20 writing tactics to rev up your productivity

Grab a few minutes at time, or grab a crayon, a la James Thurber. This array of tips will unclog your creative axons and dendrites and get those words and ideas flowing again.

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You want your latest writing project to move faster. Many great writers have felt the same way.

Don’t worry, it’s fixable. When the words stop, writers have effective ways of getting them to flow again. Here are 20 techniques:

1. Plow new ground. Write multiple drafts instead of obsessively editing the same one. You can tell the same story, but tell it over again. You will probably feel more encouraged. That part that you never knew how to fix? Maybe your new draft doesn’t have it anymore.

2. Commit to a consistent schedule. Write daily, not someday. Start today, not tomorrow. Find the best time for you. Resolve that 6 a.m or 9 p.m. will be your regular time for writing, and that’s it. If you don’t make time, you may not find time.

3. Use the time you have. After all, you can’t use the time you don’t have. Though it’s definitely easier to write when you don’t constantly switch tasks, you can’t wait for large blocks of time to appear in your schedule. Take advantage of the minutes between tasks, time that might have been misused. When you can’t write, prepare to write.

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