weekend, or cutting back on a leisure activity, makes a huge difference in the long run in terms of output.
- Consider the writing routines of famous authors. There’s no need to reinvent the wheel. Drawing inspiration from authors you admire, and seeing if there’s a part of your process that could benefit from their techniques, is a great way to follow in the footsteps of your heros.
- Analyze your past output. Look back on your past writing projects. Is there a time when you felt particularly efficient? If so, what was your writing routine at the time? Replicating a past success can be a great way to get your efficiency back on track.
Although it may not be obvious at first, there’s usually a way to carve out a little more writing time, and use it in a better way.
3. Avoid Self-Editing
One of the biggest roadblocks to writer efficiency is the trap of self-editing.
If you begin to doubt your words as a writer, your inner critic’s volume increases, and your efficiency and output grind to a halt.
The key to overcoming this is to write without hesitation and judgement, and to come back to the work and improve it at a later time. This is a lot easier said than done, and I find the following tips make a practical difference in this area –
- Find a self-editing tool you are comfortable using. There are great options such as Grammarly which will catch many of the glaring errors you make. Knowing that you have a tried and tested editing software will greatly ease any worry you experience while getting the words down on the page.
- Make yourself accountable. Often, we tend to be hesitant over our writing output as we know the only judge of our failure will be ourself. By telling others about your goals, or using a goal setting app which rewards you, you can increase the pressure on yourself to stop hesitating and start writing.
4. Remove Distractions
One of the biggest pitfalls for modern writers is the ceaseless parade of distraction we face.
In addition to the typical distractions writers have faced throughout the ages, contemporary writers are faced with the additional challenge of writing on internet-connected devices that have been tailor made to monopolize our attention.
I like to eliminate all distractions possible by –
- Blocking out digital distractions. By using an app, I can take my willpower out of the equation, and physically block access to distracting websites that eat away at my writing efficiency.
- Turning off smartphone notifications. You can set most phones to allow only vital calls through, removing the distracting push notifications that many apps use.
5. Set and Track Progress
Often, writers find that a lack of quantified targets and tracking holds them back from being as efficient as possible.
I’ve found that setting a non-negotiable word count target for my writing days has helped me achieve efficiency through the power of habit. Once you become regularly accustomed to hitting your session word count, it will feel like second nature.
Some tips for setting and tracking targets include –
- Use a writing app which makes targets and tracking easy. Scrivener is great for this.
- Link your leisure to completion of your goals. If you only let yourself indulge in your favorite pastime if you’ve hit your targets, it becomes a lot more motivating.
- Plan your projects. If you know you have a particular date for a project to be completed, and it has to be a certain word count, dividing the word count up over the period of time you have will allow you to ensure you stay on track.
6. Enhance Your Environment
I find that the environment I write in has a huge impact on the quality and quantity of my output.
Personally, I find that listening to particular music helps me get in the zone. I even have a special lighting rig to set the visual tone for my creative sessions. My final environmental enhancement is I only allow myself to drink coffee while I write. This creates a kind of Pavlovian effect to help me automatically feel productive.
Some ideas to help you find your own ideal writing environment include –
- Experiment with location. Do you prefer writing in a secluded room, or do you enjoy the energy of a public place such as a coffee shop?
- Do you find music enhances your writing, or does it distract you? Some writers prefer listening to white noise while working.
- Is there a particular beverage you find sets the mood for your work?
Finding your ideal writing environment is really the icing on the cake which will help you absolutely maximize your output.
Writer Efficiency Final Thoughts
Our time spent writing is too precious to waste or to treat with anything but the utmost respect.
I hope the above ideas will help you enhance your own writing process and become more efficient.
If you have any personal tips about efficiency, or stories from your own writing life, I’d love to hear from you in the comments.
by Dave Chesson (@DaveChesson) July 8, 2018
What about you, scriveners? Do you practice writer efficiency? What distractions are most likely to steal time from your writing? (For me it’s news stories…Anne.) Do you use music to enhance your writing, or do you use a white noise machine? (I prefer white noise.) Do you have any questions for Dave?
About Dave Chesson, the “Kindlepreneur”
Dave Chesson is a book marketing nerd and author who shares his latest insights at Kindlepreneur.com, such as his recent Playster review. He is a former US Navy nuclear engineer who discovered web design, SEO, online marketing and writing were his real passions. Dave also hosts The Book Marketing Show podcast. You can check out his latest software at KDP Rocket, and he has a wealth of information at his Book Marketing 101 page. His free time is spent making memories with his family in Tennessee.
