One of the reasons why we sometimes get stuck in our writing is that we see how much there is left to do.

Let’s say you’re writing a 750-word blog post. You would typically write this in sections—an introduction, two or three main points, and a call to action. So really, this is a collection of pieces that are somewhere between 100-200 words each.

You would normally outline the piece, then start writing a first draft at the introduction, progressing through until you write the call to action.

You can have trouble getting motivated when you see how much there is left to do. One way to break this cycle is to start at the end and work your way backward. Write the call to action first, then the main points from last to first, then the introduction. If you have outlined the material ahead of time, this shouldn’t be a problem.

When you write backward, so to speak, you interrupt your normal writing pattern and feel a new sense of creative energy. You don’t have a clear sense of how much you have left, and it reduces your tendency to feel distracted.

For example, I usually produce these podcast episodes in batches of one or two weeks at a time. Most of the time, I will write the last one first, then work backward until I have the first one finished.

It’s a simple way to give yourself a different writing pattern and add new energy to the process. In other words, going backward can help you go forward.

Today’s Challenge: Give the “writing backward” strategy a try on your next piece of writing.

The post The Productive Writer: Write Backward appeared first on Daily Writer | Essential Habits for Impact & Influence.

Let me ask you an honest question. Do you love the work of being a writer?

Here’s what I mean. Do you love the process of coming up with ideas, writing multiple drafts, editing, and working on the design or layout of blog posts or books? Do you take pleasure in the overall creative process?

Or are you more interested in the end result? Do you see all those other things as an irritation or annoyance on the way to getting to the end result?

This is an important question. I believe if you’re going to be successful over the long haul as a writer, you must learn to love every step of the process. The author Dorothy Parker said, “I hate writing. I love having written.”

We all can relate to that, but it’s also a sad commentary on our obsession with the end result.

Sometimes you hear about world-class actors who really relish the process of bringing a character to life, or even living in character on set. Heath Ledger and Daniel Day-Lewis were famous for that. They loved the process, not just going to the movie premiere and seeing themselves on screen.

If you don’t love the drafting or editing process so much, I want you to start seeing it as your friend, as a companion that helps you to produce a better end result. When you come to love the process as much as the end result, the writing life becomes something you can enjoy every day, not just once every year or two when you release a book.

Wouldn’t that be so much more fun?

Question: Do you love every part of the writing process? Why or why not?

The post Love the Work, Not Just the End Result appeared first on Daily Writer | Essential Habits for Impact & Influence.

In this episode, I begin a series on the making of my Father’s memoir of his experiences in Vietnam. I’ll be writing it with him over the next year or so. I talk about why I’m doing it, some of my fears as I start the project, the process I’m using to figure out the theme of the memoir, and some of the resources that will be helpful as we create the memoir.

The post Journal of a Memoir #1 appeared first on Daily Writer | Essential Habits for Impact & Influence.