Keep calm and Write

One of the most difficult things about writing is too just keep doing it.

Its easy enough to say, but its so much harder to get done.

At the heart of it all, you need perseverance. I can't help you with that; sometimes, I can't even help myself. Some people are just born with it. If you aren't such a blessed mortal, then you have to attain it. But only you, and disappointment, can teach you it.

But, sometimes, even perseverance can give way, unsupported. Fortunately, bolstering it isn't nearly so hard as attaining it in the first place.

Here's what I've learnt along the way:

- Set yourself a daily word 'minimum'. Mine is 1000. Yours might be 2000, 1500, 200, 100, 10, 5... Even just one word is better than nothing. Note that you won't always achieve your minimum. Your minimum isn't so much an entry barrier as it is an aim. I would call it a maximum, but then the implication is that you can't write more... Calling it a minimum is also somewhat more motivating than a 'goal'. It has a sense of urgency to it which a 'goal' doesn't: it feels less long-term and more immediate.

- Write in 'scenes'. This might sound strange- assuming you're not a script-writer or playwright, of course (Hello, second Shakespeare?). And I don't mean put a great bold heading ACT III, SCENE VII either. A scene is essentially one event that happens in your novel- it could be small or big- that somehow feeds into a plot or sub-plot. When you start writing a scene, you intrinsically feel like finishing. Often, in my experience, when I don't feel like writing your novel, it really means I don't feel like writing a scene (I have a terrible habit of unconsciously dragging them on and on). Sometimes, ennui can only be an effective reminder. The key here, really, is to give yourself a little mini-task to complete.

- Vary your fonts. This isn't what you normally here about, and maybe its sounds trivial, but it really works for me, so hear me out. If you spent your entire life sitting on the same chair, in the same room, for two hours every single day (or however long you write for), you would soon get tired of the room and the chair. Fonts are much the same. Times New Roman can feel clean and professional and inspiring when you first begin. After a while, it feels stale and boring and taunting. The solution: switch it up. Handwriting fonts can be so much fun- and I love to use fancy Edwardian/Palace Script that pairs beautifully with the historical nature of my own novel. Even just changing the colour, size, writing in all bold, underlined... (if you use as many italics as I do, you don't want to write all italics). Vary how you write to motivate you to write.

So those are my three top tips on staying focused on your writing! These aren't a magic panacea- you will still have points when you are more motivated than others- but prescribed with a healthy dose of perseverance, they should suddenly help you overcome your writing ailments. (One of the major issues with my novel: too much slightly-cliche allegory).