Great to e-meet you Dave: really wise advice here for such a whippersnapper! I checked on some of your links and it’s clear you’ve really thought about this. I’ll have to log this article to come back to whenever I can return to the writing part of the gig. Personally, I found that making myself accountable really has helped; on the other hand so has what I think you called “self-editing”, I often can’t continue until I iron out some of that wrinkly first-drafting before going on (I think of it as a running start for the next section!).
Thank Will and nice to meet you too. Yeah, I used to get editing paralysis a lot…so it’s been fresh on my mind and has allowed me to move forward and see real progress.
Thanks, Dave, for the A+ list. I would add that making a habit/routine of writing really help. Same time. Same place. Same chair etc. Takes all the hesitation and faux decision-making out of the process.
100% agree. When I first started my writing, I got up at 4am every morning, and I wouldn’t allow myself to get coffee for the day if I didn’t get up at that time. This helped me to stop hitting the snooze button. I sometimes call this the reverse Pavlovs dog. Gotta write to earn that coffee 🙂
Ahoy Dave & Anne,
I’m with you, Dave, on most everything, especially music. It astounds me how carefully choosing evocative music can help point me in the right emotional direction for the scene, & keep me going efficiently. Thanks for a fine post.
Thanks – Yeah, get the wrong music playing and it can feel like you’re trying to swim upstream. Get the right stuff, and its like magic. One thing I’ve been doing recently is just going to Youtube and typing into the search bar a descriptive phrase of the type of music I like. THere are hundreds of playlists people have created like “best music for writing a novel” or even something as specific as “best music for writing a scifi novel” 🙂
I need Word. Simple. Scrivener and others confuse me.
I do know when I write best (early evening) and that I need music in the background. Preferably prog rock or metal. I’m also a lazy writer so motivation like NaNo keeps me focused on daily word counts and prods me to actually write. Obviously I’m not making a career of this!
Good tips, Dave.
Thanks – I’ll have to check out Prog Rock….I’m always looking to keep my writing beats fresh. Another motivation I use is that I can’t get my coffee for the day unless I hit my writing target…masochistic, I know.
Have to disagree somewhat on the self-editing. Yes, don’t edit as you write with the critical brain turned on. That’s just plain bad because at one point or another the critical brain will say the story is horrible. However, writing straight through to try to shut that off tends to be very problematic. It’s easy to write things into the story that re
And somehow managed to hit post before I finished.
It’s easy to write things into the story that cause revision. I remember skipping over one section in a story because it was hard and saying to myself “I’ll leave it for the revision.” It broke the story. When I fixed it, changes rippled through everything that followed. And those changes caused more changes that rippled through.
Better is do cyclical writing, or moving around in the story. It’s done from creative side. Like when I got in that story, I should have backed up, stopped to think about what I could do, and try it out. Makes a lot less revision because problems get fixed while creating, and in places where it isn’t a big deal yet. But really important to have the critical brain turned off for it.
Those are great points. One thing i should have mentioned though is that writing without stoping yourself from editing doesn’t mean you shouldn’t plan. When I sit down to write a chapter, I usually (the night before – because I write at 4am) plan out that chapter. In scrivener, I will fill up that chapter’s note card with each part and purpose to include changes in characters and specific parts to a plot. That way, when I sit down at 4am, I know exactly what I hope to cover in that writing session, and can let my fingers flow over the keyboard.
I’ll have to try the cyclical writing. I’ve tried the snowflake and starting from the middle. Thanks for that.
This is good advice. When I’m writing a book I have a couch I always sit on, and I have a particular place on that couch, with my MacBook on my lap, with my drink on the table next to me, and I write until I have to get up and do something then I come right back to it. I have no word count, no set time. It’s more of a “I am writing a book and this is the most important thing I’m doing right now” so it takes precedence over most other things. I almost always take a break in the afternoon to ride my bike around and think about what comes next in the book, but I’m a pantser, so I don’t outline. I write a book as if I’m watching it as a movie in my mind’s eye. Everyone has their “way” and in the end, it’s what’s most comfortable for you.
Right on Patricia. I’m with you on all points.
100% agree. Everyone is in a different situation…those who have kids envy the idea of being able to sit in the middle of the house and be able to be uninterrupted…haha. The key for us all, is that we approach our writing with vigor and determination – otherwise, it will fall to the way side and that book won’t write itself.
I self-edit ruthlessly (hehe), constantly, and all it does is make me better and more efficient for the next time. Sloppy writing breeds more sloppy writing. What you want is for each editing problem to find its own solution in your head, which you then use automatically.
After a practice period, where it may slow you down, you write with fewer errors.
Practice does make perfect. I’ve just found that those two thought processes (creativity and structured grammar) are two different sides of the brain. It helps to fully focus on one, and then fully focus on the other.
