One of the things I hear a lot is that, for many people, the most difficult task is “getting started.” I have a very strong opinion when it comes to “getting started”: if you plop down in front of the keyboard and write for 60 seconds without stopping – you’ve started. The only way to get started is to sit down and write! And to do it every day!
Everyone has the same amount of available time in a day, and these days everyone has access to a computer, a tablet, or a piece of paper and can sit down for ten minutes, thirty minutes or an hour and write something down. I honestly feel as if that’s the biggest hurdle for a lot of people: putting their asses down on the seat and writing the first line. A good way to “force” yourself to write in the beginning is to make a ceremony out of it – make a cup of coffee, take out a bottle of wine, prepare a playlist, and put on some music to get yourself “in the mood” – treat it like you would all your other favorite pastimes, and it’ll quickly become one. And, while I understand that not everyone has the luxury of writing full-time, I do believe that you should make the commitment to write at least ten to thirty minutes per day.
Creating a daily writing routine is crucial if you ever plan to go beyond just “dreaming;” this is the actual working part of things, and it can’t be faked. If you write for a minimum of ten minutes every day, it is nearly guaranteed that those ten minutes will turn into an hour or more, because once you start writing and the creative juices start flowing, you can’t bring yourself to stop. And if you do stop, that’s okay too – you’ve gotten ten minutes in, which is better than zero. Also, if you stay true to ten minutes of writing per day – that’s a page (or more) a day. And the practice of writing a page a day will give you your first draft in ninety days more or less, which, again, is better than zero.
I have a very chaotic schedule; I run a full-time business on top of doing creative work and making films and so to say that I have no free time to spare would be an understatement, but I have the same regard to the habit of writing as I do to showering in the morning, shaving, or eating – I have to do it, and when you have to do something, you find time to do it.
The act of sitting down and writing for ten minutes a day will keep you in the zone and keep your project fresh inside your mind. It’ll save you from becoming complacent, something that could ultimately lead to you not writing for ten to twenty days and then abandoning your script altogether. So – write every day, make a habit of it, commit to it, and watch your stories come to life.