• Stop committing to extra activities.
• Stop feeling guilty for not doing more
• Stop answering your email 15 times a day
• Stop helping everybody for free
• Stop starting new projects until you publish the current one
• Stop comparing yourself to other writers
• Stop watching the news
• Stop holding grudges
• Stop listening to people who don’t believe in you
• Stop following people on social media who irritate you

Success as a writer and creative person isn’t really a matter of doing more. It’s also a matter of eliminating the negative and unproductive things in your life so the good things can naturally start sprouting up.

Today’s Challenge: Choose one of the items I just listed and stop doing it today.

The post The Productive Writer: Create a “Stop Doing” List appeared first on Daily Writer | Essential Habits for Impact & Influence.

Here’s a question to consider: Why don’t people finish goals that are important to them?

There are probably many answers to that question, but one obvious reason is that they simply get tired and don’t see a lot of progress toward the goal.

Take writing a book, for example. If you’re a perfectionist, writing a book can take a long time because you’re trying to both write and edit as you go. It’s easy to get discouraged and just quit.

I know because it’s happened to me. Once I spent a couple of years working on a book, and in the process compiled literally 150 pages of notes… yet never finished the book.

It’s easy to do when you’re focused on trying to make it perfect.

Instead, we should take John Steinbeck’s advice about first drafts. He said, “Write freely and as rapidly as possible and throw the whole thing on paper. Never correct or rewrite until the whole thing is down. Rewrite in process is usually found to be an excuse for not going on.”

My advice is to take Steinbeck at his word. Once you have outlined your book, try to get the first draft done as fast as possible. This will give you incredible momentum because it’s easier to work on a book that is complete.

You will have a sense of accomplishment and motivation because you have something whole you can work with. You can also see the big picture of the book.

Today’s Challenge: Whatever project you’re working on, try to get a first draft done as fast as possible. Don’t overthink it—just do it.

The post The Productive Writer: Get the First Draft Done Fast appeared first on Daily Writer | Essential Habits for Impact & Influence.

Although this podcast is called “The Daily Writer,” the reality is that many people don’t write every day. They may set aside time every couple of days or once a week to work on their writing.

I want you to know this is totally legitimate. You shouldn’t take the concept of the “daily writer” too literally. The main point is to write regularly, whatever that looks like for your schedule. The more regularly you do it, the better you will be.

There is some writing I do not do on a daily basis, but weekly. For example, I write material for this podcast once every week or two. I write a bunch of episodes’ worth of content at the same time because I’m in that mental mode, and it goes much quicker than if I were to try and set aside a few minutes every single day to write or record.

This is called “batching” your work and it’s a great productivity principle. Do similar kinds of work, or write similar kinds of content, at the same time because you’re in that mental space already.

You can do this with email, book content, podcasts, blogs, or anything else. Give this a try and see how it will improve your writing output.

All that said, however, I definitely want to encourage you to write something every day if you can… even if it’s just five minutes’ worth of writing.

Today’s Challenge: Take the concept of batching your work and apply it to some type of writing you are currently doing: it might be emails, blog posts, podcast material, copywriting, or something else.

The post The Productive Writer: Batch Your Writing appeared first on Daily Writer | Essential Habits for Impact & Influence.

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’s talk about the biggest perceived productivity killer: writer’s block.

Whatever you’re working on right now, you’re bound to get stuck at some point. When you stumble upon “writer’s block,” here are ten tips to keep the words flowing.

1. Lower your standards. Many times, we get stuck because we’re trying to make it perfect. Be willing to write garbage just to get a draft done, then go back and revise it.
2. Brainstorm ideas on a whiteboard, legal pad, or post-it note. Changing the size of the canvas will often help you get past your block.
3. Take a nap. You might just be tired. History is replete with examples of famous creative people who took naps to be more productive.
4. Take a walk. When you walk, the blood circulates in your body more, and you’re more alert and attentive. It’s amazing how many problems get solved in your head just by walking for ten or twenty minutes.
5. Play with a toy. I keep a couple of fidget spinners on my desk. One’s in the shape of Captain America’s shield, and the other is in the shape of Thor’s hammer. It’s amazing how playing with these for a couple of minutes helps me solve writing problems.
6. Get up and drink a glass of water. Most of us are dehydrated, and this activity plus water will refresh your body and your mind.
7. Free write for three minutes. Free writing is just letting your hand write whatever comes to mind without stopping or judging yourself. It clears your creative palate and lets your subconscious take over for a bit.
8. Switch locations. Go to another desk or another part of the house. Or you can go somewhere else entirely, like the library or coffee shop. The change in scenery will spark your creativity.
9. Switch media. If you write on a computer, switch to a legal or journal. Use a different writing tool like a marker or crayon. You’re helping your brain to make a switch that will break the block.
10. Read something for ten minutes. Preferably, something in print. The change in media, and also holding something tactile, will give your brain a new input.

