K.M. Gallagher

Power off your phone or plug it in on the other side of the room.

• If you write on your phone, turn on airplane mode or disconnect from the Internet.

Put on any and all music or background noise before you begin your writing session.

• I personally choose playlists over an hour long to avoid getting distracted by other songs or videos. If you’re like me and fall down rabbit holes on YouTube, queue up videos that look interesting so you can watch them as a reward for finishing your session!

Take timed breaks for walks, snacks, drinks, or just scrolling on your phone.

Set multiple goals!

• I like to have a minimum goal to help me build a habit, a target range of my ideal progress in a day or week, and a maximum amount to write in a day so I don’t risk burnout. I will also set daily, monthly, quarterly, and/or annual goals in order of priority, time frame, and difficulty!

Write as often as possible (as opposed to writing a lot at once).

• Write on your phone in elevators or on buses, on your laptop during work breaks, and so on—whenever or wherever you have spare time!

Skip the scenes that get you stuck.

• Especially for the first draft. You can always write it later, and it’s better to jump to the next part of the story than to stare at your empty document for indefinite periods of time. Make a note and come back.

Don’t be hard on yourself.

• Everyone has off days. If you don’t meet a goal, budget extra time whenever you’re free to make up for it, but prioritize your physical and mental health.

Organize with friends.

• Share your writing! Meet up in person or on a call to write together! Send word count updates! Critique and hype each other up!

Most importantly, if you find something that works for you, stick to it! Not everything that works for some people works for others, and, ultimately, you know yourself and your habits better than anyone else.

Happy writing!