“Being a good writer is 3% talent, 97% not being distracted by the Internet.”
~ Anon
Being a writer isn't as easy as people think. They think we stay at home doing not much of anything except sitting down to write for a few minutes and we earn a ton of money from it.
But at least 2020 showed everyone that working from home is far from easy, and writers have to do it all the time while others can go back to their workplaces.
But despite all the distractions of working from home (or NOT working), there are 3 things that can help.
Time.
Having great writing ideas is one thing but it's not possible to sit and start writing as soon as they appear. I don't think anyone has a life that's so laid-back with nothing to do that they can stop everything and start writing out ideas every time they strike. That's why it's essential to set up a specific time to write every day. Just jot down ideas as they come till you have time to deal with them. I find that I get a lot more writing done when I have set writing times.
Place.
It's equally helpful to have a place to write that is far away from distractions, has plenty of light, and is somewhere that you're comfortable. I knew one writer who thought it was a great idea to set up his office in his basement, but he found it too much like being sent to the dungeon, so wrote in his back bedroom instead. Another reason to have a writing place is that the family will soon get to know where your writing place is and to not disturb you when you're there. It's hard training people, but it's a must.
Tools.
Don't get too hung up on what you use for writing, but having the right tools really helps. I have certain notebooks for different things and I know exactly which one to grab when I need to write or need to look at something. I have my current writing book, my blog posts book, my ideas book, and my website ideas book. And these are just some of my many notebooks. I also have two computers. One for internet work, emails, and blogging and one that is simply my writing computer that I use for typing up my handwriting. I always write by hand because it makes me much more creative and much faster because the ideas keep flowing.
And all this leads to having the Write Mind because once you're sitting in your comfortable writing place, at your set writing time and using your usual writing tools, you'll feel more like writing.
I know that when I do these things it's just a psychological trick to get my mind motivated and ready to write, but it works. It works every time, even on those days when I really don't feel like writing and I think that a pile of ironing looks more interesting.
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