Wow. All due respect to you as a veteran (Marine here) Grammarly is an absolutely HORRIBLE “tool.” The advice to write straight through so you can fix it later is straight out of NaNoWriMo and is also horrible. It’s also not the best advice in the world to use any writing “program” that causes you to think of formatting or any of that. Writing is writing, period, and any word processor (or pen and notebook) will do. If you want to be a successful fiction writer, find a copy of Heinlein’s Rules (there are only 5) and follow them.
Thanks and thank you for your service. Like i say in the Grammarly review article, it definitely doesn’t replace an editor. Only helps to clean up – which helps keep my editor sane. 🙂 It has also helped me make some correction here while replying to these comments. Again, just something to help with the flow.
Hmm, I’m inclined to get overwhelmed with technology—but no longer feel guilty about being a luddite. Background music—only the white noise of anonymous conversation or squirrel chatter. Green tea while working. Later, then I appreciate a good coffee.
That sounds amazing – I have screaming kids to drown out…haha. Another great source in Brain.fm. Supposedly they produce sound waves that induce relaxation, and others that produce concentration.
Hi Dave,
Nice to see you over here as a guest on this blog. I’ve been following you two gurus for a while now! Thanks for the great advice. Anne, great job, having Dave! Woo hoo!
I find your advice helpful for big blocks of time, but to stay efficient, as a mom and wife, I use short bits of time for editing or small writing goals, like sitting in the carpool lane, chaperoning a choir contest (I bring my laptop, find a plug, go to work), sitting at Starbucks while waiting for soccer practice to be over, editing on the car ride while hubby drive to an event, etc.
I love your advice and try to have that wonderful consistency, but it’s not always possible with active children. I’ve found that utilizing those in-between moments help me reach my writing goals as well.
Great advice. Thanks 🙂
Now THAT’s time management…haha. That’s awesome to hear. For me and my 3 rambunctious kids, I get up at 4am so as to not be disturbed by my wife or kids. Also, since no one else is up, there’s nothing going on Facebook, or the TV running. But I love how you’re working it inside of your life and not dropping the ball anywhere else.
Also, thanks – that really means a lot to hear 🙂
HI David – I’m one of those who learned how to read music before I read language, and thus any music on is like language to me (meaning I can’t accomplish anything but listen to it.) You make some super points. I’ve found, after teaching fiction writing for over twenty years, that most people who can’t find time to write really don’t like the process of writing. They want to be an *author* but really don’t want to be a writer.
So I say this: those who want to write will produce lots of work, and those who want to talk about writing will continue to talk about it, and piss of those of us who are actually doing it. *waves* from Canada
Hahaha….well if you ever find yourself in Nashville, I’ll buy you a coffee for that. As for music, perhaps check out Brain.Fm. Inside of music, it produces sound waves that will either increase concentration or relaxation (depends on which mood you’re in). Hopefully that will help if you ever need it.
Great advice from David. I’ve learned to turn off the music to write my most efficiently. I don’t need silence, but I can tune out the family but not the music. I also wasted a lot of hours trying to write in the morning. Can’t do it. Night is my time. Not evening, but night.
Any advice on trying to tune out the family??? haha…that’s awesome.
I think the only way to turn off digital distractions is one, not to be tethered to your smart phone. In all honesty, do you really need to be tied to your phone 24/7/365? I own two phones: an old 13+ year flip phone for talking/.texting and a smart phone that I use exclusively for music/sports (via TuneIn Radio app); and two, have a computer that is solely dedicated to writing and nothing else.
When I’d upgraded my computer to the very last M$ product that I will ever own (Win 7), I converted my old XP computer to be used exclusively for writing. I disconnected/uninstalled the Internet, which forces me to actually write, as opposed to surfing the ‘net, which is what I do with my Win 7 computer. I barely do any lengthy writing beyond composing blog posts.
I actually need silence to write, although I listen to music and sports when I’m doing editing.
Those are some incredible steps. I’ll have to look into that – a specific computer without internet. When my daughter has her softball practice in Chattanooga (2.5 hours away – yes, practice) I make her drive, while I use my laptop and work on my latest book or article. I don’t have internet and use ear phones so I don’t have to listen to high school girl music. I get a LOT done in that time period.
Hi Dave and Anne. Some good tips here. Yes to coffee! My espresso machine doubles as my muse. 😉 Yes to cutting distractions which for me means no noisy cafes. Unfortunately I have to keep the phone on to take business calls that provide the financial support to keep writing.
I love that you noted this is a very individual process and YMMV. For example, unlike you I hated Scrivener and prefer the simplicity of MS Word. I “lightly” self-edit as needed so I don’t have to go back and rewrite half the dang novel. And music intrudes on my creative flow. I much prefer quiet, save for the birds or leaves in the breeze outside my window.
