How To Write Like A Boss

2 - The Right Time

When is the right time? It is a question that has troubled many people for generations. Since the dawn of time. But before I get all philosophical on you, let me get to the point. c;

Some people like to set a specific time frame to write down their story. It's highly unlikely that you'll find a person who can write a story in a day. Unless they're superhuman, but Bob, Dick and Harry (that's us guys) don't have that ability.

So that's where time slots come into play.

Pick a time, any time, in the day where you can set aside time to write. Some people work best in the evening, some in the afternoon, others in the morning. But let's face it, most of us can't devote hours and hours to writing, no matter how much we'd like to. Life gets in the way. We have certain priorities.

Besides, who'd be idiot enough to just write day in day out? It plays havoc on your creativity. If you think about it, the best stories appeal to our perception of reality - therefore, if you go out and experience new things, your story-telling skills will become all the better and your readers will be able to relate to your writing.

So, if you set aside a little time of the day to write, it will make your writing life easier. You can set mini-goals during those short two or three hour bursts. Maybe write 500 words and reward yourself with a bar of chocolate or sit and watch a movie or read a book.

And over a few weeks, you should see some progress. You'll soon have written a novel over the course of three months. :)

But all this is fantasy. A perfect world. Let's cut to the chase.

You and I know that you probably won't be this organised when it come to putting pen on paper. I know I'm certainly not this organised. How I approach writing is two-fold - I place emphasis on planning during the course of the writing process AND spontaneous time slots.

What this means in normal language is, I go with the flow.

I create a brief outline and a wikipedia-esque style summary of the whole plot. By doing this, I'm laying out the groundwork. But your plan/outline is not the be-all-and-end-all. Writing is an organic process for me - just because I have a plan, it doesn't mean I'll stick with it. New ideas and scenes are constantly vying for my affection/attention. :P

You can not (I can't emphasise this enough) ever think about beginning a story without having some idea of an ending. Don't even begin that story because you know what will happen? After the first ten thousand words, you'll just wonder around aimlessly like a stooge, hopelessly trying to think of a resolution, instead of focussing on the middle. It's a disaster waiting to happen. That's why plans are your best friend when it comes to defeating the school bully - Your Novel.

I don't work well under structured time slots, mainly because I'm a very changeable person and it takes the fun out of writing for me. But when I have some free time, I write. One rule I would stick by is this, if you can't finish a story in two years max - what the hell are you doing? Working on a bloody Magnus Opus? ;) Of course, this is not to say you should be disconcerted if writing your story is taking longer than expected. Everyone manages time differently when they're writing a novel. Don't try to rush writing your story; complete it at your own pace. :)

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Feel free to share when your preferred time slots are... ;)