Productivity and Perseverance: Problems for Many Writers

In this guest post originally published in 2018, novelist Lakota Grace explains how she increases her productivity and perseverance, and she shares several links (still active) that can help every writer do the same.

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In the past five years, I’ve produced five books from scratch, a mystery series set in a small mountain mining-town in Arizona. Three of these books are available on Amazon. The other two are in final edit stage and will be self-published before the end of this year. To accomplish this feat, I needed to be both productive and persistent.

Here is a roadmap of what happened along the way.

There is a finite amount of physical energy at my disposal.

Early on, I realized I’d be spending inordinate amounts of time with my eyes glued to a computer screen, hunched over my laptop. I’ve had the luxury of working from home, so that meant the distraction of pets, family, and a great view out the window. It also brought the isolation of long hours separated from office workmates.

I learned first of all to take care of the physical.

I tried to get in 150 minutes of walking and weight training a week. Sometimes at the gym, sometimes walking around the block, sometimes climbing the stairs to the loft, or descending to the cellar.

I kept a set of hand weights close, and in between writing spurts and sprints I did a set. Planks and crunches, which I hate, also got the blood pumping to my head.

I befriended timers

I lose track of time when I’m in the Zone. On my computer, Pomodoro broke my writing sessions into 25-minute increments. A noisy hand timer set across the room reminded me to stop internet surfing. An alarm on my Fitbit told me when it was time to start getting ready for bed.

I’d like to say I eat right, but I don’t, a lot of the time.

What I found helpful for productive writing was to cook on the weekends and keep food in the fridge that I could heat up and eat at a moment’s notice. I resorted to TV/frozen dinners when necessary. When I did something stupendous, I’d take a break and visit the DQ — but rarely!

I tried to go to bed at the same time each night.

Sometimes I actually made it. But when my mind was whirling, I’d often rise at 2 am or 3 am and write longer. And then compensate with a nap in the afternoon. Naps are good things. Winston Churchill took them regularly.

Shave the ice.

Those big bulky Zambonis used in the hockey rinks fascinate me. In between periods, there they are, making the ice smooth so that the players can skate fast. I wanted to skate fast, too, so I cleared the obstacles that blocked my writing progress.

Two of my biggest writing obstacles are procrastination and expectations.

Procrastination:

I’ve discovered that I need a certain amount of procrastination to write well. It energizes me. But not too much. I’ll say to myself, okay I can futz about until 7:30 am, but then I’m going to write. And I stick to it. All those “C” to-do list items can wait until tomorrow, or this afternoon when I am finished writing for the day, or this evening when I’m in winding-down mode.

One way I battle procrastination is through ritual. I have a playlist that I fire up when I am ready to write: Coldplay and Enya signal to the muse that it is time to stop fiddling with her makeup and sparkly wand and park herself in the chair. The muse, although somewhat of a free spirit, still respects rules. If I tell her no more internet, she’ll listen — usually.

Expectations:

I have coaches in my head, some that sound suspiciously like my mom and dad. “Do the best you can.” “Don’t waste anything — children in China are starving.” Somehow it was always China, don’t ask me why.

And then the negative ones: “You quit a good job to do this?” “Why can’t you be sensible like your brother?” “Yes, but when are you going to do something important in your life? You are setting an example for __________” and fill in the blank with your sister, your daughter, your students, the world.

In order to be a productive writer, I had to recognize and discount these well-meaning but destructive-to-writing messages. And that’s hard. It’s difficult to ignore a parent! But I put off the voices by promising to listen … tomorrow, or this afternoon, or tonight, in between reruns of Game of Thrones. Really, Mom, I will.

Know my tools and keep them sharp.

Have you ever watched a video of an operation? That surgeon knows exactly which scalpel she wants to use, and it is sharp!

So that’s why I have an extra battery for my computer mouse handy, and a refill for my special ballpoint pen in the drawer, and six extra reams of copy paper for the printer. That reminds me, I need to order another printer cartridge …

My creative tools include lessons from those artists who have gone before me. Sometimes I reread craft books by Stephen King, William Tapply, or Elizabeth George.

