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Guest Post: Finding Your Write Time

What time of day do you write best or are most productive? Here are some tips to help you determine when your best time to write:

What's your writing power?
How long can you write without draining yourself? Are you able to write more when you write for two hours each day without taking a break or do you find that you're able to churn out a good article or finish a chapter in your novel if you write for say, four one-hour periods with three fifteen-minute breaks?

What's your alert level?
This is simply determining what time of day your mind is most creative, imaginative and alert. Is it in the morning? mid-morning? afternoon? mid-afternoon? middle of the night?

What are your distractions?
If you're a mom with kids to take care of, when's the best time that you can write? When they're at school? When the kids are napping or watching TV? If you're still single, when can you write without being distracted by family obligations or work?

Pick your write time!
Using the responses you have come up with in questions 1, 2 and 3, compare which times they jive. These are your ideal times to write. Try this out and see if it works. Use these times for writing, and only writing. Happy writing!

Wait! Here are some writing sparks to try:
When "blocked", prompts can help you get started. Odd combination of phrases, like "needle shaving hysterically", "greasy fighting bottle" or "digging hilariously", can stimulate the brain for possibilities.

Newspapers, especially tabloids, are great sources of story ideas. Skim the headlines and give them your own spin. Use those outrageous tabloid headlines to create your stories: "Californians Banned from Heaven", "Accountant Has Used the Same Pencil Everyday for 31 Years", or "Teen's Hair Changes Color...With Her Mood!"

Those good ole proverbs make great prompts. However, mixing them up can even get your creative brain working: "His belly is paved with best intentions", "One good turn injures the neighbors", or "Every cook breeds contempt."

Use metaphors as springboards to an endless possibility of stories: "a mile of polish", "a pot of dexterity", or "a clump of pity."


Copyright © Shery Ma Belle Arrieta-Russ

Download an excerpt of The Authentic Self: Journaling Your Joys, Griefs and Everything in Between below:
authenticself-sampler.zip OR authenticself-sampler.pdf

If you want 3 writing *sparks* delivered to you every day for 31 days, check out WriteSparks!™ Daily HERE for info on how to get started -- it's free :o)
Thank you for reading. Keep writing!
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