I’ve spoken of tips and shared a few over time with writers and non-writers alike. What I’m about to share has worked for me over many long years. I hope they will work for you, but as I’ve said many times: your mileage may vary. 🙂
Okay, one of the first and easiest is to keep a notepad and pen handy at all times. Keep it in your bag, your pocket or tote, keep it by the bed. This little habit will let you jot down awesome or not so awesome ideas when they hit. If inspiration strikes when you have nothing to make notes on you can lose that spark of creativity.
When starting a new story, feeling unsure of where to start, you can try this: start with the most vivid scene you have in your head. What is that point you are trying to get to so you can write it down in glorious detail? Start with that scene. I don’t care if it’s at the start of the story, the middle or the end. What matters is how clear it is in your mind. You can usually get that down, then go from there with ease.
When I first started to write it was in the midst of a chaotic home, with constant upheavals and interruptions to what I was doing. So I learned to adapt. In two ways I learned how to keep writing when all hell was breaking loose. One was to take smaller notebooks along with me so I could write a few lines at any given time without a lot of fuss.
The second most useful thing I learned was to write in blocks or modules. By writing this way I got the most relevant scenes down and they were ready to be woven into what happened before or after that particular chunk. The reason this works is because each block or section can be easily moved to where it fits best, especially on computers. (However, it worked when i was writing longhand too. You just skip a page between your chunks of writing so you can move them around.) This has worked for me for over 30 years and it might work for you, too.
These days my chunks are more often full chapters awaiting their placement in a book. This kind of writing is kind of like the way a movie is made, ass backwards and out of order, but it really works for me. With all the distractions your daily life has, it is nice to be able to write and get something worthwhile done, even if it is only a chunk or a great scene. These easy little tips can make the chaotic writer a little more productive.
Storm DeVille 