If you decide to 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 10 minutes, 30 minutes, or even 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 two lines.
A good way to “force” yourself to write in the beginning is to make a ceremony out of it. Make a cup of coffee, pour a glass 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. 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 10 to 30 minutes per day, minimum.
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 10 minutes every day, it is nearly guaranteed that those 10 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 got 10 minutes in, which is a lot better than zero. Also, if you stay true to 10 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 about 90 days.
I’m a pretty busy guy, so to say that I have no free time to spare would be an understatement. However, I have the same regard for the habit of writing as I do for showering, shaving, and 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 10 minutes a day will keep you in the zone and keep your project fresh inside your head. It’ll save you from becoming complacent, something that could ultimately lead to you abandoning your scripts and staying in a perpetual writer’s block. So, write every day, make a habit of it, commit to it, and watch your stories come to life.