
Itās easy not to write. Itās easy to blame āwriterās block,ā which I donāt believe in (I believe writerās block just means you canāt write what you want to write whenĀ you want to write it). Itās easy to blame your childrenās soccer and music schedules, your spouseās job, having to cook and clean, not having the support you think you need at home. You can tell yourself youāll just get started on the first of the new year, and then, hungover, youāll start on the secondāwho can write on New Yearās Day? You can do all that if it makes you feel less guilty. But you know what does get you writing? Writing.
When I was younger, I used all of the above excuses for why I wasnāt writing. I had plenty more (and still do), but these days I ignore them all. My process is simple: I write a first draft as fast as I can. That can run anywhere from three (yes, three) weeks for a three-hundred-page draft, to twenty-three years (I have one novel Iāve been editing for that long that went from short stories to a novel, to my masterās thesis for my MFA to my hundred plus draft). Iām still not done on that one. But Iāve found a few solid rules that I follow ninety-nine percent of the time. If I donāt fulfill my writing goals for the day, I double up the next day. If I donāt complete them in two days (sometimes Iām on vacation, or taking my kids somewhere for the weekend, whatever), then I triple up the first day I can, and so on. Here are 5 ways to get your writing done no matter what you have going on:
Set a set time to write and DO NOT stray from that timeĀ Ā Ā Ā
I know, itās easy to state that youāll stick to a certain time, but a bit harder to actually follow through. But you can do it. You have it in you. But it will require sacrifice. It will require willpower and diligence and, often, feeling like youāre letting someone down. But youāre letting yourself down by not accomplishing what youāve set out to accomplish. When I worked a corporate job, I would wake up at three a.m. to write. I sacrificed my sleep. I had two children under five years old. I had a wife, a Belgian Malinois (which requires a lot of attention so it doesnāt attack everything around it), a house and yard I had to tend to, work trips that had me traveling all the time, and a workout routine I couldnāt not abide (Iāve been an athlete all my life and it helps me stay sane). But I got up every day like clockwork to get my writing in. On the weekends, my ex watched the kids so that I could write a few hours. I made no excuses. I am and have been a writer for a long time. I cannot notĀ write. When I donāt write, I become very anxious. If thatās you, youāre a writer. Set time aside to write. Donāt make excuses.
Understand The Tools at Your Disposal
Leo Tolstoy didnāt have Microsoft Word. Dostoevsky didnāt have Grammarly, or Scrivener, Google Docs or Ulysses. People actually used to write with pen and paper and typewriters and word processors where you could only see one line at a time. I havenāt used anything but MS Word for decades, but I still do, on occasion, write entire novels using a pen and notebook. I find I write better that way. Then I read my book to MS Wordās āDictateā feature and it types my draft up for me. Then I print it and edit it by hand using a pencil or pen (my significant other calls it erasing, which I think is a funny term for rewriting and killing off my darlings). If you use tools to write, more power to you. A lot of writers these days leverage these tools to get their writing done. These tools arenāt for me, especially the AI tools, but do what you have to do to get the words down. ThatĀ is the important part of writing. Without getting the words down you have nothing to work on. Which means you have nothing. If you want a quick look at some writing tools available to you, check out Reedyās The 23 Best Writing Tools of 2025: A Guide for Writers.
Donāt Beat Yourself Up
Youāre not always going to write what you want to write. What you picture in your mind isnāt whatās going to show up on the page. Not the first time around. Or the second time around once you get your edits and revisions done. And probably not the third time. Thatās just writing. Writing is editing. As Jodi Picoult says, āYou can always edit a bad page. You canāt edit a blank page.ā And sheās right.
