by Gordon Hamilton

Created on: May 03, 2009

Developing a writing plan is a good idea for any writer and virtually essential for the professional or serious writer. There are many factors to consider when developing said writing plan and even contingencies to build in, so a little flexibility is just as important as focus.

When developing a writing plan, the first thing which the writer has to take in to account is the amount of writing they find themselves required to do or wishing to do on such as a daily or weekly basis. If the writer is such as an article writer or journalist, it is entirely possible - if not even in fact likely - that they will have writing deadlines to adhere to and this factor will therefore have to take precedence.

The writer should consider what goes on in their daily lives, aside from writing, which they can not reschedule and consequently eliminate such times from their writing plan. This may include a full time job, it may include looking after small children, or it may be daily household chores which have to be attended to. It is important to spend some time listing these activities as they should be considered as constants in the core of the writing plan.

The writer should now hopefully have created for themselves a series of windows of opportunity as to when they may apply themselves to their writing. It is important at this stage that they take the time to compare this available time to the amount of time they are likely to require for their proposed writing activities. If there is significant disparity in this respect, the issue has to be addressed by either attempting to reduce their commitments elsewhere or revising the extent of their proposed writing career. Ignoring the issue is only going to cause very significant problems to soon after arise.

When these prospective writing times have been identified, it is important that the writer consider which of them are going to be most appropriate to schedule as periods for producing their writing. Considerations here should include what time of day the individual writer tends to write best and during which of these times they are likely to be subjected to the least chance of interruption or distraction.

When the writer has made all of the above determinations to their satisfaction, they must produce their final writing plan and do their utmost to stick to it. Yes, life's circumstances will change and the plan will require revision, just as unanticipated distractions will crop up from time to time which simply can not be avoided. It is important for the main part, however, that the writer views their developed writing plan as a form of self-discipline and that they do their utmost to stick to it if they are to produce their best writing in the quantities required.

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