I like the idea of temporarily switching up my schedule. doesn’t have to be forever, just for the next week or two. Works well for Nano, so makes sense to try it at other times!
How have your strategies for being a productive writer helped you while working on the text for your forthcoming graphic novel? For example, were you working on this project while working on other projects? How did you balance that time? It also seems like you have switched genres from picture books to a graphic novel. Could you tell us more about that?
I didn’t want to completely bounce around with genres/age groups/types of writing and I love writing picture books, so I still kept writing picture books on a regular basis while I worked on learning how to write a graphic novel. Learning about graphic novels was a really fun side project that gradually grew to be a big part of my writing. It’s something that I wanted to do for fun and because I was curious about it, but then writing graphic novel scripts really clicked with me and I found that I wanted to make it a big part of my career. As far as balancing my time, I try to have one or two priority projects that get the bulk of my attention and then one or two “secret” projects that I treat more as something for fun or get to work on as a reward for finishing my priority project goals.
marisawrites
1 year ago
Thanks for the tips! I agree that it’s important to be flexible and to try new things (schedules, approaches, writing locations, etc.) if need be.
I used to write only when I had a chunk of free time. But free time doesn’t usually come in chunks! NaNoWriMo 2018 introduced me to the fun of writing in shorter sprints more often, and I loved it. It’s also more realistic, and it’s fun to write while other writers around the world are writing too.
You’re welcome! I really have to do NaNoWriMo someday–it does sound so fun to have that community cheering you on.
Aquawrites
1 year ago
This is a great list. I’d actually forgotten some of the things that worked for me in the past, like visually tracking my progress and doing a mini-Nanowrimo. There were also some great tips in the last half of the post for things I’ve never tried. Looking forward to pretending I’m a pro and writing down an idea a week. Thanks!
Having a spot dedicated to a certain task is great advice. It’s why I have three desks in my home office. Not everyone has that luxury, but it could be as simple as writing on the laptop but checking email on the phone, so you train yourself that during your writing time, if you’re looking at that laptop screen, you’re writing.
Good idea dividing things up by laptop and phone–anything that helps train your brain like that is so helpful.
PA_PB_CB_Writer
1 year ago
Thank you, Megan! I’m going to try lots of these ideas! Not all at once, of course. But I really want to become more productive. I have a bunch of early drafts and even more story ideas to work on but also about 8 part-time jobs (mostly volunteer) so I become easily distracted. BTW–I really enjoyed BUILDING BOOKS. When I read it I thought you did a fantastic job of explaining why the characters love the books/blocks. I think this is a skill I need to improve so I’m using your book as a mentor text for this. Thank you again!
I would try to worry less about things that are out of my control. It’s something I really focus on now–only having goals that are 100% within my control (for ex: instead of “get this book (traditionally) published” my goal would be “write the best book I’m capable of writing right now”).
Diane ONeill
1 year ago
Thanks for these tips! I especially like the idea of asking myself what future me would have wanted me to do. During November, I sometimes do “cheat-o-wrimo,” where I work on a goal that month that maybe isn’t a novel. That way, I’m still part of the excitement. Thanks again for the great ideas!
Dedradavis
1 year ago
My BIGGEST problem with productivity is I feel I must write OR do other things-errands, laundry, or clean, or whatever. I can’t write for twenty minutes here and there. I have it in my head that I need the whole day or nothing. Help! Because I know that is wrong, and I know I am wasting valuable time. I could be writing or querying. And there’s also my phone–social media, email, texts…!
I like the idea of temporarily switching up my schedule. doesn’t have to be forever, just for the next week or two. Works well for Nano, so makes sense to try it at other times!
Yeah–it feels so much more doable than trying to do some big forever life change! Hope it works well for you! 🙂
Thanks for the tips! Future Katie definitely wants Present Katie to not procrastinate
definitely! 🙂
How have your strategies for being a productive writer helped you while working on the text for your forthcoming graphic novel? For example, were you working on this project while working on other projects? How did you balance that time? It also seems like you have switched genres from picture books to a graphic novel. Could you tell us more about that?
I didn’t want to completely bounce around with genres/age groups/types of writing and I love writing picture books, so I still kept writing picture books on a regular basis while I worked on learning how to write a graphic novel. Learning about graphic novels was a really fun side project that gradually grew to be a big part of my writing. It’s something that I wanted to do for fun and because I was curious about it, but then writing graphic novel scripts really clicked with me and I found that I wanted to make it a big part of my career. As far as balancing my time, I try to have one or two priority projects that get the bulk of my attention and then one or two “secret” projects that I treat more as something for fun or get to work on as a reward for finishing my priority project goals.
Thanks for the tips! I agree that it’s important to be flexible and to try new things (schedules, approaches, writing locations, etc.) if need be.
I used to write only when I had a chunk of free time. But free time doesn’t usually come in chunks! NaNoWriMo 2018 introduced me to the fun of writing in shorter sprints more often, and I loved it. It’s also more realistic, and it’s fun to write while other writers around the world are writing too.
You’re welcome! I really have to do NaNoWriMo someday–it does sound so fun to have that community cheering you on.
This is a great list. I’d actually forgotten some of the things that worked for me in the past, like visually tracking my progress and doing a mini-Nanowrimo. There were also some great tips in the last half of the post for things I’ve never tried. Looking forward to pretending I’m a pro and writing down an idea a week. Thanks!
You’re welcome–best of luck to you!
Having a spot dedicated to a certain task is great advice. It’s why I have three desks in my home office. Not everyone has that luxury, but it could be as simple as writing on the laptop but checking email on the phone, so you train yourself that during your writing time, if you’re looking at that laptop screen, you’re writing.
Good idea dividing things up by laptop and phone–anything that helps train your brain like that is so helpful.
Thank you, Megan! I’m going to try lots of these ideas! Not all at once, of course. But I really want to become more productive. I have a bunch of early drafts and even more story ideas to work on but also about 8 part-time jobs (mostly volunteer) so I become easily distracted. BTW–I really enjoyed BUILDING BOOKS. When I read it I thought you did a fantastic job of explaining why the characters love the books/blocks. I think this is a skill I need to improve so I’m using your book as a mentor text for this. Thank you again!
Thanks for the kind words about Building Books–so glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Great tips, Megan. I’m going to try a reward system. 🙂
Good luck! 🙂
What’s the one thing you would have done differently in your writing life if you could do it again?
I would try to worry less about things that are out of my control. It’s something I really focus on now–only having goals that are 100% within my control (for ex: instead of “get this book (traditionally) published” my goal would be “write the best book I’m capable of writing right now”).
Thanks for these tips! I especially like the idea of asking myself what future me would have wanted me to do. During November, I sometimes do “cheat-o-wrimo,” where I work on a goal that month that maybe isn’t a novel. That way, I’m still part of the excitement. Thanks again for the great ideas!
My BIGGEST problem with productivity is I feel I must write OR do other things-errands, laundry, or clean, or whatever. I can’t write for twenty minutes here and there. I have it in my head that I need the whole day or nothing. Help! Because I know that is wrong, and I know I am wasting valuable time. I could be writing or querying. And there’s also my phone–social media, email, texts…!