3 Bonus tips:

11. Do a mundane task. Take a twenty-minute break for a mundane chore like dishes, yard work, or folding laundry. This is similar to walking in that it will give you something physical to do. The new energy and change of pace will give you new ideas and solutions to your writing block.
12. Write your content as an email. If I’m feeling stuck, sometimes I’ll open my email app on my computer and write in that. That way, it feels like I’m writing an informal message to a friend rather than something with higher stakes like a blog post or book chapter. It sounds crazy, but it really does work.
13. Use a timer. On my desk, I keep a little 5-minute hourglass timer with sand inside. When I feel blocked, I make a game out of it by turning the timer upside down and seeing how much I can write before the sand runs out.

If you’re feeling blocked or a little stuck, these tips can make a big difference!

Today’s Challenge: Choose one of these tips to help you conquer writer’s block today.

The post The Productive Writer: Conquer Writer’s Block appeared first on Daily Writer | Essential Habits for Impact & Influence.

I worked as a college professor for 17 years. During all these years, the faculty at our school were all contracted on an annual basis. We never knew from year to year if we were going to get a contract for the next year.

I hated being in this position, not knowing if I would be employed over the long term. Some years, we wouldn’t get our contracts until mid-May, and the fiscal year started in June!

I hated the feeling of uncertainty that would start to creep around mid-April and wouldn’t be resolved until late May.

If you have a day job and are working on writing as a side hustle, you can relate to this. Even though you might like your day job and feel secure, the reality is that your job could be taken away at any moment. There is never any true security when that security lies in someone else’s decisions.

Or maybe you already are working as a part-time or even a full-time writer. If that’s the case, my guess is that you’d like to make more money as well!

No matter your situation, this series will give you some options for increasing your income—and your different income STREAMS—as a writer.

Writing is the hub of what you do, but it’s just that—a hub. Just like the hub on a bike wheel, writing is the center of what you do, and income streams are the spokes that support you financially. The more spokes, the more security, and the more stability you have.

In this series, we will dive into ten different income streams you can develop as a writer. I won’t be able to go into much detail with each one, but I want you to get a feel for how many different options there are to use your writing skills to create income.

To give you a little sneak peek, here are the ten ways to make money we will talk about:

• Book sales
• Editing & Publishing Services
• Coaching
• Membership & Masterminds
• Freelance Writing
• Speaking
• Courses
• Products
• Ghostwriting
• Affiliates

These are only the tip of the iceberg, but they are many of the most common ways that writers make money with their skills. I hope you’re looking forward to this series and considering how you can begin putting some of these income streams in place in your own business.

Question: How motivated are you to explore new possibilities for creating income as a writer?

The post Making Money as a Writer: Series Introduction appeared first on Daily Writer | Essential Habits for Impact & Influence.

1. Lower your standards. Many times, we get stuck because we’re trying to make it perfect. Be willing to write garbage just to get a draft done, then go back and revise it.
2. Brainstorm ideas on a white board, legal pad, or post-it note. Changing the size of the canvas will often help you get past your block, whether it’s a huge canvas like a white board, or a tiny one like a post-it note.
3. Take a nap. You might just be tired. History is replete with examples of famous creative people who took naps to be more productive.
4. Take a walk. When you walk, the blood circulates in your body more, and you’re more alert and attentive. It’s amazing how many problems get solved in your head just by walking for ten or twenty minutes.
5. Play with a toy. I keep a few “snake toys” beside my desk to play with. It consists of a bunch of triangles connected, and you can make it into an infinite number of shapes. This brain switching helps me solve writing problems quite frequently.
6. Get up and drink a glass of water. Most of us are dehydrated, and getting up to grab some water will refresh your body and your mind.
7. Free write for three minutes. Free writing is just letting your hand write whatever comes to mind without stopping or judging yourself. It clears your creative palate and lets your subconscious take over for a bit. It also helps break creative blocks.
8. Switch locations. Go to another desk or another part of the house. Or you can go somewhere else entirely, like the library or coffee shop. The change in scenery will spark your creativity.
9. Switch media. If you write on computer, switch to a legal pad or journal. Use a different writing tool like a marker or crayon. Again, you’re helping your brain to make a switch that will break the block.
10. Read something for ten minutes. Preferably, something in print. The change in media, and also holding something tactile, will give your brain a new input.

