Habits of successful writers to adopt

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Even the best writers deal with difficulties typical of most of us: the desire to postpone work until later, the loss of motivation, the crisis of ideas. Here's how successful authors solve these problems.

1. How to set yourself up for work

Not only writers, but we all have a hard time trying to create something from scratch. It's hard looking at a blank piece of paper, a presentation slide, or a spreadsheet. The desire to come up with something amazing weighs on us, complicating the workflow.

Toni Morrison: change your attitude towards mistakes

In one of the authors, Toni Morrison spoke out about mistakes. According to the writer, when you change your attitude towards them, it helps a lot in your work.

Toni Morrison is an American writer and editor. Nobel Prize Laureate for Literature

Be alert to mistakes, but don't get depressed, nervous, or ashamed of them. For a writer, mistakes are just information. I acknowledge the mistakes, which is very important (although some people do not), and I correct them. Because it is knowledge of what is not working well.

This is why writers must rewrite and edit. You analyze the process and find what exactly went wrong, and then you fix it. Taking results as information brings you closer to success.

This tip is not only good for writing, but for any other job as well. Often it is the fear of making mistakes that gets in the way of starting. But taking mistakes as an integral part of the process helps to get in the mood for work, because failures take on their place and meaning.

What's more, by turning bug fixing into new data collection, you look at the workflow more analytically and objectively. And this leads to progress.

John Steinbeck: Focus on the system instead of goals

Sometimes we are faced with incredibly complex tasks. And we are afraid to start them because we cannot even believe that they can ever be completed. On how to make a complex goal easier to perceive, John Steinbeck.

John Steinbeck American writer. Nobel Prize Laureate for Literature

Leave the idea that you need to finish something. Forget about your 400-page goal and just write a page a day. This will help. Then, when you get to the finish line, it will surprise you.

Write freely and as quickly as possible, putting all your thoughts on the sheet. Never fix or rewrite until everything is ready. Making edits along the way is usually an excuse not to move forward. It also disrupts the flow of thoughts and disturbs the rhythm set by the subconscious connection with the material.

In other words, focus on the system, not the final product. To do this, Steinbeck suggests breaking down the work into small fragments and concentrating on them.

Neil Gaiman: you learn by getting the job done

Perfectionism is another reason that makes it difficult to move from words to deeds. We analyze our work to the limit, because we want to get the perfect result. As a result, it paralyzes us and does not allow us to start or makes us abandon our plans halfway through. Neil Gaiman has great advice for such cases.

Neil Gaiman English writer and screenwriter

When people come up to me and ask, "I want to become a writer, what should I do?" - I say that they should write. Sometimes they answer, "I am already doing this, is there anything else?" Then I say that they have to go through with what they started. You learn by completing work.

When you finish what you started, you earn the necessary experience, even if you don't get the best result. You will find out what is already working and what needs to be fixed. The process will be simpler next time.

2. How to stay focused

Once you get to work, you have to keep going, and that takes some discipline. You have to fight distractions even when you lose motivation and pace. Here's what three well-known authors recommend.

Zadie Smith: Block out distractions

Essayist Zadie Smith with readers of The Guardian is very simple but powerful advice for writers. Although it suits just about everyone else.

Zadie Smith English writer

Work at a computer disconnected from the Internet.

Obviously, if your work requires Internet access, then this recommendation is not for you. But the point is to block out anything that distracts your attention. It helps you focus on important things.

Jerry Seinfeld: don't interrupt progress

Jerry Seinfeld has his own simple system for getting him to write. The author uses a wall calendar that fits an entire year on one sheet, and a large red marker. He recommends putting a bright mark on each day of the calendar when you can write.

Jerry Seinfeld American actor, stand-up comedian and screenwriter

After a few days, you have a chain. Keep up the good work and it will grow every day. You will love looking at it, especially when the chain stretches over several weeks. Your main task is not to break it.

You can use this tip for anything from writing a novel to starting a business. It helps you cope with procrastination with daily visual reminders. This will add a playful element to your attempts at discipline.

Raymond Chandler: write or die of boredom

If you only work when inspiration comes, chances are you won't do much. Often times, you have to work according to plan, even if you need to get creative.

But even when we set a time for a certain project, we use those hours for walking, checking emails, talking with friends and other empty activities. This is the whole problem.

Raymond Chandler, an American writer and literary critic, had a rule about this. He planned time for writing and created conditions in which he simply did not have the opportunity to do anything else. The only alternative physically available to the writer at such moments was walking around the room or watching the street through the window.

3. How to overcome the writing block

Writers are faced with the writing block, but if you work in a different industry, you probably experience something similar too. This is a mental stupor that gets in the way of progress. Lack of inspiration or burnout could be the cause. Here are some great tips from renowned authors that should help.

Coulson Whitehead: Embark on an Adventure

In his satirical article for the New York Times, Colson Whitehead is one of the most original ways to deal with the writing block.

Colson Whitehead American writer

Go on an adventure. Don't sit still, get out of the house and take a look at the world. A small dose of adventurism won't hurt you. Take a steamer ticket, earn dysentery. It's worth it if only for the feverish visions. Lose a kidney in a knife fight. You will be glad of it.

Of course, all this is humor, but you can see sensible advice in it. Of course, you shouldn't get into a fight, but taking breaks does increase productivity. In addition, getting out of your comfort zone and changing activities helps you look for new ways to achieve your goals. You get a boost of creativity and find that finding new ideas is not so hard for you.

Ernest Hemingway: stop mid-sentence

If you don't like leaving your job before you get to the logical point, then this recommendation may seem daunting. If you are not a writer, you can pause in the midst of any other activity. So Ernest Hemingway.

Ernest Hemingway American writer and journalist. Nobel Prize Laureate for Literature

It is best to stop when the process is easy and when you know what to write about next. If you do this every day, you will never get stuck. Always take a break when work is not problematic, and don't get hung up on it, don't worry about it until you get back to business.

Your subconscious mind will work all this time. But if you deliberately think about the case, it will ruin everything. The brain gets tired even before you return to the process.

You don't have to stop literally. Rather, it is about a pause in the middle of the flow of ideas. This trick also helps you get back to work. With its help, you eliminate the fear of a blank page and easily integrate into the workflow.