Thanks for your insights and thank you Anne for the variety of guest bloggers.
Hi Eldonna. Thanks – and glad you liked it. Another option, which I just started using, is that I have an apple watch. It allows me to answer phone calls from it, and see notifications. But I can’t get caught up doing anything else on it. I can’t get caught on Facebook, nor can I answer an email from it (well, you can, but it’s painful). Therefore, I have connection, but not opportunity to get caught up in a rabbit hole.
So, Dave, we meet in another context!
Sorry, but I don’t find Scrivener at all helpful. Word is good as gold for me. I did try Scrivener, and I know there are some advantages to it when it comes to publishing in e-format and so on, but I’ve managed four books without it so far, and I think I can probably manage a fifth…
Removing distractions? Hmm. Almost impossible in my house, but….
I can truly understand that. Some authors still use type writers, and George RR Marin still uses a DOS word processor, Wordstar 4.0. If it isn’t broke, don’t fix it. haha. The learning curve to Scrivener was pretty deep. However, once I got over it, and learned those other benefits, I can’t imagine doing it without it. I’ve not only used it for my books, but I also used it for my thesis when I was getting my masters degree, and for laying out my course when I was creating it. I once tried using it for my articles, but that felt like overkill. I use Google Docs for that – that way I can easily share them with people for their input.
Hi Everybody. I have no idea what has happened to Dave! I’m hoping he’s all right. Maybe his computer exploded or something. I did make it clear that we respond to all comments here. If he’s still AWOL tomorrow, I’ll respond to all your comments. Maybe we should send him (and his computer) our thoughts and prayers.
No, just had my oldest daughter playing in a softball tournament yesterday – they lost in the championship 🙁 But it was an unexpected long day since they made it so far. It’s bitter sweet because she has one tournament, and then she heads to college (super sad dad moment).
Dave–So sorry your daughter lost! But I’m glad you’re alive and well and thanks for all these wonderful responses to the comments.
I’m totally old school–I like Word, I edit as I go, and my grammar skills are better than Grammarly’s by a long shot (child of two grammarians). But I know I’m very different from most writers, including Ruth. She swears by Scrivener and doesn’t edit her first draft until it’s done..
So it’s all about “different strokes for different folks.” I think your methods work for the majority of writers.
Thanks for the great post!
Haha…yeah. We’ve got another tournament in Atlanta this week (as in starting Wednesday). Children are the bane to one’s writing…haha. They used to be my motivation – write well enough so that I can work from home, and write full time (thus being able to take my daughter to her games). But now, they seem to destroy my schedule.
As for Grammar, haha…when I was in high school, my English teacher handed back my paper, and said “Dave…you’re going to study physics in college, right?” I replied “Yes, ma’am.” She said “Good…that’s probably for the best.” Then she handed my D+ paper. Needless to say, Grammar has been my arch nemesis and the most debilitating part of my writing process. I pay good money to get the right people to help me with my weakness. But I will say, just by constantly writing, and learning from the suggestions of Grammarly or Pro Writing Aid, I’ve become a LOT better. I even started correcting other people’s stuff on social media…I think that is a symptom of Grammaritis 🙂
Environment is so important for me. Little things add up. Summer time with the windows open. The sound of birds. The site of wildlife running through the yard and so on. My mind clicks when all of this is surrounding me.
A person needs to find their place. Literally. A place that is comfortable and helps create to story process.
Excellent list. Thanks for doing this.
Hey everyone,
I am in need of guidance. I am 13 years old and am almost done with my novel, should “clock in” around 55-60k words. Is publication for a 13 year old in school too much dedication, is it too involved for my parents and I? What should I do? I’m *Very* passionate about my book… any help is appreciated!! I just don’t know what to do.
Thanks,
Sophie Whiton
Sophie–I’m going to give you the same advice I’d give if you were 23 or 63. KEEP WRITING. Nobody builds a career on one novel these days. For 90% of us, the first novel is a “practice novel.” http://bit.ly/2LI6ymJ .
Most authors don’t publish successfully until they’ve written at least 2. And most of us have written 3 or 4 or 5, and published dozens of short stories before we get a novel published. So keep writing. Get feedback. Learn from your mistakes (we all make them!) and keep going.
Also, read lots of publishing blogs and learn about marketing and how to use social media to build your brand. All authors need to be entrepreneurs these days, whether we self-publish or go the agent-traditional publisher route. But writing a first novel is the first step. Now write another one. It’s like the old joke about “How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice, practice, practice!” Best of luck!