4 Writing Tips that Actually Helped Me Write More

There are so many ‘tips’ out there about writing.

Here are a few that actually worked for me.

Use time, don’t make time.

I wish I could remember the name of the author who said this one. (Sorry!)

I remember a lot about her. 

She was a mother of 4 children. She writes spicy romance. And she puts out 10-15 books a year. 

10 to 15 books a year.

A YEAR! 

WITH 4 KIDS!

She fought against the idea of ‘the perfect time.’ 

I’ve heard from so many authors that you need to set aside this sacred amount of time, sit in the same spot, have the same routine, and dedicate that time to writing. 

This woman said, and I believe this is a quote, ‘no.’

Use time, don’t make time.

Wherever you have a few minutes. 

She writes in the car waiting at pickup, when she has 10 minutes while something bakes, or 20 minutes before the laundry is done. She doesn’t carve the perfect hour, or have a clean desk, or wake up early.

Her entire premise was, write whenever you can.

100 words here, 400 there. Write on your phone. Write in a notepad. Wherever, whenever. 

Stop waiting for a perfect setup, and just write.

This helped me tremendously. I still wake up early to have my 30 minutes before getting ready in the morning to write, but I write way more now than those 30 minutes. 

I wrote 600 words on the subway this morning, 250 while waiting for a client meeting. I’ll write while things are in the oven, or the laundry is in, or I'm waiting for the bus.

Leave yourself a note.

This is one that I’ve heard multiple authors mention.

Leave yourself a note.

Wherever you stop writing during your session or scene, you leave yourself a note for the next one. It can be an idea of what is going to happen next. Or a quick message about what’s happening. 

Some authors will even leave a sentence unfinished. 

It makes the next session less daunting. You have a natural point to jump off and right back into the text.

I often write bits of dialogue for a character. I’ll load back up the next day and think ‘oh yeah,’ and I’m right back in. 

My message to myself on my current project from yesterday was ‘Dave is a prick, he’s about to say something prickish.’ 

I laughed at myself and wrote something prickish.

Noise-Cancelling Headphones 

This is a touch obvious but helped my process.

I bought a pair of Bose noise-cancelling headphones. They’re big and chunky, but they work great. 

Even when the house is quiet, putting them on to cut out all the cat’s weird little noises, or the kettle finishing, or a car outside, does a lot to help my mind focus on the task at hand.

I rarely wear them if I’m not writing, so they also work great as a ‘oh we’re in writing mode’ switch for my brain. 

And they go hand in hand with my next tip.

Theme your music to the scene.

I’m a musician by trade.

Music is important to me and it changes the way I think.

Something I never thought much about was the type of music I listened to while writing. I like Bach, so I listen to Bach. 

Pierce Brown, one of my favourite authors, mentioned in one of his talks that he listens to exciting music when writing exciting scenes, and slower music when writing emotionally. (If you’ve ever read Red Rising, there’s a lot more of the first!)

It’s another tip that seems obvious, but helps.

Celtic pub music for a party scene. 

Epic fantasy playlist for a war scene.

Taylor Swift and The Beaches for enjoyment. 

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Some are obvious. All are easy. And all of them worked for me.

If you have any that helped you, please let me know. I could always use more.

Cheers.