In this module, you’ll learn how to overcome the barriers that keep you from finishing—or starting—a writing project, and how to develop a writing routine. With a few of these tools under your belt, you’ll be ready to form a writing habit that saves you time and maximizes your productivity.
We imagine prolific writers as geniuses who, struck by an idea, simply begin to write and, with very little effort, produce a finished product. Nothing could be further from the truth. Instead, prolific and skilled writers have developed writing habits that help them take charge of the writing process.
Make writing a habit
When you make writing a regular part of your life, it becomes much less of a burden. When writing becomes part of your routine, you’ll start getting more done in less time; thus your writing becomes more automatic, fluid, and natural.
Identify and overcome writing obstacles
When you have a writing project with an approaching deadline, you may suddenly decide to do more reading, check your email, or start a load of laundry . . . instead of sitting down to write. In effect, you’ve basically decided to procrastinate.
Procrastination is not an obstacle but a manifestation of a writing block. While nearly every writer is aware of procrastination, far fewer writers know about the different types of obstacles that are at procrastination’s root.
Writing obstacles include (a) lack of confidence, (b) distaste for writing, or (c) a lack of time. These three top obstacles have one thing in common: Once they’re identified as productivity blocks, they can be directly confronted and overcome.
^ identified by psychologist Robert Boice, Professors as Writers: A Self-Help Guide to Productive Writing. Stillwater, OK: New Forums Press, 1990. PP 20-22.
A writer who waits for ideal conditions under which to work will die without putting a word on paper. —E.B. White
Work on a good piece of writing proceeds on three levels: a musical one, where it is composed; an architectural one, where it is constructed; and finally, a textile one, where it is woven.”
―Walter Benjamin, One Way Street And Other Writings
Protect the time and space in which you write. Keep everybody away from it, even the people who are most important to you.
—Zadie Smith
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Goals that are SPECIFIC are narrow and defined. For example, "I will write every day" is vague, while “I will draft the methods section” is clearly defined.
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MEASURABLE goals can be checked off of a to-do list. “I will write two pages” or “I will finish the data analysis section” can be measured.
A
ACHIEVABLE goals are challenging, but reachable. Doing anything worthwhile requires persistence in spite of obstacles. Writing is no different. By keeping to your schedule of specific tasks, the more likely you’ll be of completing your writing project.
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All of your intermediate writing goals are RELEVANT because they help you finish your writing project. They are also RELEVANT because they move you closer to having your research published, completing all course requirements, or finishing your dissertation. Finishing the project matters to you because it’s another step towards achieving your long-term aspirations.
T
TIME-BASED goals include completion dates and intermediate deadlines to serve as checkpoints.
Summary
It’s true that writing takes serious intellectual engagement. Sitting still for an hour or two, finding the right words, and shepherding ideas into a logical order takes extreme focus. But there’s a pleasure in creating clear prose, of communicating a particularly difficult idea so the reader grasps your meaning. There are a few common obstacles that can stymie even the most seasoned writer, but they can be overcome! Counter a lack of confidence with affirming self-talk or by participating in a writing group. Work through a distaste for writing by learning to develop an effective outline for a writing project and then creating a distraction-free writing environment. Find time to write by establishing a workable writing schedule and setting SMART writing goals. With a little practice, you can develop the good writing habits that will help you finish your writing projects. Developing these writing skills will help you look forward to the writing process (or dread it far less!). These skills eventually become habits that translate to other realms of your working life as well.
The beautiful part of writing is that you don’t have to get it right the first time, unlike, say, a brain surgeon. —Robert Cormier