The art of writing has evolved with the digital age. The tedious, bone-wearying task of producing handwritten copies is thankfully a thing of the past.

The computer age provides instant editing, formatting and self publishing.

Now, to get to the actual writing.

There will be days when your fingers will flow with flowery prose, followed by protracted stretches where the walls of your writing brain echoes  absolute silence.

I remind myself that if I want to share my muse with the world I had to get busy, and to do this I had to develop a process. I needed something that would commit me to a schedule, but a realistic one that left a lot of open dates to fool around, to carry out life’s nagging necessities.

Writing 1000 words a day is like brushing their teeth. It’s just a matter of making it part of your morning routine.

Step one: Distraction Free Writing Time

Close those social media windows. Then write anything and everything that comes to mind. When most people write, they get caught up in editing, formatting and all sorts of other things that have nothing to do with the content. Those distractions slow everything down. Focus on just the writing and give yourself a limited time frame in which to do it.

Step Two: Remember the two hour rule

Most people only have about two really good, creative writing hours in each session – two hours in which produce new ‘substantive’ ideas. Writing new stuff should be almost the first thing you do when you sit down to your desk. Take breaks, you’re not a machine, then get back to it.

Step Three: Write as fast as you can, not as well as you can

While you’ll make plenty of typos using this method, it doesn’t matter. You can always go back and fix those.

Do ‘power writing’ in bursts of about 10 to 15 minutes. When you need a rest, review and fiddle with the text – maybe plant a new seed – then move on to another burst. It’s likely you will produce more than 1000 words if you do this for two hours – in time you will work up to 3000 words per day.

Step Four: leave it to rest… then re-write

When you re-visit your manuscript and think about editing.

Be strategic during this stage– some parts will be easier than others.

It is possible to write 60,000 words in three months. Writing 1000 words a day is like any other habit. It takes time to cultivate. However once you make it a habit, it becomes much easier. In time you’ll  find yourself writing more than 1000 words a day with ease.

Unleash the novel inside you

with compelling characters,

intricate worlds,

and fine-tuned prose.

“Linda has published twenty books. She blogs about the publishing world, posts useful tips on the challenges a writer faces, including marketing and promoting your work, how to build your online platform, how to get reviews and how to self-publish. She has mentored many authors and edited their work.” 

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