Authors need to write!

Yeah, that's me getting some actual writing done at my desk.

Some days it flows, while other days (OK, most days) it's a struggle to get started, a roller coaster along the way and a wonderful feeling when I hit my word count for the day. Freedom and accomplishment that will last until I sit down to edit that stuff :)

But the challenge of getting some actual writing done is one that all of us authors face. This week I'm going to focus on tools and tips that I've come across to address what author Cory Doctorow writes at length about and calls "Writing in the age of distraction."

Here's what I'll cover:

1. Eliminate distractions: I'll look at online or app writing tools like iAwriter, 750 Words, Write or Die and Substance. Each of these has a nuanced take on how to support writers to stop getting distracted and stay focused on getting the words on the page.

2. Chunking & timers: This is an extension of point #1, but rather than being a tool per se, it's a specific technique to keep you on task and moving through your writing.

3. NaNoWriMo: This is short for National Novel Writing Month. Basically they challenge you to write a certain number of words each day for 30 days, and at the end of the month you have a 50,000 word draft of a novel. Of course, there's much work to be done at that point, but it's a starting point. I did this program last year and it was awesome. The only thing was, I didn't do it in November, the month they run the "official" NaNoWriMo. I'll write about how this program can help with a long term project, bringing point #1 and #2 into play, but in the context of a bigger project, not just getting through the single writing session.

4. Inspiration: We've all dealt with writer's block. Sometimes you just feel like you have nothing left to say and have no idea what to write about or how you ever even wrote anything at all in the first place- aaahhhhhhhhh! But there are plenty of places and ways to find inspiration to get through that feeling. I'll share some that work for me.

5. Tips from famous writers: I'll wrap up the week by looking at what the famous writers we all look up to have to say about getting writing done. Sometimes I wonder if all those authors would have stuck with it if they'd had a computer...

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