by Annette Bromley

Created on: January 19, 2011   Last Updated: January 20, 2011

WRITING: GETTING IT TOGETHER

Developing a writing plan and having good writing habits is the first step in becoming a good writer. When you sit down to write, it is important that you get organized - get it together.  Being organized is the key to being successful.  No matter how much you know about a subject or how much skill you have as a writer, unless you go about your project in an organized manner it is going to be sloppy and half done or never done at all.

No matter what your job may be you need to go about it in an organized manner to get the job done and done right.  This goes for writers as much as anyone else in any other profession.  Your writing time should be scheduled just like any other job and just like any other job you need a plan for getting the job done.

Keep in mind that writing is a job just like any other job and if we are spending more than eight to ten hours each day writing we are doing too much.  We will burn out and not be able to do our job or at the very least not be able to do a good job.  Schedule your time and limit the time you spend writing.  I write 6 to 8 hours every day, once in awhile I may do 10 hours if I am on a roll and really need to get my thoughts down but usually no more than 6 to 8 hours, five days a week, occasionally 6 days and I take a day off.  I need the break and so do you. 

I need to step away and leave it alone for awhile.  Do something else.  Some fresh air and exercise might be in order at this point.  Too much time on your tush can cause your brain to go numb and give you a case of writer’s block or worse.  Seriously, too much time sitting can cause physical, mental and emotional problems that will affect you the rest of your life.  I’m not kidding.  You need to take a break, come up for air and re-hydrate, do something else for a little while, have something good and healthy to eat.  You need to feed your body to feed your brain.  You need to move around, get your heart pumping and your blood circulating. 

When you do sit down to write, write about what you know about and you can’t know if you don’t research it and learn about it or live it.  Knowing your subject is the key to writing a good piece.

Research is just as important as actually writing the article or story.  Writers not only need to have the ability to put their thoughts down on paper, they need to have an innate

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