Michelle's Mindworks

Whether you’re the stereotypical coffee chugging, keyboard pounding novelist or more of the cabin dwelling bohemian type, here are seven tips to incorporate into your writing life.

1. Take Advantage of Your Local Library

Writers write, but they also read. Whether you’re looking for a quiet place that isn’t your desk, a book to recharge with, or the ability to people watch, the library is free.

Most have DVDs and audiobooks as well as traditional books. And a handy online catalog to find what you’re looking for!

2. Take Boring Breaks

Writing is frustrating. Taking short breaks can help, but scrolling through our dopamine machine of a phone won’t recharge our writing juices. Ten minutes of swiping for inspiration easily becomes two hours of procrastination.

The solution: take boring breaks. Take a shower or go for a walk. Sit in silence. Observe your surroundings. Let your mind wander. Meditate.

If your break is more fun than the work you want to get back to, you’re less likely to get back to work. (Watching a YouTube video about the construction of New Orleans is easier than figuring out how to describe your fictional city through your character’s eyes.)

The more boring the break, the more focus you’ll have once you’re back at the keyboard.

3. Don’t Hoard Your Tabs

It’s tempting to leave dozens (or hundreds) of tabs opened. I used to tell myself “I’ll read this article eventually” and “I’ll definitely reference this.”

I never found the webpage in my sea of tabs when I needed it. If I ever did!

Instead, keep a One Note page, Google Doc, or spreadsheet of links so you can close the tabs on your poor devices. Categorize the links and make a note of what you wanted it for.

4. Utilize Hands Free Note Taking Methods

Some of the best ideas strike when you can’t write them down, like while you’re driving or taking a shower. (Like I said, boring breaks.) If you keep your phone nearby, you can use speech-to-text to record them. You can also ask Siri/Google/Alexa to remind or text you.

I text myself notes throughout the day using Hey Siri or by clicking the microphone button on the keyboard.

5. Number the Pages in Your Notebook

Not being able to find the idea/map/side character you wrote down last month is annoying. Number the pages in your notebook and dedicate the first few pages to keeping an updated table of contents.

6. Business in the Front, Party in the Back

I’m talking about your phone, not your metaphysical mullet. Keep productivity and writing apps on the first page of your home screen. Non-productivity apps should live on the back pages to minimize distractions.

7. Write Morning Pages

Allow yourself ten to fifteen minutes in the morning to free write. It can be anything: a to do list, a journal entry, a brainstorming session. Anything! Think of it as a warm up for your writing muscles or a brain-dump so you can focus on more structured writing sessions.

It’s especially helpful when I’m feeling stressed or directionless.