Spend An Hour A Day

I will always remind people that "you are only a writer on days you write." What I don't always mention is that you don't have to spend all day doing it. You are still a writer if you spend an hour a day writing.

In fact, I give this advice to anybody that really wants to do something. It could be drawing, photography, astronomy, differential equations, knitting - anything. Spend an hour a day working on it. I prefer doing it an hour before going to sleep. Some people prefer doing it the first hour after waking up. Whatever time during the day you choose, section off one hour and just go for it.

The other part of that to remember is that projects usually require work in many parts. Being a writer is more than just putting words on paper. We have to come up with an idea. We have to make our characters, our settings, research facts we don't know but need, and we have to plan out where things will be going (and also acknowledge that they may go elsewhere, but that a starting point is important).

The hour a day you spend writing may not have much in the way of words put down, but it will have effort invested (which admittedly may fly in the face of "only on days that you write"). Thinking about things, exploring ideas, building layers, sketching out scenes, all of these count, even if you aren't always adding to your draft, you're doing work.

An hour a day adds up a lot faster than you think. You'll be amazed at what you can do by putting in that effort.