SUMMER WRITING TIPS

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Submitted Date 06/20/2019
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If you're anything like me, summer is a fun but sometimes hectic time. Vacations, kids being home, graduation parties, and so forth can take away time from writing.

Nothing beats sitting out in the warm sun on a beautiful day and writing but sometimes that just doesn't seem possible.

Here are a few ideas to keep the creativity following during the dog days of summer.

1) Set a Time

Set a specific time each day to sit and write. It'll give you something to look forward to while dealing with everything going on around you.

2) Start a journal.

If you can't find a set time to write, keep a journal handy to jot down ideas or small scenes so you don't forget them later. It doesn't have to be a physical journal either, I've found writing down prompts I think of on my phone is a good way to keep it organized; and who doesn't have a phone on them nowadays.

3) Prompts

Still having problems? Search prompts either specific to what you feel like writing or just single word ones.

A few of my personal faves for summer include.

- Beaches

- Camping or sitting by a campfire

- Hiking

- Watching the sunrise or set

- Going on a picnic

4) Try not to get frustrated

I am guilty of this. I want to get so many ideas out and when I don't I feel frustration and end up not writing anything. Take your time. Sometimes the creative juices flow and other times you end up staring at a blank page for ten minutes. Forcing yourself to write never works out.

I hope my tips help chase away the writing woes that come with summer.

If you have any tips please leave a comment for others!

Comments

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  • Julie Nunn 4 years, 9 months ago

    I try not to force anything....I allow myself to let the inspirations come along organically. I don't let myself feel guilty if I don't write every day.....I spend a lot of time reading about many different things and then usually sooner rather than later ideas come to me in whatever form they take....it's kind of like following the current of a body of water....it takes you wherever it takes you.

  • No name 4 years, 9 months ago

    Giving yourself a chance to write is the best thing you can do for yourself!

  • Rick Doble 4 years, 8 months ago

    I have found the way to keep writing is to keep writing. So I've gotten into the habit of taking notes constantly -- whatever comes into my mind. I write these down in the same notebook where I keep my to-do lists. I use the front pages for the practical stuff and the back pages for the writing stuff. I also like freeform computer databases that let you move and rearrange all the data on the fly. My favorite is the free TreePad. If you keep in the habit of writing and putting your thoughts down, the good carefully crafted works will follow.

  • Jacqueline Hemingway 1 year, 6 months ago

    Fortunately, summertime is my writing time, I prefer to write in the warmer months. I detest cold weather for a number of reasons and my writing struggles actually come in those cold dreary days of winter. One of the reasons I live in Florida! With so much activity here in the warm weather, creativity is, and should be at an all time high during this period. Yes, the busyness of summer can make carving out time to write tough, but writing is a discipline, something that takes effort to accomplish if you are going to truly pursue it. Depending on when one prefers to write, morning, afternoon, night, you should have a daily routine regardless of the time of year. If you write in the morning during winter, write in the morning during the summer. Your writing routine is dictated by you, not the season. Now, my dislike for writing in cold weather has a root in physicality - a touch of arthritis when the cold visits. Beyond that, I maintain my writing schedule, if I cannot get the words out for the book I’m writing, I write something nonsensical, funny or quirky, anything to keep writing. Once you alter your routine, the next alteration will come, then the next, and the next…if you wish to be a true writer, in that I mean where your writing is your life, you must be willing to keep it as your priority. My writing comes before going out with friends, before watching that movie on Netflix I’ve been waiting for, the kind of writing where dinner can wait, I’ll go grocery shopping tomorrow, and so much more. For me, writing IS my relationship. Now, I know that may not be practical for everyone, but if it isn’t, then your art of writing will be affected in some way. People have families, spouses, I get it. It will be doubly hard for those types of writers to have to the commitment to write as someone who doesn’t. I have literally chosen to put my writing first, everything else second. That doesn’t mean I don’t have friends, or the occasional intimate moment, it just means, when that outside influencer pops up, hey let’s go to the Hard Rock, let’s go listen to music, if I’m writing, I’m writing. I’ll catch ya on the next go ‘round!!