Writing is a process. It takes patience. It means understanding that youāre going to write the best first draft you can, because you need that to write the best second draft you can. If you think your first draft is ready for publication, youāre probably a beginning writer. And thatās okay. We all go through that delusional period in our lives where we believe ourselves infallible. Where we believe weāre literary geniuses and everyone will know it soon enough. That we just have to run spellcheck and get the formatting downādouble-spaced, 12-point Times New Roman font, because thatās what all the publishers or agents want. Psst: weāre not. At least not ninety-nine-point-nine percent of us arenāt. Weāre just craftspeople building novels one word at a time. Once you accept that youāre not writing War and PeaceĀ on the first go, youāre one step closer to being a real writer with realistic expectations. Oh, and if you donāt make your writing goals for the day, itās okay. Make them up tomorrow. It isnāt a race, and no one cares what youāre doing. Really, no one. Not until they see a published book. And even then, youāll find that they probably donāt care. Unless theyāre writers or, dare I say, readers who actually read.
You can always edit a bad page. You canāt edit a blank page.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā --Jodi Picoult
Have a Core Set of Writing Buddies/Beta Readers
Total transparency here: I only have my work looked at once a year. I meet with long-time writer friends in Taos, New Mexico, every year, where we workshop each otherās novels. So, for me, that means I must write the first draft of a novel once a year. And I do it. Year after year. But again, I write quickly, so I never fear not making our May deadline (we give ourselves a couple months to read each otherās novels). But that may not necessarily work for you, especially if youāre just getting started or if you benefit from having more regular contact and constructive feedback from other writers. If thatās you, hook up with some writer friends and share your work. If you donāt have writer friends, and depending on where you live, there may be some writing groups you can join. Not all of them are going to be geared for what you want to achieve. When I first started out, I went to a lot of these groups. Some of them had writers at my level, but most didnāt. I found a lot of the groups were just social events for people who had time on their hands and thought, as many people do, that they had a story to tell. Maybe they did, maybe they didnāt. But they seemed to give up. Their writing life seemed to fizzle out somewhere along the way. So, I stopped going. I studied writing and literature for many years, and have written for many years, and when youāve done that, you tend to be able to work solo. At least for most of the time. Iām able to do that now, but it took me some time. Thereās no law on when youāll be able to do that, if you even want to. But give writing groups a try if youāre not accomplishing what you want to accomplish. You never knowāyou may just meet the group that pushes you in just the right way to getting your novel done sooner than later.
Never Give Up
Writing is a marathon, not a race. Like I mentioned earlier, Iāve written first drafts in three weeks, and Iām still working on one that I started twenty-two years ago. Sometimes thatās just how things go. Your job is to write and revise and edit and rewrite and so on until you have something you canāt improve upon, or think is ready to go, either to a literary agent or an indie publisher or an editor. You want to put out the best book you can. That requires a lot more than just writing your novel. It requires the help of others, if youāre taking this writing thing seriously. But do not give up. When you finish a draft of a book, put it away. Write something else. When youāre done with that, go back to the first thing you wrote. Start the revision process all over again. You should learn how to self-edit your own fictionĀ before you send it out into the world to be reviewed by others. But never give up. The only thing stopping you from writing your novel is you. Do what you have to do to complete your book.
There is nothingĀ in this world like writing a novel and seeing it in print. Nothing. But it requires sacrifice. It requires patience. It requires accepting criticism, and people not caring about what you love so much. It requires, like your characters, that you overcome the hurdles thrown in front of you in order to get what you want. And if you want it bad enough like I do, you sacrifice things you may not want to sacrifice. For years, I had handwritten notes taped to the wall in front of my writing desk. They were motivational quotes that I read every day to remind myself what I had to do to get where I wanted to get to. They worked most days, and other days I just blew them off. But I hold them close to my heart today, when I know what Iām doing and what I have to do to get that book done. Never give up on your dreams. Sacrifice what you have to to make those dreams reality. You got this. I believe in you. Now all you have to do is believe in yourself.
Cully Perlman is an author, blogger, and substantive editor. He can be reached at Cully@novelmasterclass.com or Cullyperlman@gmail.comĀ
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Very nice, Cully. I struggle with writing at the same time each day, among other things. If I've finished a novel (and it's newly in print) I allow myself a few months to publicize it. Then I permit myself another few months to rest and get ideas firmly in my head. That's the time I usually write poetry, which is bracing and allows me to feel I'm doing something. I realize my methods don't work for everyone, but I need a brain break. I'm 12 years older than when I gave up jounalism for wrting novels and it does make a difference!