Welcome to the third installment of “Becoming a Better 
Writer” An investigation in to the art of creativity – 
in ten easy lessons!

A quick thank you to everyone who sent me some very 
positive feedback about the last lesson. It’s a 
controversial area and I was particularly pleased 
with its response. 

As always, if you get the urge to be the best writer 
you can be, go to http://www.easywaytowrite.com

I look forward to working with you.

Lesson Three

Finding the Time to Write

Writers always need more time. Whether you’re a beginner 
or a professional there never seems to be enough time to 
get everything done. 

The result? Guilt and self-flagellation. You hate yourself 
for letting yourself down. You beat yourself up over your 
lack of creativity and commitment.
 
How do you get around this? 

A good start is to do what you do normally but from a 
writer’s perspective!

1. At home, never turn off the PC. If you write freehand, 
always leave a pen and paper out somewhere. 

Commit yourself to writing a sentence or two every time 
you walk past the computer or your pad. 

That’s all, just a few words. If you’re disturbed or 
have other chores to do, fine, stop. But come back 
again regularly. 

2. The old chestnut. Write at night. When she was in 
power, Margaret Thatcher slept only 5 hours a night.
 
She would get up and be at her desk by five in the 
morning where she could read and write undisturbed 
for 3 hours without interruption. 

It’s hard to re-educate your body for this technique 
but I’ve known many serious writers who’ve done this 
for years before they become successful enough to give 
up their day jobs. 

3. Write in front of the TV. 

Okay, it’s hard to concentrate, but the weird thing is, 
if you keep at it, you can eventually “teach” your brain 
to “zone out” and ignore the TV.
 
Try it for a couple of weeks. You’ll be surprised.

4. On the bus or train or when driving, imagine scenes 
you want to write about, rehearse them like actors and 
directors, improving on them, thinking of the words 
and phrases you will use to describe them. 

5. Become liberated and suggest your partner do all 
kinds of thing on their own – go out with their mates, 
have a weekend away, go and see their parents.

Everyone needs alone time – writers perhaps more than 
most. It’s not a crime, an insult or a mental aberration. 
It is your right as human being. Take it.

6. Here’s one I got from David Bowie. It’s especially 
useful if you have children who like to join in with 
your writing (bless them!)

Write words on cards and get the little ones to throw 
them into the air. Then rearrange them into sentences 
or titles or other weird combinations. Think of the 
result as a springboard for ideas.

7. In spare moments, make lists of things you need to 
do. For example:

a) Next chapter
b) Profile of Eric (bad guy)
c) Find article writing book
d) Draw location map
e) Outline climax

Pin up these “things to do” lists where they will annoy 
you most: bathroom mirror, fridge door, bedside lamp. 

8. The ultimate in desperate measures. Write in the john. 
Always take a notebook with you and jot down a few lines. 
What else are you going to do in there?

9. Finally, before you go to sleep at night, tell your 
subconscious to give you stories and solutions… 

The fact is, there IS time, if you really need to find 
it. The trick is to turn a decision to write regularly 
into a commitment to act. Change what you do - just a 
little bit at a time. 

Live your life to the full, yes, and have fun, but 
always remember you’re a writer – and writer’s write!

©robparnell 2004

This is the third of ten short lessons on “Becoming a 
Better Writer.” They will arrive weekly. You may 
unsubscribe at any time – but of course, I’d much 
prefer if you didn’t!

Also, you may like to forward this email to writers and 
colleagues who might find it interesting, fun and 
educational. No problem but - no editing please!

Best regards and keep writing.

Don’t forget, you can contact me for any reason at
rob@easywaytowrite.com

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Make Lots of Money Writing - The Easy Way!
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PS: Go on, take a chance and change your life forever.
Write that novel now! Click on:
http://easywaytowrite.com/novel.html

PPS: Next time, we’ll be looking at “killing your 
darlings.” And it’s probably not what you’re thinking!

Till then, keep well and happy.

Ciao


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