Develop a Writing Plan
If you work at home as a writer, you face hazards that many professions do not. You are alone all day, with nothing but a blank piece of paper. Oh wait, that isn't true. You have laundry, dishes, your blog, the phone, animals, kids, and the Internet to distract you. There is no boss to breathe down your neck, no conference meetings, or deadlines (except the ones you self-impose). Just you, your paper, and your distractions. And one more thing...a loud inner critic.
If you have any hopes of making it in the writing world, you must develop a writing plan.
What kind of writer are you?
Are you a copywriter, professional blogger, article writer, journalist, poet, author, or all of the above? Many writers have multiple projects going on at once; one type of writing isn't enough to bring home the bacon.
Why is it important to categorize your writing?
Well for one, certain types of writing use the left side of the brain and some- the right. Sitting down to write poetry requires inspiration, creativity, and free thinking. Copywriting an article about the latest set of rubbermaid uses a completely different set of skills (think left brain sprinkled with a lot of bullshit).
Then there are bloggers and article writers. This type of writing includes sharing on social media, interacting with readers, and researching the trending topics on the Internet to hit those search engine optimized keywords.
What about authors? They usually have long-term projects that require focus and concentration. Reworking chapter 21 out of 50 requires you to plot details, outline, and use that inner critic to flesh out a story.
If your to-do list includes all of those things in one day, your brain might just short-circuit. Here's how to wear all those hats without losing your mind.
What time of day is best?
If you've been writing for awhile, you should have some clues into your writing habits and productivity. You need to take a good hard look at the time of day where you are most focused and productive. Developing your writing plan around this natural rhythm is crucial.
Time of Day
| Typical Writer
| Right Brained Night Owl
| Procrastination Station
|
---|---|---|---|
Early morning (4am-8am)
| Bursts of inspiration propel you out of bed to write.
| You never went to bed, so you are still working.
| Sleep
|
Morning (8am-12pm)
| Productive, energetic, focused.
| Sleep.
| Checking social media. Blogging.
|
Lunchtime (12pm-1pm)
| Still productive, a little less focused.
| Sleep.
| A few articles, nothing big.
|
Early afternoon (1pm-3pm)
| Only projects that require a little bit of skill. You are tired.
| Up and at em. Focused and ready.
| Time for lunch!
|
Late afternoon (3pm-5pm)
| Coffee and a nap are all that happens.
| Productive
| Gotta check Twitter!
|
Dinnertime (5pm-7pm)
| Food, chores, life.
| Coffee and a nap.
| Chores, chores, chores
|
Early evening (7pm-9pm)
| A brief second wind but it's short.
| Finishing up the day's chores.
| Time to work on my novel.
|
Late evening (9pm-4am)
| Sleeping.
| Time to get writing again!
| Gosh I'm tired. I'll do it tomorrow.
|
You should identify two or three times a day that are your best chunks. For me, it is early morning (4am-8am) and morning (9am-12pm). After that, I'm only at 50% capacity.
During a typical five day work week, that means I have ten optimal writing times. Then I have an additional ten half-productive writing times, and five early evening sessions (if I'm lucky). That's 25 blocks of time.
If you looked at your chart and realized that you were the procrastination station, well you'll want to try to move into one of the two other schedules. Also, part-time writers will have to adjust their schedule to fit in other jobs and responsibilities.
Plan the week
It is Sunday night and your week is about to begin. You know you have several random copywritng jobs that clients are waiting for, you want to work on your book, pimp out your blog, and of course, write some articles that bring in money! Then there is that query letter you want to write, and some networking you need to do with other bloggers. The stress mounts. How can I get it all done?
Identify your deadlines
If you've promised articles to clients, those should be the first on your list. Slate them for your most productive time on Monday. If you have "soft" goals (like you want to write three hubs), then scatter them throughout the week.
Don't mix your writings
If you are working on copywriting on Monday, save your novel for Tuesday. Don't try to seamlessly transition from one to the other- it'll hurt your brain. This is why categorizing writing by day can help tremendously. If you have to transition in the middle of the day, it is easier to go from creative writing to technical writing then the other way around. Here is a sample schedule. Notice on the days that I work on my novel and articles, the novel is done first.
Sample schedule for a work at home writer
Time of Day
| Monday
| Tuesday
| Wednesday
| Thursday
| Friday
|
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Early Morning
| Sleep
| Sleep
| Sleep
| Novel inspiration!
| Sleep
|
Morning
| Copywriting, Hub
| Novel editing
| Copywriting
| Copywriting
| Novel writing
|
Lunchtime
| Research more jobs
| Novel editing
| Blog
| Hub
| Query Letter
|
Early Afternoon
| Personal blog
| Hub
| Hub
| Blog, Social Media
| Hub
|
Late Afternoon
| Kids
| Kids
| Kids
| Kids
| Kids
|
Dinnertime
| Food, kids
| Food, kids
| Food, kids
| Food, kids
| Food, kids
|
Early Evening
| Social Media, blog
| Social Media, blog
| Social Media, research more jobs
| Social Media, blog
| Social Media, blog
|
Late Evening
| Sleep
| Sleep
| Sleep
| Sleep
| Sleep
|
Social media: friend and foe
As a blogger, social media is a necessary part of pulling in work. When you post a blog or article, it is natural to share it across platforms. The trick is to continue working, without checking the comments or traffic stats every few minutes!
