Blitz Writing

How many of us struggle to find time to write? Few writers are making millions with their writing. Most of us are working other jobs, not to mention taking care of family and trying to have at least a semblance of a life. Finding two hours a day to finish that novel isn't easy.

Who says a writing session has to be two hours? Or even one?

Elizabeth Spann Craig offers a solution: the 15-minute writing session. She offers some tips on how to make the most of fifteen minutes a day: turn off the notifications, set a timer, and create an outline before you start the novel.

I have more time to write than most writers. I work part-time and live alone. I don't even have a cat that needs feeding or a dog that needs walking. It's just me and my coffee cup sitting down to tap at the keys.

I still tend toward procrastination. Fifteen minutes is a great idea, if I could just start. We need to know why we procrastinate in order to overcome it. James Frankton writes, "Procrastination doesn’t need to rule your life. With the right knowledge you will be able to train yourself to beat procrastination, and find your inner focus and motivation. But in order to know HOW to stop procrastination from affecting your life, you need to understand the WHY. "

The four main reasons we procrastinate, according to Frankton, are fear of failure, excessive perfectionism, lack of energy, and lack of focus.

Perfectionism is not my issue, but if it's yours, you need to realize that all you can do is your best. As writers, we could reread our novel or short story every day for the next fifty years, and we'd always find something to fix. Sometimes you just have to let it go.

Fear of failure, however, is real in my life. The answer is the same: realize I've done my best and let it go. It won't be perfect, but maybe today's story is more concise than yesterday's, more emotionally engaging, more exciting.

Lack of energy is difficult to overcome, as my current health condition is the worst dictator and impossible to resist. But I know my best hours of the day are from 10-2, and I need to take advantage of them. Back to Elizabeth Spann Craig's suggestion, however: requiring only fifteen minutes of concerted effort at a time may overcome this lack of energy, simply because I'm not trying to sit at the computer for hours at a time.

Lack of focus is easily remedied. In a perfect world, we could turn off the notifications, ignore the phone, and put aside the household chores. For fifteen minutes? Sure.

Between a fifteen minute writing blitz and overcoming procrastination, we can accomplish a lot. Maybe even finishing that novel. What will you write this week?