The Ultimate Writer's Higher Productivity Tips

The Ultimate Writer's Higher Productivity Tips
(How the hell to get better) by JLNicky

Know the tools of your trade. As a writer have you ever struggled with your software to get the margins, correct? Or typed a combination of keys that altered your format? Did you spend 20 minutes trying to undo that horrific debacle? Do you know how to create/use templates? Do you have a handy note-taking app? Do you have a file system backing up to a cloud? All of these things have to be learned. And as a writer, if you need to learn something quick, use Google/Bing. However, if the software is something unique, Youtube it. If it’s a new app to you and it’s robust, find or take a class. If there isn’t any class, ask someone who uses it to show you via zoom. Scrivener has an entire tutorial with Joseph Michael which is incredible. Grammarly is a free trial and quite easy to use. PLOTTR has tons of video training. Evernote is fantastic. ProwritingAid has lifetime memberships. Twitter search your product. Twitter your followers about your product. Sign up for newsletters of people who examine that software or tool. Get the tools down and that’s half the battle of getting the novels finished.
Learn some graphic design. There is just something satisfying about finishing my novel but now I want a book cover, a branding label, social media feeders, Kindle images, website blogs, Instagram, Pinterest, and for gosh sake… I can’t afford all that. Here is the solution. Take a Linkedin course or a free online tutorial about graphic design and start imaging your stuff. Really. Save thousands. There are tools like Canva that are the savior of your graphic soul. They have templates, they import images, and you probably only use the free versions until you feel like a pro. If you are in a writer’s group, the six of you can chip in and get a business account to utilize. It’s not all that much more and it gets you the full pro versions. Adobe Photoshop, hell even PAINT on your MS system has options.

Know the tools of your trade.

A Personal Website. Just do something simple. I know, I know… you are too busy writing the next book Steven Spielberg is going to pick up as his new movie chain. Do you know how many people are building your website for you and all you have to do is fill out a few pages? Amazon, GoodReads, Wix, WordPress, GoDaddy, Bluehost, Weebly, and Web.com. Geesh! And really, the first two options are NOT options. Amazon and GoodReads have author profile pages that act as websites in some ways. Make sure to do those two at a minimum. The rest are just candy in the bowl, sweet and satisfying, to the reader when they want to go find more you (i.e. more about you, more about what other books you have, more about your style, more about other authors like you). Grab a few choices and check them out. Spend one Saturday and build a 2- or 3-page site. Link back to it with everything you publish.
Fast and Furious Finders. Bookmark these places on the internet. Dictionary, Thesaurus, Rhymezone.com, Name Generators, Translators, mind maps, whiteboards, Conversion Calculator like calculator.net that does length/temperatures/measurements/area/volume/weight, wordassociations.net generator (omg this is a fantastic element to writing).

A Personal Website.

Sh*# That Counts. Computer Glasses, candles, music playlists, a minute timer, journal/notepad, trail mix, an actual view (i.e. the forest, the ocean, the neighbors pussy willow tree), a white noise maker, a thermos of a cold drink, a thermos of a hot drink (i.e. I bought an ember cup), a drawing pad, a graphing pad, and color pens. If you don’t think these things are needed for every writer, you are fooling yourself. Maybe trail mix isn’t your favorite but substitute that with whatever munchie you prefer that won’t make you sick or bloated. The timer is to use Pomodoro writing techniques. I bought My Creative Space: How to Design Your Home to Stimulate Ideas and Spark Innovation by Donald M. Rattner. The best book for creative types as he discusses lighting, comfort, temperature, weather, feng shui, smells, wall paint color, and more.
Pinterest pins. If you haven’t been on Pinterest to see the multitude of lists other writers have provided for you, you need to stop reading this article, log in to Pinterest and search writer lists. The first page will have over 200 lists of things you might want to check out. Magical creatures, words of tone, character flaws, superstitions, cliches, editing tips, Tolkien’s tips, archetypes, emotions, prompts, replacement words for ‘look’, checklists, structures, humor, this list never ends. Hey, welcome back. It’s been a week since you left me to see Pinterest’s black hole for writers. Don’t even get me started on health and fitness. Anywhooo, you should probably pin some of that stuff.

Sh*# That Counts.

Track Your Progress. Something as simple as an excel spreadsheet tracking minutes written vs word count is the simplest. Monica Leonelle who crushed the blog world with her “How to write 10000 words a day” blog back in the day, says (I’m paraphrasing) “if you don’t track it cant put a price on it” in her book Write Better, Faster. If you think you can write a book a year, does that mean you wrote an 80k word count + editing or only 50k + 2 revisions? Which one cost you more money? Which would make you more money? You do not know because you are not tracking your progress. What if you track your progress and find out you write twice as much word count in the evening than you do in the morning in the same amount of time? Wouldn’t that make you change your writing schedule? Here’s a clue…get ML’s book and check out how she tests everything and then some to figure out the secret on how to write 10K word count a day. And if you are a fan like I am, get the Dictation book too. That may get you up to 14K a day. PS I’m not affiliated with her, and she probably doesn’t know I exist. But I love her books.
Set Goals. Sit in that chair and push out word count hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly goals. Or maybe you want a quantity of 2 pages a session, or a chapter a day? What about 2 hours a day, 2 days a week, 2 weeks a month? What about a schedule that breaks out your outlining, drafting, editing, and revising for different hours or days? I’ve listened to authors that chase their own work with editing and rewrites on alternating days. If you don’t hit your goal but you get something done, then the goal is not wasted. Set goals. Hit those goals if at all possible.

Track Your Progress.

Get Motivated. Okay, this one may be out there, but you cannot be a motivated writer without reading the best books and knowing that’s what you want to be when you finally grow into an adult serious writer. Find a top 100 must-read books and read a few. They don’t have to be classics, just the best of the bests best. Have that ugly cry when you read Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes or The Diary of Anne Frank. Even Where the Red Fern Grows, or The Great Santini will give you chills. Then go back to your laptop and stare at a blank page and list the thoughts running inside your head about why that made you cry and what you learned. I guarantee there are stories that run parallel with some of these that you have stored inside just begging to be released. Go write them.
Reward yourself. That’s right, give yourself a reward for productivity. It can be small like ice cream or a chocolate kiss, for hitting your daily goal. Or it can be a weeklong hiatus at a writing ranch that has horses to ride during the day. It’s your reward for doing 1 thru 9. You deserve to thrive with your writing. If the reward is over the top, you won’t really use this method so keep it smart. I reward myself once a week. And perhaps I reward that only when I hit 3 out of 5 of my goals. And I tell my sister to reward me if she sees me doing something on my 1-9 that is increasing my productivity. Sometimes she gets me that Starbucks coffee that hits the right spot. Gotta love her.

Reward yourself

This is my tips sheet for higher productivity. Print it, post it, share it, smear ink onto the pages because of it. You know all those writer motivational quotes that make you feel inside. These tips are not for the occasional writer. Get serious and get the novels written. And if you find the time, tweet me about it.

I hope you enjoyed this article. Please subscribe to my website if you want to be notified when I’ll be publishing or to get free samples of my work. Also, see my Patreon to sign-up for exclusive content throughout the year and chapter sneak peeks of my ongoing work.

JLNicky, LGBT Romance Author