Essential Tips On How To Be A Prolific Writer And Squash All Myths About Writing

Have you ever looked at the body of work of renowned authors and wondered – ‘Wow. How did they write 15 novels?’ Well, you’re not alone. Aspiring writers are often in awe with some novelists’ and bloggers oeuvre. Think Stephen King (54 published novels), Neil Gaiman (more than 15 published novels and several graphic novels) and Isaac Asimov (wrote or edited more than 500 books!).

How do these prolific writers churn novels, short stories, graphic novels and novellas year after year, day after day?

The short answer is that they are efficient and determined writers. Yes, they are creative authors who can whip up unimaginable scenarios. But they also know the value of producing words every day.

Want to be a prolific writer? Here are some online writing tips that will help you become one:

Set a Daily Word Count. And Follow It Every. Single. Day.

The most prolific writers set a realistic daily word count and follow it every day. No matter what. Even on days when they feel uninspired, tired or inept. Stephen King writes 2,000 words daily. Some days he can finish that word count in the morning. On other unproductive days he finishes it at night. But whatever the case may be, he never leaves his computer without achieving his minimum word count.

Of course, not every scribe can chalk out 2,000 words per day. Graham Greene, who published more than 25 novels, used to write only 500 words a day.

Regardless of how many words your favorite authors churn out every day, figure out your daily word count. It could be 500, 1,000 or even 2,000 words.

Take on More Writing Gigs

All bloggers know their limit. However, the only way to grow into a prolific writer is to challenge yourself a little bit every day. Find out how many projects you can take on each day or week and add one more gig to it. Keep adding more writing projects.

The idea is to test yourself and stretch your limits a little without over-burdening yourself. This is one of the most important online writing tips for budding bloggers.

Repurpose Old Content

There’s a difference between being a hard worker and being a smart worker. A smart freelance writer will realize that his or her old content is worth recycling. Repurpose old content by adding more information, updating its contents with the latest news or simply polishing it. You can also convert old content to a new format. For example, you can convert a blog you’ve written earlier into an infographic.

Aspiring novelist can also use what they’ve written earlier as inspiration to write their next novel.

Don’t Let Negativity Rule Your Life

Every single writer has felt they are not good enough or creative enough to write a novel. Even the most prolific writers and world renowned poets has experienced a lack of confidence. If you feel like your demons are coming out to play, know that it’s okay. But don’t let it stop you from completing your daily word count. This is one of the most crucial online writing tips.

Read a Lot

One of the best online writing tips is to keep reading books, plays, essays, novellas, short stories, poems, blogs and articles. Reading will not only provide you some much needed inspiration for possible plot ideas and characters, but it can also help you develop a strong writing voice.

The Key Takeaways

Here is the truth about writing: Writers don’t always write when they “feel inspired.” If you only went to your computer when you felt inspired, you may never finish your dream novel. In fact, two years from now you may not even remember which scenes or characters were developed when you were inspired and which ones were created when you felt tired, bored or under-confident.

The second truth about writing is that the more you write, the better you get at it. So just write.

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