3 Writing Tips to Make You a Better Writer

If you’re a writer, you’ll know that one of the hardest things for a writer is to get down to work. Most of us waste valuable time and procrastinate before getting to work. We all know that our livelihood depends on our production of articles, stories, scripts or books. In other words, if we don’t write, we do not earn. We need to develop a fool-proof method that will enable us to sit down and write, impervious to external stimuli and free of stress. Here are three tips that can help you to be a more productive writer and to achieve whatever you propose in the way of words.

1. Set an alarm

One of the ways in which you can accustom yourself to sit down and start writing is to set an alarm. If you would like to start writing at 9:00 in the evening, you should set your alarm to go off at that hour. When the alarm sounds, you should at first consciously, through self-discipline, force yourself to sit down and begin the day’s work. After a few days, possibly a week or so, you will begin to associate the sound of the alarm with your writing desk and the work you need to do. Pavlov’s discovery is not only for the dogs, after all. You can use this simple technique to drill into your consciousness that you are a writer and that you need to write.

2. Prepare The Terrain

Another thing you should also do is to get everything ready before you sit down and write. When the alarm sounds, you should not have to deal with anything that can interrupt your train of thoughts. You would probably say to yourself “Maybe I should first see if I have any new or urgent e-mails waiting for me before I get down to write.” Interruptions of this type can quickly lead you away from your writing mindset. To prevent this from happening, you should have everything you’ll need on your writing desk beforehand. If you write like me, with pen and paper, you should have your favorite pen and writing pad on the desk, with a hardcopy of the previous day’s work beside it. An outline of the article or book chapter should also be available if needed.

3. No Interruptions

You should also make sure that there are no interruptions when you are writing. If possible, switch off your Internet connection or lower the volume of your speakers so that only visual reminders or notifications are visible. Your family should also respect your writing hours. They will know that after 9:00 o’clock you would not be available except for dire emergencies. This would enable you to keep your mind on your article or story and not on anything else.

I have followed these three writing tips for some time and, even though they appear simple, they have a quiet power. You’ll find that when 9:00 o’clock or whatever time you choose comes around, you’ll go to your desk and begin writing. Please share your comments on this article, along with any tips that could be of use to other writers.