The 2 Hour eBook Writing Challenge

 There’s a buzzword that writers like to talk about when it comes to writing and that word is procrastination.

    Oh yes, writers love to go on and on about procrastination and how it holds them back and how much they have to fight it every day.

    But it’s not procrastination.

    It’s laziness.

    Writing is a scary thing to think about doing because it’s something that can’t be done fast and that’s why many don’t want to start, because they know it will take ages to get a significant amount of writing done.

    Or will it…?

    What if you knew that getting a large amount of writing done wouldn’t take that long at all?

    Then how about taking a 2 hour writing challenge?

What does it involve?

    It involves sitting down and writing in a distraction-less 2 hour window of time.

    You may be wondering how writing for 2 hours will prove anything, but don’t doubt it till you’ve tried it.

    It’s actually possible to write a short report or ebook in 2 hours and many writers have done it.

    So how about you? How much can you write?

    You really should try it because not only will you be able to get a surprising amount of writing done, it also gives you a small thrill just to complete it.

    Sitting and writing solidly for just 2 hours also gives you a great feeling of accomplishment which motivates you to do it again.

    Just try it to see if I’m right.

    And even if I’m wrong and you don’t feel motivated to do it again, at least you will have achieved 2 hours of uninterrupted writing.

So what exactly should you do?

    First you need a 2 hour window of uninterrupted time. It doesn’t have to be a quiet place (a busy coffee shop is fine), it just has to be 2 hours where no one needs your attention.

    Turn off your phone and get rid of any other distractions like your internet browser.

    Before you begin make sure you’re able to focus. Don’t let your mind wander to thoughts about chores that need doing or bills that need paying. Set a timer so that you don’t get distracted by watching the clock.

    I use audios to help me focus when I’m writing. They help cut out the background noise as well as help me to concentrate. Make sure you know exactly what you’re going to be writing about.

    This is where a detailed outline is a must.

    If you know your topic, make a list of 10 main points you want to cover. Break each main point into 3 sub-points and have an opening and closing statement ready.

    Then get to work. Start writing and don’t stop till the 2 hours is up.

    No excuses. No toilet breaks. Just write.

    At the end of the 2 hours you’ll probably be impressed with how much you’ve written.

    After this you can arrange a 2 hour writing session every day so that no matter what else is on your agenda, you’ll get plenty of writing done.

    And even if you can’t manage it every day, do it often.

    Giving yourself 2 hour writing challenges will quickly help you to build a strong writing habit.

    You’ll also achieve much more because you’ll be writing consistently and consistency breeds success.

    And ultimately it will enable you to earn more money from your writing, especially when you can write short reports or ebooks in 2 hours.

    This is an old article that I wrote and published it on my website in 2014. I've republished it here because the information is still relevant and it can still help you to write more and earn more. You can see the article in all its original glory at https://ruthiswriting.com/articles/2014/2-hour-challenge.html

The One Habit That Transforms Writers’ Block Into a Book

  

 I’ve recently been working daily on my latest horror novel, trying to get it ready for publication later this year. I’d slacked off on it for quite a while, so now it has been a race to get it ready for publishing.

But it wasn’t easy. I had to coerce myself to sit in my writing chair consistently every day and work on my manuscript, no matter what mood I was in or how much I wanted to go and do something else.

And that was the ‘secret’ to getting my book finished. Consistency. It’s not big bursts of energy and motivation that get writing done, it’s the consistency of showing up and doing the writing every day. Consistent progress over time compounds into something greater.

It’s too easy to fall into the trap of thinking that those who have success in life are the ones with lucky breaks or who work 80 hours or more a week. But the truth is that those who keep showing up every day are the ones who have success. It’s the same compounding effect that got my book manuscript written, edited and proofread. I took action on it daily, no matter what.

And this compounding effort works for anything you want to do in life, no matter how big or small, like finally getting around to cleaning your car or to starting your own business. Consistent effort will get you everywhere. 

To be more successful than others all you need is consistent, compounding effort. While I was working away on my manuscript, I also kept reading about other writers who were complaining that they just didn’t have time to write and so weren’t currently working on anything.

I also found some bad habits I knew nothing about that I had to eradicate. It seems I am an incredibly distracted person and would stop and look up things or I’d want to go and watch TV or think that I’d rather be doing my sewing or going for a walk. But I didn’t I used strenuous amounts of discipline to stay in my writing chair. And once I did, I found it easier than I thought to let these distractions go.

I also learnt that I was a lot more disciplined than I ever thought I was once I was motivated enough to get my book written. And the word ‘motivation’ has the word motive written right in there, which is the real meaning. To be motivated you need a big enough reason to do something. My motive wasn’t to finish my book but to prove to myself that I could be disciplined if I tried. And I did try and I was right (because I didn’t want to be wrong).

One big takeaway from my recent efforts is that I realised that people who we think of as super achievers, when you look at their efforts, the one thing that stands out is that they are consistent with what they do.

There’s a book I recently came across on this subject that I recommend to any of you who want to do more and achieve more. It’s called, “The Compound Effect: Jumpstart Your Income, Your Life, Your Success” by Darren Hardy. 

Don’t let your big writing dreams escape any more. If what you want to do is be a super-achieving author, the time to start is now. All it takes is daily consistency to create a compounding effect.

https://amzn.to/4lqrtce 

 

How to Triple Your Productivity

A few weeks ago, I was thinking how great it would be if I could pick up a notebook and pen anytime, start writing, and enjoy it so much that I do it all the time.

