it's 3am and you're staring at an empty google doc. you have a thesaurus, spotify, and youtube open in your other tabs. you've finished making eight different playlists for your characters and creating pinterest boards for inspiration and watching tutorials on how to become a NYT best-selling author, but your DOCUMENT IS STILL EMPTY !!!!!
here are some things i've personally found helpful in sitting down and writing, instead of doing all that. some of these things will work for some people and not for others!!
1. set a twenty minute timer, put your phone somewhere out of reach, and write non-stop. don't think about what you're writing or whether it's even good. just write. when the timer goes off, take a five minute break if you want to, but time that too. if inspiration has struck, keep writing.
2. if you don't have a computer and you write on your phone, make sure to turn your notifications off and if possible, put a lock/timer on social media apps so you aren't tempted.
3. if you're going to listen to music while writing, have a pre-made playlist you know you won't skip through so you don't have to constantly be changing the song.
4. a continuation of the first, if you're in a tough spot and don't know how to continue the chapter you're writing, just put question marks. seriously. go to the next chapter or scene. once you write it, it'll be way easier to fill in the gap by asking what you need to happen to get from point A to point B.
5. just write dialogue/write the scene like a script. write it in as few words as you'd like. the bare minimum. just putting words on paper is a good thing!!
6. make a bullet-point list of what needs to happen in the chapter you're writing and write a line or two for each. whichever event/scene you have inspiration to write, write it. don't worry about going in chronological order. like i said in 4, a lot of the time if you write from the middle or end, the inspo to fill in the gaps will come naturally.
7. if you have absolutely no motivation to write the story you "should" be writing, write something else!! again, writing in general is a good thing. if your brain is telling you to write something that has nothing to do with your current wip, listen to it! the inspo for your wip might come back just by writing in general.
8. this can be used as a broader tip for neurodivergent people who struggle with executive dysfunction like i do, but i find repeating an action over and over in my head (ex. i am writing, i am doing the dishes, i am getting out of bed) will eventually force me to do that thing or i drive myself insane by my actions not lining up with my narration lol. i've learned to do it with most tasks and not just writing so my brain responds to it by force of habit. might not work for everyone but it helps me!
9. set a daily/weekly goal. whether it's 100 words a day or 100 a week or 5000 a week, if you can arrange a time to write and a number to reach, you have a higher chance of writing more than that number just by sitting down with the objective of getting there. and if you don't reach the number or just barely manage to, you still wrote so congratulations!!
10. don't write in a place your brain associates with something else. i used to always write in bed and i'd get the urge to just roll over and sleep or go on my phone. i know it's not possible for everyone, but if you can write at a kitchen table or a desk or somewhere, it can be helpful in staying focused on your task.
if there's anything that helps you personally feel free to comment here so people can read!! (:
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