Dipping Into the Secret Sauce

Bonus Tip! Always back up your work. I just wrote an awesome (hey, no one will read it so no one can say it wasn’t the most awesome ever) blog post, when my website had an “unexpected technical error” and I lost 500 words of text. Le sigh. I’m going to attempt to re-write it now, but I guarantee it won’t be as good as the first post I wrote.

What I’d written about, was my (no surprise) problem with starting things. Even when it’s something I totally want to do and love doing—like writing—I always struggle with beginning. Even when I know the first few lines, or have the story totally mapped out—I struggle to start.

Do you ever have trouble with that?

Maybe I’m the only one.

Thing is, I totally know how to overcome the problem, it’s just a matter of doing what I know I need to do. (I know you know what that’s like!)

I know, that if I want to get words written on a day, I need to write them first. Before I check Facebook or respond to emails; before I do any business work. Writing, arguably my most important task, must happen first.

If it doesn’t, I’m likely to get tired and either need a nap instead of writing, or I’ve lost that creative flow. Or, worse, I distract myself with “tasks” all day long and I don’t even have a chance to try getting in some words.

I’ve been working on my current WIP (work-in-progress) for a few weeks, and I’ve only managed a few hundred words a day. That. Is. Lame! (No judgement on writers who regularly write a few hundred every day!) For me, that’s not an acceptable amount. I start to get cranky and out of sorts, all because I’m not writing the way I know I should be.

I know my own secret sauce—the things I need to be doing to be productive—I just need to dip into it. Once I get a taste for it, I hunger for it, and Must. Make. Words.

My goal for the week is 5k words. And now I can check Monday off as a success. Let’s go, Tuesday! (I know I can do it. I’ve got the secret sauce!)

What are your favorite hacks for getting the important stuff done?

In the mood to discover a new author? Check out these free books!