Many people feel that this is the right time to share their wisdom in a book. And that is great! However, new writers often feel a lot of insecurity. It’s always scary to start developing new skills. And even though the most seasoned writers experience impostor syndrome as much as anyone else (see this blogpost for more on impostor syndrome), new writers do deal with a whole range of unique issues. Therefore, in this blog post, I muse on one of the most important solutions: getting to know your writer-self to increase your writing productivity.
At the risk of making you feel schizophrenic, your writer-self is a persona that is related to your other selves, though in some ways it is significantly different. If you want to work on your writing productivity and deliver the best debut book that you can, it’s really important to get to know this side of yourself.
Increase writing productivity: learn about your writer-self
Your writer-self will have quirks you’ve not encountered before. To write a book, you might be using skills you have not really used in this way. You’ll have to do research. You’ll have to structure long texts. And, obviously, you need to write a LOT of words. And it might turn out that the best time and place for you to run your business or prepare speeches are not ideal when it comes to your writing productivity.
To increase your writing productivity, it is important to learn these things about yourself. You’ll need to learn the quirks and needs of your writer-self.
- Do you like reading on paper? Or are you more productive on your phone/computer or e-reader?
- Do you like starting with your introduction or conclusion to give yourself some guidance? Or do you prefer to leave them for last?
- Do you like writing in the early morning, after lunch, or late at night?
- And do you need peace and quiet, music, white noise, people around…
If you make an effort to learn these things about your writer-self, you can actively and mindfully work to increase your writing productivity.
Writing productivity during your writing sessions
And of course, the writing sessions themselves come with their own questions. People’s minds are different and work in different ways. For example, I know a lot of people who swear by the Pomodoro method. This means that they’ll sit down and focus for 25 minutes at a time, before taking a break. But I know my writer self. So I know that for me personally 25 minutes is too short to actually get into the task I’m working on. I am a much more productive writer on a 45-minute focus arc.
As you see, learning about your personal concentration span can be incredibly helpful. If you focus for an amount of time that’s too short, you’ll have JUST been able to focus when your timer goes off. (Trust me, that gets really frustrating.) And if you focus for too long, you might end up not having the energy and focus to keep going for as long as you want.
And after a while, you’ll learn something more about your writer-self. If you keep track of these things, you’ll find out how many words, on average, you’re able to write per hour. And that means that you’ll know just how much time you need to set aside each month for writing if you want to stay on the schedule either you yourself or your publisher set for your project. When you learn about your writer-self, you’ll learn how to manage your writing productivity.
What can you do right now to improve your writing productivity?
As a writing coach, I often devote the first session to helping the (beginning) author get to know their writer-self. And of course, I’d like to get to know your writer-self too: if I don’t know how you work, I can’t help plan out your project. If you want me to guide you in the process of getting to know your writer-self, schedule a FREE meeting with my by clicking the button below or going to this page.
However, I’ve now found a way to also help those people who don’t want an entire session. This week, I started the WriterCoaching Etsy shop! It’s been a lot of fun putting it together. But it’s more than just fun. In this shop, I sell printables to help with your writing and planning. One worksheet, in particular, will be useful when getting to know your writer-self. The Writing Session Printable.
This printable worksheet helps you keep track of your productivity during your writing session. You can select how long your timeblocks are and what location you chose for your writing session. If you use this sheet a couple of times, in different locations and with timeblocks of different lenghts, you’ll end up with a clear picture of what writing conditions work for you!
If you want to get to know your writer-self, check out the Writer Coaching shop page on this website, visit my Etsy store, or schedule a meeting. Happy writing!
