3 ways to jumpstart your writing habit

So, you've always wanted to write a book, but you can't seem to get the machinery turning. After a couple of false starts, you can't seem to keep up the routine of sitting down and tapping away at the keyboard. There are plenty of ways to break this unproductive streak of yours. Here are three such ideas:

1. Set achievable goals

If you're faced with writing an 80,000-word book, it can seem like an insurmountable goal. That's where "chunking it down" can come in handy:

Say you want to write that first draft in three months — let's call it 13 weeks. That means you have to average 6,100 words a week.

You don't want to sacrifice all your entire personal life, so we'll set aside writing time four days out of each week. That's 1,525 words for each day that you write — which is basically the length of a blog post!

By creating achievable daily goals, you'll find it a lot easier to get into the habit of writing.

2. Write in short bursts

A popular productivity approach is the Pomodoro Technique, in which you work in 20-minute intervals, broken up by five-minute breaks. These quick bursts allow you to focus-up, with the knowledge that you're under the gun (so to speak) and that you're not that far away from a rest.

You can buy yourself an egg timer that goes off when it's time for a break. It's just like the school bell!

3. Sign up for regular writing prompts

Signing up for regular writing prompts is one way to keep yourself writing, even when you don't have any ideas. By forcing yourself to pick a single prompt each week and running for it, you will eventually get into a productive groove. This habit will eliminate those pesky days when you simply can't bring yourself to type a single work