You don’t need to spend more time writing, you need to spend less time writing more.
Having been in the midst of writer’s block for fiction writing, writing sprints have been THE MOST impactful way around that.
Writing sprints are when you set a timer for say 25 minutes and you are to write as many words as possible without judgement in that time followed by a rest period.
Much similar to the Pomodoro technique writing sprints add a constriction and an endpoint for your writing process both of which trigger the flow state in ways unheard of.
Writing for short bursts with high intensity has had an incredibly transformative impact on my focus on the craft.
Unleashing Flow: The Science Behind Writing Sprints
Flow, the flowstate otherwise known as ‘the zone’ first coined by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi is the region of peak human performance with the minimalist amount of energy needed.
Being in the flow state feels like being ‘locked in’ you’re completely focused on the task at hand.
You’re not thinking of what you’re having for dinner or what you should be doing, it’s complete relaxation.
There are various ways to get into the flow state, the most effective of which is having a clear goal and balancing challenge with skill.
Writing sprints have both of these tactics built into them.
At the end of a writing sprint, your goal is to have written for the entire timeframe.
Similarly, this will often force you to write more words in less amount of time which balances challenge with capability.
Therefore, writing sprints puts you into the flow state where you are at peak performance.
Regularly visiting this zone builds up your ‘writing muscle’ which allows you to write more and better.
Quality and Quantity: How Writing Sprints Improve Your Craft
There is a misconception people have about restricting your writing to a time frame, which is that the more writing you produce the lower the quality of the writing.
This is false.
Not only does writing more IMPROVE what you write it also improves how much you write.
Working on one of these helps the other proportioinatly.
The focus and intensity of writing sprints leads to more refined and polished prose.
More refined and polished prose leads to more writing.
The cycle continues.
Breaking Procrastination: Overcoming the Blank Page
Ah yes the dreaded blank page.
Being a short story writer I face the blank page more often then I would like.
However, doing so has made me create strategies to overcome it.
Recently I’ve been stuck. No matter how long I sit at my laptop I won’t write anything.
This is because I keep coming to my time to write without a plan and end up doing something else because I got ditracted.
Forcing yourself to write, to write even if you have nothing to say flicks a switch in your brain that forces you to come up with something.
When you force yourself to write in a timed period all expectations and opinions about your writing are deleted all there is is you and the page.
Procrastination and writer’s block most often are a problem of the mind.
You think you have nothing to say so you don’t.
You believe you’re stuck so you are.
Writing sprints takes away the yapping going on in your head. There’s no right, no wrong, only the words on the page.
In Conclusion . . .
In the span of a focused sprint, we’ve witnessed the alchemy of creativity, seen productivity soar to new heights, and felt the very essence of our writing experiences transform.
From breaking through procrastination to refining our craft, writing sprints have proven to be the catalysts for change, unlocking doors to a realm of untapped potential.
So, fellow wordsmiths, let the transformative power of writing sprints be the wind beneath your creative wings.
Embrace the rhythm, relish the journey, and watch as your words take flight.
May your writing be swift, your creativity boundless, and your literary adventures truly transformative.
Happy sprinting!
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