It came to my mind one night when I picked up a notebook to jot down an idea I had for a short story. I’d had a shower after dinner, and a great idea came to me while I was in the bathroom. So as soon as I’d finished, I went straight to the couch, took out the notebook that I keep in a drawer next to it, and wrote out the idea so that I wouldn’t forget it.

I liked the idea so much that I wanted to start writing the story straight away, but I already had other things to do that evening.

But that got me thinking: What if, after my shower every night, I could get out a fresh notebook, start writing (I love writing by hand), with no clue as to what I was going to write before I started, and keep going for hours? And what if I enjoyed it so much that I eagerly looked forward to it every day?

In my imagination, I could simply whip out my notebook anytime I felt like it and start writing without having any idea what I was going to write about. I’d just eagerly begin, and miraculously, I’d write an inspirational article, a riveting short story, or the first few chapters of a best-selling novel. And all without a clue what I was going to write. I’d just start writing, and the words would appear out of nowhere as I wrote.

Not only would I be writing great stuff, but I’d be loving every minute of it, so that every night, I couldn’t wait to sit down and write.

It was a great daydream. 

But then I had to ask myself, why does it have to be a dream? Why can’t it be reality?

I know that many writers work this way. They sit down and just start writing. It was Dean Wesley Smith who said that all he needs to write a story/novel is a character and a setting. From there, he writes ‘short’ stories and whole novels. I use quotation marks around the word short because his stories are all thousands of words long.

It was Stephen King who said you should write stories you enjoy writing and find somewhere to sell them later. He has always placed the love of writing above everything else, even getting published. 

And this is the ‘secret’ to being a writer. You can’t write well if you don’t enjoy what you’re writing. So, you must first enjoy writing. I mean, yes, it’s work, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be fun once you start.

It helps to have a daily writing goal of how many hours you work or a minimum number of words you write every day, and stick to it. The real secret is to stick to it, no matter how you feel.

I find that I can get lost in my writing once I start and forget the whole world. It’s an escape from everything.

Having set hours or words to write every day doesn’t mean you have to do it all day long. I know at least one writer who is known as being prolific, yet she only writes for two hours a day. And Stephen King only writes two thousand words a day. They say it’s not about how much you write, but that you do it consistently.

Most so-called writers are not consistent at all with their writing. Most days, they don’t write at all. They’re always looking for ways to get the writing done without actually writing, which always makes me laugh when they ask me about it. They ask things like, “How can I write five thousand words a day?” I respond, “Write five thousand words a day.” They never like that answer.

If you want to write, write. But not just once or now and again when you feel like it.

It needs to be every day, and it needs to be consistent every day. Not every day for a week or two, and then back to not writing.

As the great Mike Littman used to say, “In life and in business, you’re either consistent, or you’re non-existent.”

Above all else, you must love to write. 

Don’t wait till you're ready to start writing.

Just start.

You don’t have to be a great writer. That comes with practice. You just have to keep on writing.

As Elbert Hubbard said, “The only way to learn to write is to write and write and write and write, and write and write and write.”

And you’ll triple your productivity in no time.

Guaranteed.

Writing By Numbers and How to Make It Pay

There’s something that I’ve said many times about earning money from writing. And it’s so important I’m going to say it again.

If you want to make a living as a writer, you must write.

A favourite writer of mine, Dean Wesley Smith, put it more simply when he said that more products mean more money.

For years now, I’ve seen wanna-be writers asking, “How much money can I make from writing a book?” How much? Not much. Not with that attitude.

Writers, like artists and musicians, do what they do because they love what they do, not because they think they can become rich from doing one thing, like writing one book.

Where would J K Rowling be today if she only wrote one book? Or Stephen King? Or Arthur Conan Doyle if he only wrote one Sherlock Holmes novel?

None of these writers could have imagined how rich and famous they would become, nor did they care. They just wanted to write and, if they were lucky, their books would earn them enough money so that they could write for a living.

And why wouldn’t they want that?

If you’re a writer, writing isn’t hard. I mean, sure there are days when you don’t feel like writing, but that happens with any job. But the reason you don’t want to work isn’t because it’s hard; it’s just that you don’t feel like starting, which can happen with anything.

I’ll use this morning as an example to show you what I mean. This morning I knew I had to clean through the whole house. It’s something I do once a week, and today was the day to do it. But I didn’t feel like doing it. I woke up not knowing what day it was, and as I became fully conscious, I realised it was my designated cleaning day, so I had the whole house to clean.

I mentally protested through breakfast, but then I began the cleaning anyway. I plugged in my earbuds and listened to an audio book as I worked. It didn’t take long to become absorbed in what I was listening to, and a couple of hours later, I was finished.

After a short coffee break, I then mentally protested about planting my butt in my writing chair, but I went to my writing room anyway. After a quick look in my diary to see what I had to work on and rereading a bit of what I’d written the day before, I soon found myself deep into my writing.

You see, cleaning and writing aren’t difficult. Anyone can clean a house. It’s not rocket science, and writing is something I do all the time. It was just my motivation that was lacking. I was missing the motivation to get started.

The secret (if that’s what you want to call it) to earning money as a writer is to keep writing and producing. Because the more products you have, the more you can sell.

So, keep writing and producing.

And every day, make sure you get started, no matter what your mood.

7 Day Ebook Writing and Publishing System

How to Write and Publish an eBook and Start Getting Sales in Just One Week

https://www.cheritonhousepublishing.com/books/7day.html