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What can I do to increase my ability to focus while writing?

  • I'm a writer. Technically I'm "aspiring," but if I write regularly, what does it matter that I haven't sold anything? When I'm able to stifle my fear of criticism, I really enjoy writing. However, I find that I have a hard time focusing on it for a significant amount of time. I find myself only able to write in spurts, as though it's a real exercise to get that spurt (which feels like some sort of sprint) out. I'm not sure of the root of this issue. I often come to the conclusion that writing just might not be for me and that I'm just using it to try to find some purpose. However, I think that it really might just be an attention issue. I love getting lost in writing, and I'm constantly compelled to express myself and use writing as my creative outlet. Maybe that's just my style, and that I have to find a way to adapt to this style of writing in spurts and chipping away, but it would be nice to find a way to write with more discipline, to get lost in writing for hours. Oh, and just FYI: I do find that a change of scenery really helps. Writing in public, e.g., works better than writing alone in my house. Going to a coffee shop and working for a while, then going for a walk to someplace else, helps, but I'd love to hear any other advice.

  • Answer:

    Any writer that says they sit down in discipline fashion and write for eight hours (or four, five, six, etc.) is full of shit.  It's likely 90% of the time they are staring at that blank page and blinking cursor.  Or perhaps they are pacing in their writing room or people watching in their local coffee shop.  Writers write in spurts, just like you.  They'll sit for hours and then those amazing paragraphs or scenes just explode out with a rush of fingers touching keys.  The key thing in writing, at least from my personal perspective, is that you NEVER stop writing, even when you are away from your computer.  You can write at work, in your head.  You can write while driving to and from work, in your head.  You can write while going for that walk or run, in your head.  Constantly be thinking about your scene or moment that you need to conjure.  It's likely you have an inkling.  A seed.  Build on it.  Visualize it.  IT WILL COME TO YOU. I'm a firm believer that the story you are trying to write is already written somewhere in your head.  It's your job as a writer to find it.  To put the pieces of the puzzle together.  That's the journey. So write in your head ALWAYS.  Then, by the time you are sitting in front of your computer, with that blank page and that blinking cursor in front of you, you'll have done most of the work already and those spurts of great writing will be more frequent.

Ken Miyamoto at Quora Visit the source

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No one actually likes writing. They may like it at first and they may like it during those moments when things are really flowing, but most of the time, writing is a slog like anything else. So your first step would be to stop looking for enjoyment from the process. Look instead for fulfilment. You struggle through something and then, when you finally work it out, you feel that you've accomplished something. The next thing for me is to shut down your critical mind while writing. I find if I can't focus or keep stopping, it's because I'm over thinking while I write, looking for what's wrong rather than what's right. There's nothing wrong with writing crap as long as you go back and fix it later, or throw it out altogether if you can't. So just write whatever and fix it later. Lastly, I'd look at http://www.pomodorotechnique.com/. It's a very simple way to focus on an activity without fatiguing. I find their 25 on 5 off is too short for writing, I do 40 on 5 off, but the idea is sound. Focus hard, take a break. Focus hard, take a break. Also, writing is like exercise in that the more you write, the more you can sustain. So keep writing.

James H. Kelly

Try always to do your work in the same place, with minimal distractions.  Also, try not to get bogged down by details when you're writing a first draft.  Practice writing in long, uninterrupted spurts and worry about marking things up later.  Best of luck!

Justin Belmont

If you need some practical advice: It might be a concentration thing ... I listen to study/concentration tracks from YouTube. They help - I was surprised actually. I also take an Omega 3 and 6 supplement called Eye Q which is great - high quality (and expensive) but it does what cheaper supplements don't do. Some less practical advice: figure out a few reasons why you write. For example, I write one-page short stories when they pop into my head to meet my desire to express the odd things my brain comes up with. It's likely one day they'll turn into a book of short stories. I write blog posts as part of my personal branding - relevant, topical posts that offer new perspectives from my own personal experiences (this is easy to write because they've already happened). I started writing a novel for my ex - the motivation was twofold - do something special for him, and write something great I could sell one day. Find the right why! Also - like Ken Miyamoto said - no-one just sits for hours and bangs out a book :)

Tessa Kerrich - Walker

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