How often have you sat down at your computer to write and just stared at the screen?

Yeah, me too.

It doesn’t work, does it?

But when you don’t know what to write, that often leads to staring, which often leads to playing on Facebook or checking your email, which leads to no writing getting done.

If this keeps happening, it often compounds the problem, too. You get frustrated with yourself because you haven’t made progress, and that can mean that you end up just scrapping the project.

No book means that you can’t do all the wonderful things you had planned: becoming a bestselling author, using that book as a free gift to thank people for signing up, etc. No book can mean a hole in your marketing strategy.

Staying present with your writing is the key to actually finishing that book, but how do you do that when you don’t know what to write. Try these three tips:

1. Plan your writing. Before you write your book, do some pre-writing work and figure out what you want to write. Create an outline. Add a paragraph detailing what you plan to write for each chapter. Develop an avatar for the book. Actually, that last bit is a fun exercise that I enjoyed doing myself that helped me pinpoint a specific person I’m talking to. I found a stock photo of someone who looked like she could be my client, wrote about her company and who she is as a person, and then talked about what challenges she would have with writing her book. I used Canva to create a sheet about her, and it only took about twenty minutes.
2. Plan your time. Set a timer if you have to, and block off the time you intend to write. I don’t mean “Saturday.” I mean “Saturday 10-noon” or “Weeknights from 7-8.” Mark it in your calendar and keep that appointment with yourself. If you have open-ended time or vague ideas about when you’re supposed to be at your desk, the pool or a bath or a movie or whatever might sound more enticing. Plan it and do it. Plus, knowing that you only have to be there for an hour or so can help you keep your head in the game and not feel chained to your desk.
3. Identify why you’re drifting. If you realize that you aren’t staying present, then figure out why. Are you upset? Are you frustrated? Are you busy? Maybe this isn’t the time to write. If everything else is all lined up and you still aren’t able to focus, then take care of the problem and get back to writing.

Your focus doesn’t have to be firm the whole time you’re writing, but if you aren’t committed to the act and end up just staring, take care of the problem by mitigating it before it even happens. Then, you can work through other issues as they come up! Happy writing!

Need some additional help? Let me know what’s keeping you from finishing your book. Contact me about scheduling a call to chat about next steps for you and see if we’re a good match for working together!