How to Get Writing

We are always in search of the perfect writing environment, for that one place that will let us finally get down to writing that novel. But it’s elusive, that place. You have the right lighting, your own nook in that little coffeeshop, new pens and a leatherbound journal, pristine pages waiting for inspiration to strike. Yet it never quite comes. There’s always something else happening. Commitments, distractions, other things that can be, ought to be, need to be done. So how? How does the great American novel begin?

There is no universal answer, of course. Getting the words down on paper is the most important part, and often the most difficult. Resist the urge to edit on the spot. No-one needs to hear all these trite bits of advice again, though. What we want to know is how? Where? Is there a better way to get started, to make progress?

Zenwriter, for starters, is a free program that comes as close to replicating ideal writing conditions as I’ve ever seen. It’s simple, text on a pleasantly faded or dimmed background. The unobstrusive text-only menu fades when not in use. There are options for typing sounds (typewriter) and background music (ambient). It autosaves. (But please back up your work anyway.) The great thing about this is that it football predictions site ever fills up the entire screen- there is no start menu, no desktop unless you minimize, a greatly reduced temptation to draw up other windows and multitask. Its aesthetically pleasing minimalist design is not just task-oriented and distraction-reducing, but attention-retaining; it may not suit each and every single one of us, but it does certainly live up to its name.

To complement, there is Rainy Mood, which, for those who find the sound of rain and the occasional distant rumble of thunder soothing, will provide a textured, low-key white noise (that can be layered under sad music, for that extra kick). And if you’re writing a novel or some sort of story, there are resources everywhere. Like here. And here.

National Novel Writing Month (which, by the way, will also help provide that driving impetus to get on that writing) is halfway done. Sit down and get to work.