100 ways to improve your writing - Gary Provost 2019

Choose a time and place
Nine ways to improve your writing when you’re not writing

For most writers the hardest part of any writing project is getting started. I often begin by staring at the blank page as if it is some vile substance that has been spilled on my desk. Then, no matter how alert I was when I arrived at the keyboard, I become almost terminally drowsy. My eyes droop. My shoulders sag. Finally, I begin to think, “Well, maybe I should take a little nap first; then I’ll be well rested for writing.” Usually my puritan conscience cancels that plan. So I take on the expression of a man who has just been strapped into a dentist’s chair and begin to write. As soon as I have words on paper, agony departs. I love writing. It’s getting started that I abhor.

I tell you this so that you won’t feel alone. You probably go through similar hell before you write. Almost everybody does. The way to eliminate most of these traumas is to write in large blocks of time rather than to try to write for ten minutes here and there. Look at your schedule. When will you be left undisturbed for an hour or two? Can you lock the door? Turn off the phone? You will get more writing done in an undisturbed hour than you would in a dozen ten-minute spurts.

It is also important to find a quiet place to write. Few people can write their best when the phone is ringing and the kids are clamoring for whatever it is that makes kids clamor. A den in a noisy house would probably produce less writing than the backseat of a car in a quiet garage. So find someplace quiet. Is there a day when everybody else is out of the house? Does a friend have a cottage? Does your company have an empty office?

If you can’t find a quiet place to write, use earplugs.