If I had to name my process for writing every day, it would be THE BACK BURNER METHOD. The trick is to always have something on the back burner. It’s easier than it seems.
First of all, the assumption is made that writers have a main work-in-progress, known henceforth as the WIP. It could be any written work. For me, it’s almost always a novel. It requires the most constant attention and takes up most of my writing time.
Logic says the wisest choice of action is to work diligently and daily on the WIP. Logic doesn’t allow for writer’s block, bad moods, headaches, and days when nothing works. That’s why I have several projects in progress all the time.
It works in two ways.
- One, if you take your writing career more seriously when you write every day, this method will make it easier to write every day.
- Two, you may not progress on your WIP as fast as you had planned, but you will have completed written work to show for your time. More about this later.
Here are some projects to keep on the back burner:
- Short stories. These are my first choice. They are excellent self-training devices because they demand brevity, concise language, and extreme focus. (Above when I mentioned the “more about this later”? Here it is. Last year I wrote nine short stories as back burner projects. Seven of them were published. Six of them brought in some cash. These little victories are incredible for morale as well as adding to publishing credits.)
- Other novels. Not my first or second choice, but it works for many writers. The benefit is having a more-than-half-baked manuscript when the WIP is finished, rather than starting from scratch.
- Poetry. Not my area of strength, but poetry may be the best exercise for creative imagery and unique expression. Also, it adds variety to the routine of writing prose. Poetry requires wordsmithing and concentration on all aspects of language in a way that prose rarely does. (Poetry also sells to journals everywhere, but no one buys mine. Ask a successful poet, not me!)
- Ideas. This is also what I call my “crap file”, eternally on a back burner for those days when I can barely remember my name. I either jot down new ideas (sentences aren’t required) or read rejected ideas and add another element. It’s writing. A lot of it may truly be crap, but things grow in this kind of fertilizer.
- Administrative writing/marketing. Always something I dread, but on the day you churn out a query or a synopsis, you have truly climbed a mountain. These tasks must be done anyway, so if the WIP feels stuck and you want to do something a little different, begin the marketing package (query, long synopsis, short synopsis, blurb, tagline).
What works for me will not work for everyone. This method keeps me engaged in writing every day for whatever amount of time I have decided. Many of my writing friends swear by word count goals. Whatever gets words on the page is fantastic.