If you post a blog in the morning, check the comments at lunchtime. Don't stop writing the article for just a "quick look." It's never quick right?
When you are neck deep in creative writing, turn off your Wi-fi. You may think, Oh I don't need to do that. I'll just not look. Trust me, unhooking yourself will help. For some people, closing the computer and writing on a notepad helps the creative juices to flow.
I save all my commenting on other's work for the evening. It is easy to do while I'm watching television or doing other tasks. It doesn't take a lot of energy, and I can continue to network and foster my relationships with other writers.
Using dead time
I try to tell myself that using those random minutes of time are important. Rather then spending an hour of my morning on Facebook, why not check it while I'm waiting for the bus, in line at the bank, or cooking dinner? There are always pockets of 5 or 10 minutes- a perfect amount for sending a tweet or posting a comment.
Other writing articles by Julie
- Proofreading Marks and Tips for Writers
A beginner's guide to understanding proofreading. This article gives tips, tricks, and a checklist for new writers who are overwhelmed with the editing process. - 100 Day Writing Challenge
A wanna-be writer embarks on an ambitious challenge to do the number one thing that everyone says writers should do- write. The challenge? Half a million words in 100 days. - Keeping a Journal- Morning Writing for Writers
Step by step instructions for writers who want to learn the art of journaling as a way to inspire great work. - Why Blogging Improves Hubbing
An article that looks at the advantage of personal blogging and the impact it has on your hubpages. - How to Write at Least 5 Hubs a Week
An artist's secret to regular writing. If you struggle to write two hubs a week, check out this article on how to drastically improve your efficiency. - How to Write An Article Quickly
Copywriters and freelancers alike want to know- how can I churn out articles quickly without sacrificing great content and quality?
Breaking down big tasks
As a writer, I am sometimes tempted to put off the big projects because the smaller ones are so satisfying. I write an article, I post it, I make money! The novel takes months of writing, editing, revising, querying, etc. The investment is long-term.
So how do you break down that writing into manageable chunks?
The standard novel is around 80,000 words. You want to have a general outline (if you are an outline person, this will be a big project all in itself). But 80,000 words can be completed in three short months if you write 1000 words a day. 1000 words is about two pages (depending on the formatting). You can write two pages a day right?
With a novel outline, you can break your book down into scenes. If you are humming along at 1000 words a day and you get stuck- no big deal. Just write a different scene. 1000 words a day is all you need. No revising, no editing, no inner critic.
Find themes
For example, this week I had to write several articles about online education and learning. These were copywriting jobs so I did my research and wrote those SEO friendly articles. After I was done, I wanted to write a hub. Why not stick to the same theme? I had already done the research. All I had to do was come up with a unique angle from the previous articles (no spinning allowed!)
I saved so much time simply because I used the research knowledge I had already acquired to write my hub article. (Are you a writer reading this and wondering what all this "hubbing" is about? Join Hubpages and you can publish articles like this one and make money doing it!)
Categorize jobs
I have alluded to this in other hubs, but it is important to make good use of your time. If you are using the google adwords tool to research keywords, go ahead and do it for all the articles you have to write for the week. The same goes for your copywriting articles. Do the brainstorming first for all the articles on your list. If you work for Textbroker, you'll have more success writing quickly if you stick to one or two topics along the same line.
Don't wait for inspiration
A burst of energy and inspiration is addicting. Writing during these moments feels incredible. Unfortunately, it is a tad unpredictable. Sometimes you just have to put your hands to the keyboard and type. It doesn't matter if it is hogwash, you can deal with that later.
There have been times where I have had tremendous anxiety about sitting down to write my book. All sorts of self-doubt and negative thoughts cloud my thinking. In that moment I have to say, I am opening up the damn document and I am typing. I may not know what I'm going to say at this minute, but I will.
More often than not, the words eventually do make it to the page.
This is why developing a writing plan is so important. You have to be deliberate, otherwise the little and big distractions of life will pull you away. Even if you feel like your day wasn't productive, you've taken one more step closer to realizing your dream.
About the author
Julie DeNeen is a freelance writer and mom of three. She is a chronic blogger, full-fledged social media addict, and aspiring author. She has taken the writing career by storm, putting to use all her organizational type A skills to get things done.