For the first time in life, I’m actually sticking to my weekly writing goals. How?

Not by finding my own Time Turner, I’m sorry to report.

I’m busier than ever right now. And yet, I’m writing more than I ever have in my life. How?

A few ways:

1. Not saving everything for the weekend Sometimes I can power through all my writing hours in two days. More often than not, life interferes. Getting in an hour on weeknights, lunch breaks, etc. is super helpful toward ensuring I’m not overwhelmed when the weekend rolls around, especially when I have plans that weekend (which this time of year, I always do.)

2. 15-minute drafting/brainstorming/plotting sessions The muse can strike in the most inconvenient of places: at work, on the train, in the shower. But with today’s technology, is it really that inconvenient? Now, when that happens, instead of taking a few notes and hoping I’ll remember them later, I take 15 minutes to tap out the scene draft, lines of dialogue, plot points, etc. on the notes section of my phone. Does that count towards my writing goals? Absolutely.

3. Working on multiple projects at once This doesn’t work for everyone. It works wonders for me. If I’m stuck on a revision, I move onto a plot brainstorm for something else. If I’m stuck on that brainstorm, I draft something else. If I’m stuck on that, I’ll go back to my ideas sheet and organize it. All of this counts as writing time. (Of course, if I’m totally stuck, I will take a break.)

4. “Keeping the door” open every day I’ve written before about not writing every day — life interferes, hence the weekly goals over daily ones — but I recently saw a tweet from Victoria Schwab (a resource if there ever was one) about “keeping the door open.” She doesn’t write every day either, she says. But she is thinking about her worlds, her characters, her ideas every single day. So am I. Live and breathe your worlds. Let your “real” life influence decisions your characters make. Keep the door open. Creativity begets creativity.

5. Take advantage of a chunk of time/writing wave It doesn’t happen often that I get either of these things, but when I do, I go with it! Write for ten hours on a cloudy Saturday. Get into the zone for three hours on a weeknight. This can let you get ahead of your goals, so for those inevitable weeks when you don’t meet them, you’ve built yourself some cushion.

Do you have any tricks for meeting your writing goals each day/week/month/whatever chunk of time you’ve set out for yourself? I’d love to hear them!

Photo by Green Chameleon on Unsplash