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Creative Writing- How To Be More Focused In 3 Easy Steps

By Dan Goodwin

How focused is your creative writing? How consistently do you write? How far do you get with the creative writing projects most important to you before losing momentum?

One of the most common issues creative writers struggle with is being focused.

Focus is the difference between getting 3 chapters written this weekend and writing little or nothing.

Focus is the difference between being able to sit down at a pre-arranged time each day and write, and trying to snatch tiny pockets of time to write, never getting into a rhythm.

Focus is the difference between being a creative writer who writes and a creative writer who will start to write “when I have the time/ energy/ ideas.”

Becoming more focused can bring great rewards to your creative writing and allow you to quickly progress in a short space of time.

Here are 3 key steps to becoming more focused:

1. Focus your time. Not having enough time is a common cry for many, if not all, creative people. The first step is to realize we all have the same amount of time. We can’t change the number of minutes in each day.

But we can change what we do in those 1440 minutes. It’s not that we don’t have enough time to write, it’s that we’re not prioritizing enough time to write.

However busy you are, find a small window of time each and every day, even if it’s just 15 or 20 minutes. Make space for it in your daily routine. Get as far from distractions as possible and just write.

2. Focus your ideas. Many of us complain we don’t have enough good ideas. Many of us too claim we have so many ideas we just don’t know which one to start with. Some of us claim both of these things at once!

The simplest way to focus your ideas is to pick one and go with it. Set yourself a period of time, say a week or 2 weeks, and work only on that idea you’ve chosen. Commit to continuing to work on that piece of creative writing for the duration of the time chosen, wherever it leads you.

If another idea comes along demanding your attention, pause, jot it down, put it to one side and continue with your current project.

3. Focus your energy. Notice the biggest drains on your energy as a creative writer. It might be external distractions. Maybe it’s negative thought patterns. Maybe it’s people around you who tell you your writing will never amount to anything.

Maybe it’s your phone keep ringing or your email alerts.  Maybe it’s your cat asking to be fed...

Find the biggest energy suckers and do whatever it takes to eliminate, or at least drastically reduce them. Then just write, each day, every day. Until your project is done. Then start writing the next one.

Lack of focus is one of the major reasons we don’t finish – and sometimes don’t even BEGIN – the creative writing projects we want to.

Use these 3 steps to greatly increase your focus in writing and notice how you improve your creative writing in just a few weeks.

Creativity Coach and keen creative writer Dan Goodwin helps people who are struggling to be as creative as they know they can be. See more at his website: CoachCreative.com

Article Source: EzineArticles.com/

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July 2008

Hold The Front Page!

Sorry for the delay in getting July's update published. A bout of collywobbles in the lower regions had me bed-bound and groaning. A pitiful sight.

Hence, no 'editorial' as such this time. But the delay has enabled me to include the very latest competitions on the WriterReign competition pages.

If you have any comments to make about WritersReign you can quickly send in your likes and dislikes by using the 'Feedback' link at the top of this column.

Mervyn Love, Editor

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