Guest Post: Making Time for Writing When All You Want to Do Is Read
Hey, guys, today we have a very special guest on my blog: Barely Bookish. Let’s welcome her in this very cool topic: Making Time for Writing When All You Want to Do Is Read!
I guess I should introduce myself before I talk to you all. Hello! My name is Rachel and I blog over at Barely Bookish, a site full of stories, writing prompts, and tips for my fellow writers. I’m a lover of all things reading and writing, yet I struggle to set a good book down and make my way back to my own stories. Due to this, I’m still only two pages into my current long-form story (it’s also probably why I lean towards short stories more than anything else).
So, if you are like me and you’re obsessed with reading when you know you should be writing I’ve written out some quick tips to get you back to writing.
Set a Time
I think scheduling a time is one of the easiest things to do to make sure you get some writing in. So, say you start reading at ten in the morning, you make sure that you stop reading at eleven. However, as with most of these tips, the hardest part is the self-discipline to stop. No matter how good it is, you have to stop and say “alright, time to start writing” and not “one more chapter…”. I also recommend only letting yourself read in a thirty minute to an hour increment. Otherwise, you’ll get too into the story and it gets easier to put off your writing.
End of a Chapter
Another option you have which honestly requires the same level of self-discipline is letting yourself read a chapter, then stopping to write. The hard part about this one is that you’ll more than likely have to stop at a cliff hanger, which is honestly the worst. I think it’s easier to stop mid-chapter just for that reason, but that’s just me. If this works for you, great!
Writing Reward
The last tip I have is to let the reading serve as a reward for when you hit a writing goal. For example, once you hit 500 words, you get to read for thirty minutes. I honestly do this a lot to motivate myself. But you also have to set an amount you can read, so keep that in mind. Otherwise, you’ll get to be like me and say “well, I hit five hundred words, so I can read for the rest of the day!” When in reality you should use it as a break and get back to writing after.
I hope that you all can implement some of these things into your writing routine so you can get back to focusing on your own stories. Also, if you all want to check out some of my stories or you’re wanting to find ideas for your next story, make sure to check out my site, www.barelybookish.com because I would love to have you! Also, there is writing printables that’ll help you with character creation and word count. Best of luck to all of you with your writing endeavors and happy writing!
Very informative! Now I can finally put that book down and I hope it helped you to find time for writing when all you want to do is read. Guys, make sure to head over to her site, it’s beautiful and full on insights!