Other times I dissect verbatim words of the masters, going over their work, sentence by sentence: Elmore Leonard is an amazing writer. So is Sue Grafton and James Lee Burke and Michael Connelly. These authors are wizards, and I sit at their feet to catch their elusive slight-of-hand.

I’ve got favorite blog writers that I check in with, as well. Kathy Steinemann, who writes these marvelous wordsmithing articles; Jane Friedman, who knows everything worth knowing about the business of writing; The Passive Voice, which gives me a lawyer’s view of the publishing world.

My tools also include word sprints. I was introduced to NaNoWriMo, that challenges to write 50,000 words in November, by my granddaughter, who challenged me to try it. That led to Camp NaNoWriMo in July. And using the classic speed-writing book by Rachel Aaron, 2K to 10K, I discovered that I can write very fast indeed if I let go of the erroneous beliefs that I cannot.

Prime the pump.

I loved to hang out in airline waiting rooms to prime my writing pump, because there I could observe the comings and goings and family conversations. Now with airport security and cellphones, that is not as rich a trove, but I find a time warp when I sit at a concession stand at a county fair. Or when I visit a McDonald’s playroom with moms and kids. Food brings out good dialogue, and I have a notebook handy.

Nature primes my pump. I love to walk in the woods and let my mind free-wheel, but when I can’t, playlists of water sounds, or looking out the window at green, or glancing up at a Hawaiian beach travel poster can be a good substitute.

Becoming playful allows me to be productive.

YouTube is the ultimate rabbit hole, but writing needs to be fun or I refuse to do it. That’s why, when I am in the brainstorming phase, I’ll do initial research there.

In my second mystery, redbone coonhound puppies held a starring role. I lost one wonderful afternoon watching videos of these glorious creatures at play.

In another mystery novel, I needed to know how to muck out a stable. Do you have any idea how many videos exist of farm children earnestly explaining how to do this chore, with their helpful horse nodding its head over the stable door?

Yes, I set a timer to retrieve myself from the YouTube maze, and yes, those memories stayed with me and made me a more productive writer.

I find ways to keep track of details.

My memory is not as sharp as it used to be, or at least as I remember it used to be. And a complete novel contains an inordinate number of details. I can’t remember them all. But I need to remember them all. But I can’t remember them all. Can you sense my squirrel wheel ramping up to max speed?

So, to help, I use Scrivener and Scapple to organize my scenes. I use a mind-map program, The Brain, for keeping track of weird ideas that don’t work here but might work there. Word’s Access organizes names and name changes for me, and Excel tracks hours spent and number of words written.

I love sticky notes, the more colorful the better! Sticky notes reside on a big poster board in my office to trace family trees and plot details, and on the refrigerator (and the microwave and the back door) to remind me of writing deadlines.

Perseverance is the twin sister of productivity.

If productivity is focused on that ultimate goal, the finished novel, then perseverance represents what I do in each present moment to work toward that creation.

I persevere because the act of putting down words is pure love for me. If I never produced another novel, if I never sold another book, if no one ever read a word I’d written (although, of course, I would be immensely famous posthumously), I would still write.

Writing each day satisfies both my need for creativity and the structure to guide my life energy. Writing is the joy of discovery and a way to understand human nature.

Writing is part of who I am, and always will be. I hope it is the same for you.

So there you have it. Writing productivity and perseverance boil down to these:

1. Take care of your physical body so that it can serve you.
2. Clear the space in your life so that you can write when you intend to.
3. Learn the tools of your craft.
4. Prime the pump with enriching experiences.
5. Keep the joy of writing as your constant desk-side

If you are able to do these five things, you will be productive and persevere in your writing career.

Happy wordsmithing!

© Lakota Grace

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Biography

Lakota Grace writes the mystery series starring Ms. Pegasus Quincy, a rookie sheriff’s deputy who solves crimes and catches bad guys in a rural mining town in Arizona. Lakota’s blog can be found at LakotaGrace.com, and she is active on Facebook and Goodreads. The fourth book in this mystery series, Peril in Silver Nightshade, has a scheduled release date on Amazon of August, 2018.

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