TWO BONUS TIPS

11. Do a mundane task. Take a twenty-minute break for a mundane chore like dishes, yard work, or folding laundry. This is similar to walking in that it will give you something physical to do. The new energy and change of pace will give you new ideas and solutions to your writing block.
12. Write your content as an email. If I’m feeling stuck, sometimes I’ll open my email app on my computer and write in that. That way, it feels like I’m writing an informal message to a friend rather than something with higher stakes like a blog post or book chapter. It sounds crazy, but it really does work.

If you’re feeling blocked or a little stuck, pick one of these tips and use it today!

Question: Which tip are you going to use to help you defeat writer’s block?

The post 10 Tips to Beat Writer’s Block appeared first on Daily Writer | Essential Habits for Impact & Influence.

The antidote to all this is to create a “stop doing” list. These are things you have decided you are NOT going to do.

Some examples:

– Stop committing to extra activities.

– Stop feeling guilty for not doing more.

– Stop answering your email 15 times a day.

– Stop starting new projects until you publish the current one.

– Stop comparing yourself to other writers.

– Stop watching the news.

– Stop holding grudges.

– Stop following people on social media who irritate you.

Success as a writer and creative person isn’t really a matter of doing more. It’s mostly a matter of eliminating the negative and unproductive things in your life so the good things can naturally start sprouting up.

Question: What item from the list above should you stop doing?

The post Do You Have a “Stop Doing” List? appeared first on Daily Writer | Essential Habits for Impact & Influence.

Writing business: This is a business based not just on selling the writing itself, but also on products and services based around the writing. In other words, writing is the hub of what you do.

It is also important that we emphasize the word BUSINESS. Coming from the ministry and academic worlds, the idea of making more money was frowned upon to a big degree in my experience. However, money allows you to do good in the world. It’s not something to fear, just a tool for good.

Sequential process: It’s step-by-step, and these steps should be taken more or less in this order. Now, I also want to emphasize that most people don’t necessarily do these steps in a set order, but for the most part, you will find that it’s easier when you do so.

Achievable process: You can do it! If you are motivated and committed, that is. You don’t have to be incredibly talented or work yourself to death.

Multi-faceted, robust writing business: This means your business is not just book sales, but also consists of other streams and possibly with client work as well.

Growing network: This is the big thing I see many writers missing—they don’t network and many have no desire to do so. This is a primary way your business will grow. I want to help writers network and build key relationships in natural ways, based on generosity and adding value to others.

Multiple streams of income: I do client work, as do many of you, and a lot of writers focus just on this. I believe everyone doing client work should have streams of income that don’t rely on clients—streams like courses, membership communities, their own books, podcast sponsorships, etc. I want you to have more security in your finances and also enjoy the benefits of income that comes from your own IP.

Daily Question: Do you believe you can achieve success in your writing business? If so, what does that look like specifically?

The post The Key Idea Behind the Writer’s Path appeared first on Daily Writer | Essential Habits for Impact & Influence.

As a ghostwriter, I live and die by word counts. Page numbers mean very little because pages come in all sizes, and fonts and spacing can be increased or decreased. Word count is the best way to measure your progress and productivity.

If you don’t have a daily word count for your current work in progress, may I suggest 250 words? That is very doable for almost anyone. It amounts to about a page per day.

250 words doesn’t sound like much, but you would be surprised at the volume of writing you can accomplish by just writing that amount each day. When you write 250 words per day, you can easily write a full-length book draft in just a few months. Those words add up quickly.

Don’t despise a low word count goal. If you stay consistent, you will be amazed at all the content you can produce.

Daily Question: Do you currently have a daily word count goal? What could you accomplish by writing 250 words per day?

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