On the Write Track

[...] a first draft, perhaps edited it, sent it off to a competition. You’ve now got a list of achievable goals and some realistic deadlines to work towards. Write them in your diary so you feel [...]

[...] period of time initially – like over the course of a couple of weeks. Set realistic, achievable goals: Start off setting yourself small steps rather than huge ones. If you start off small [...]

[...] the massive, unwieldy whole into achievable units – scenes, chapters, word counts. At different stages I’ll set myself different targets and try to stick to them. I usually fail, [...]

[...] towards 10,000 word chunks, broken down into smaller quotas of scenes rather than pages or word counts. She’s written 95,000 words, and is on the final stretch – the novel should be finished and [...]

[...] day in the month. This reduces the daily quota from 1,667 words to 1,613 words. When every word counts, that makes a big difference. The other benefit is over six more hours of daylight. Basically, [...]

[...] , for example writing every day for ninety minutes, others prefer to focus on pages, word counts, scenes, poems – it doesn’t matter as long as it’s a measureable output. “The [...]

[...] is about writing better jokes and the way to write better jokes is to practice and develop a writing habit. His approach involved using a wall calendar on which he put a cross for every day he wrote. [...]

[...] to apply it to your life. Here are a few ideas that could be useful for writers. Building a writing habit I believe that building a regular writing habit can lead to writing success. The Stoics love a [...]

[...] Want to develop a regular writing habit? Research from Stanford University says the best way is to start small. Tiny habits programme [...]

[...] of opportunity, the small spaces in your day and soon you’ll be able to build up a writing habit. “It doesn’t matter what else you have to do, it doesn’t matter how busy you are, if [...]

[...] Street, Casualty, Doctors and Hollyoaks. Now working as a development producer for the BBC Writersroom – the BBC’s talent development centre – Henry and the team are responsible for sifting [...]

[...] to you Helps set realistic goals Provides feedback to adjust goals and writing practice Develop a regular writing habit [...]

[...] is a great way to make progress and keep motivated, but many writers struggle to set realistic goals. Here’s a three-step process to work out your goals. Step 1: Dream big The first step [...]

[...] From draft zero to published author, Julia Crouch wrote her first novel during National Novel Writing Month. She shares her life-changing experience and offers advice on how to find the time to [...]

[...] to write a novel or just want a good excuse to not do the housework, taking part in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) can help you achieve your goals. I found doing it has made me a better [...]

[...] Want to develop a regular writing habit? Research from Stanford University says the best way is to start small. Tiny habits [...]

[...] could be useful for writers. Building a writing habit I believe that building a regular writing habit can lead to writing success. The Stoics love a good habit, as Epictetus explains: “ [...]

The novelist John Irving said that “Good habits are worth being fanatical about.” But how do you get started on the path to fundamentalist writing [...]

[...] act To look at this further I spoke to writers about how they reward themselves when writing. Many writers said there’s no need for an external reward because the gift is in the act of writing. “ [...]

[...] is true, Stoics believe in hard work and getting up early means you can be more productive. Many writers feel that writing gives purpose to their life yet they struggle to make time for it. When the [...]

[...] goals. Setting and achieving goals is a great way to make progress and keep motivated, but many writers struggle to set realistic goals. Here’s a three-step process to work out your goals. Step 1: [...]