Divide and Conquer your Writing Project
If you’re anything like me and lead an active, social, busy life, the idea of tackling a large project can be very overwhelming. Any writer could tell you how difficult it can be sometimes scheduling hours to work on their craft. Yet there seems to be a folly among a great deal of writers, where many believe that a novel or screenplay is seemingly written overnight. If you pick up your pen with this mindset, you’re going to fall flat on your face.
It’s like watching a television program on Mountain Climbing, and thinking “hell, I could do that!”. It isn’t until you’ve invested into expensive gear, books, or tutorials, and you’re standing at the base of the mountain before you suddenly realize you’re in way over your head.
Then come the tears, and the shame. You think yourself an idiot for ever believing you could reach the top. You can see where others have planted their flags of success, and how much longer the climb will take you than you imagined.
There is however, light at the end of this daunting tunnel. First, you need to STOP thinking that writers do all of the work in a matter of weeks. Many successful writers will tell you, that their novel or screenplay was achieved after dividing up the workload. Beautiful cave stalagmites are made not from instant buildup, but gentle mineral deposits overtime. Can this be a good working style as well?
Very few people have the privilege of waking up every day to greet their novel head on, and do this 7 days a week. Some authors like Ken Follet can take years working, jotting down a few sentences in their notebooks after the kids go to sleep.
Do yourself a favour, like I did for myself, and DIVIDE UP YOUR WORKLOAD. Julia Cameron, author of the Artist’s Way suggests “small doable actions”. Just chip away week by week, doing a little bit of work at time. Soon, you’ll have something to show for it.
Here’s an example of what my writing schedule might look like in a typical week:
Sometimes I write more than this. Sometimes I write a lot less. Don’t beat yourself up if you have a full-time job, and your only writing time is Saturday morning while you’re kids are watching cartoons, or after your long study hours at college.
The trick, is to divide up your workload, so that you don’t become overwhelmed with your project. I tend to get very discouraged and stop writing altogether when I think like that. So pick up the pen, give yourself time, give yourself a goal, and write.
Here is a blank schedule for all those who need one:
FREE BLANK WEEKLY SCHEDULE
Great advice. Sometimes I feel like I’m working too slow but this makes me feel better.
August 6, 2012 at 1:52 PM
Everyone works at a different pace Ian. Don’t be discouraged. Look at how old George R.R. Martin is. He’s been writing for years and years, but he’s only just started pushing out his material onto the market. (and that guy is an old fart.) Find a pace that’s good for you, and stick with it.
Remember the tale of the Tortoise and the Hare? Not to be cliché, but it has a great moral. Slow and steady wins the race.
You can do it!
Happy writing.
August 6, 2012 at 6:11 PM
This is good advise. I think another thing about this is to not get discouraged by how “fast” others seem to write. Slow and fast are completely subjective and not an indicator of success. I mean, how many times have you heard someone say, “I really like his books, but it takes him forever to get another novel out” and you happen to be talking about a very successful writer.
By the way, I fully snickered out loud at “Sir Meowington Whiskerboots”.
August 6, 2012 at 2:32 PM
Thanks for the comment JDCencak. You are INCREDIBLY right. Everyone works differently. Some people can do very well writing quickly.
There are always going to be those people that can pump out a novel every three weeks or a screenplay in less than that. I tend to believe that the quality might not be there if that’s the case. I know when I rush things, or do things quickly, I tend to get a bit sloppy, but there are also those God-Like people like Stephen King who seem to pump out novels like nobody’s business.
I’m weary of people like James Patterson, or Clive Cussler. A lot of people don’t realize they have teams of writers helping them out. Sometimes people I know compare themselves to authors like that, and I’m just like “no no no no”.
Anyhow, Happy Writing!
August 6, 2012 at 6:10 PM
Sometimes I wish there was an button called: ‘favourite this post’. Your schedule makes me feel a lot better about my own. Trying to balance everything is overwhelming and I love reading your posts. They help quell that overwhelmedness.
August 6, 2012 at 6:24 PM
Hey WW!
I’m glad that they bring you enjoyment. One of my tasks when I set out to make this blog, was to debunk that attitude many writers have where people try to “one up” you on how much better they seem.
I hate hearing people talk smack, saying “Oh yeah, I write 3 pages of my novel every day. How much do you write?.” There is no benefit in someone saying that to you. The only reason they do so, is to make you feel guilty for not writing as much as them, and or to raise themselves up to make them feel like they’re doing a good job. Sometimes people will even lie about doing well, to test the waters and see if you’re actually doing better than them.
Chances are, if people gloat about how much they’re doing, they’re probably not doing much at all. Maybe they’ve written the first 20 pages than they have in months. So what? Large short bursts of writing aren’t exactly ideal. Soon their energy will fizzle out, and they’ll realize you can’t just leap over a mountain.
The fact is, if half of my friends and colleagues actually wrote that much, I’d be surrounded by bestselling novelists. None of them have anything to show for their work.
Don’t be overwhelmed. It’s a process that takes time, especially if you haven’t gotten to that summit of a completed body of work. Even then, once it’s written it needs to be edited and rewritten.
The only way you can get through that overwhelming feeling, is to break it down, and take it one small step at a time.
Rome wasn’t built in a day.
As long as you’re taking time to write each week, you shouldn’t feel guilty for missing a day or two to catch up on work/sleep/family/socializing with friends. Writing doesn’t need to be a solitary endeavour. You need a life to enrich your work too.
Happy writing!
August 6, 2012 at 6:38 PM
Hah, I don’t think anyone’s ever addressed me as ‘WW’ before!
This is all very true. Even though I know these things, it’s still encouraging to hear you say them. I’ve managed to write full manuscripts, but sometimes I just want to tear them apart and start again. Sometimes it’s difficult to tell during the editing process what is working and what isn’t.
But you are very correct. Editing is as much a slow process as writing a complete novel is. Thanks for your kind words and encouragement.
Happy writing to you too!
August 6, 2012 at 7:32 PM
Divide and conquer has definitely been more productive for me. I now have a weekly, manageable schedule that I can stick to but that doesn’t wear me out. Since starting this in June I’ve been writing much more, and actually (I think) much better. I’ve also got three projects on the go, but my schedule allows me to feel I’m working on each of them appropriately and means I don’t get bogged down or bored of whichever one I’m working on.
It’s all about those little steps: I feel much more like a writer now than I did a year ago when I was struggling to make sense of anything (despite my NaNo win in November!).
Thanks for the reminder that this is a good tactical move…it’s worth being prepared and setting SMART goals.
Keep writing, and I’ll keep reading: love your blog! Cat x
August 7, 2012 at 10:46 AM
Cat,
Congrats on your win last November! What a great success story!
One of the things that really helped me sort of kick myself back on the saddle was changing my work availability to be unavailable one day of the week. I told family, friends, and colleagues that I wouldn’t be available at all that afternoon, and they aren’t to bother me until after supper.
It’s a small chunk of writing time each week, but it helped me finish a project in 2 months, from what had taken me 5 years to get to. It’s amazing how regimented time can work like that.
Best of luck in future competitions, and thank you for taking the time to comment. I really appreciate the feedback!
Happy writing!
August 8, 2012 at 2:53 AM