Fitting writing into life

[elloyellow]

Please give me your tips how to fit writing in! When and where?!
Any good apps?

How do you do it? On a phone/laptop/notepad?

Busy stage of life here - children, self employed work and other side businesses.

I'd love a good app to jot bits down in my phone as its with me all the time.

I do love the tactile nature of a notebook - anyone carry one round with them?

How can I start small to get started?

Thank you

[Quickredfox]

I also struggle with this. Recently I bought a Bluetooth keyboard that connects to my phone so that if I get a spare moment I can write something at a normal speed. I find typing on the phone breaks the flow of writing. I just write in an email addressed to myself. The keyboard is a good size but light and unproblematic in a bag.
Joining a writing group has also been helpful.

[NanoTime]

I write on my laptop and phone, using a free trial of a web-based app Dabble and I also paste a copy to Google docs for backup. Anything that lets you put down words will do! Pages, notes, Word?

I also have a small ring bound notebook that I use as a sort of logbook and journal for whichever writing project I’m working on. I seem to think better through a pen! In the evening I sketch out a rough outline of what I’ve written that day and make a few notes about what to write the next day, plus any new ideas. At the back I have pages for various characters with some biographical details where relevant, physical descriptions and behavioural or verbal traits.

[elloyellow]

Excellent starting points both, thank you.

I didn't even know Bluetooth keyboards existed! That sounds perfect. I don't have a laptop and didn't find the idea of tying on my phone very appealing. Excited to try the keyboard option. I've seen ones which you can rest the phone at the back.

Do you have certain times you write during your day? Snippets before/after work? Are you full time writing?

I think I'll get on some sort of app, tbc which one - which I can use with the keyboard; and also resurrect an old notebook.

[elloyellow]

Anyone else any good writing apps?

I had used Scrivener in the past. Anyone still use this?

[LuciferRising]

I use Scrivener and love it. I have a page per scene to make it easy to edit. I am also using Plottr to ensure I have flow between scenes and can track different attributes but it doesn't seem to save automatically and I keep losing work.

If I'm not at home I'll either upload to Kindle and take a note book to record notes or I'll print off and write on the document.

I keep note on my phone if out and about of quotes I think about.

Write before work for 20.mins, at lunch for 10, then I'm the evenings if I am free. I make sure I do so every day. Even if its one sentence.

[NanoTime]

Did you find an app you liked OP? I’m not sure I like Dabble enough to subscribe when my free trial ends but I’ve been looking at novelpad as an alternative.

[Verbena17]

I’m getting Scrivener I think.
I just really want a comprehensive place I can have everything - I’m currently hand writing notes/ideas /character profiles/ plotting etc but it’s stopping me from using my laptop I think. It muddles me having handwritten stuff and typed. So want it all in one place and Scrivener looks super simple to use.

[Quickredfox]

I have had Scrivener but Word is such a powerful tool these days that I would say that really understanding what it can do (and I think it can provide equivalent tools to Scrivener if you know how to set it up) is really worthwhile. And if you self-publish, I’ve seen printed books that have gone straight from Word to the press (via pdf), and you would never know.

[LuciferRising]

I love Scrivener. I like how I can break out the scenes, and keep notes and comments on the scene or in separate documents. Tag, define status etc.

I guess I could do some of that in Word, but I use it at work and like the separation of using a different tool.

It's easy to compile small sections or all of them, and convert them to other formats. etc

[bimblebird]

I use scrivener too and having got my chaptered outline I can get on with a scene each time I sit down. I have resorted to waking up super early as my brain is as clear headed as it will be at that time and it seems to work! I have heard great things about Dabble (similar to scrivener). There are often good discounts online for both so worth a search before you pay up.

[elloyellow]

Sounds like scrivener is a good option then, thanks everyone. I do actually already have it. I still haven't actually done any writing 🙈 it's making the choice to write when there are currently so many other pulls on my time.
I was reading some micro fiction the other day so I might challenge myself to do that as it feels a more achievable amount.
Are there times in your day or schedule which best suit for writing?

[Verbena17]

I’m still plotting and planning! Think I made the mistake of telling myself Ken Follet took 3 years to write Pillars of the Earth (1 year of which was planning it)….as if my first novel is going to be an epic of the same magnitude 😂😂😂

[Verbena17]

For my early Christmas present, ive also just completed the Ken Follett BBC Maestro course - 22 lessons and I thought it was really good. And it was really reduced in price.

[ponygirlcurtis]

I did Sarra Cannon's Heart Breathings writing productivity course this time last year and found it very useful. Boils down to - start big and go granular. Start with what you want to achieve, look at the time you have available and break it down into achievable tasks. Her videos on YouTube are helpful if you don't want to do the course.

And I use Google Docs so I can access on any device.

[NanoTime]

@elloyellow

Sounds like scrivener is a good option then, thanks everyone. I do actually already have it. I still haven't actually done any writing 🙈 it's making the choice to write when there are currently so many other pulls on my time.
I was reading some micro fiction the other day so I might challenge myself to do that as it feels a more achievable amount.
Are there times in your day or schedule which best suit for writing?

Mornings are good for me and recently I started doing the LWS weekday zoom session (https://londonwriterssalon.com/) between 8 and 9 AM. There are afternoon and evening meetings too.

I prefer mornings but sometimes it’s interesting to see what it’s like to write at the ‘wrong’ time. Have you had any luck getting started yet? That’s the hardest part!

[ChaoticCrumble]

It can be tricky when you have busy/full lives. I work part-time so try to grab some time after school if I'm not catching up on work/cleaning/running to clubs. Otherwise I tend to have my laptop or tablet out whenever I'm watching TV so I can multitask.

[istara]

Definitely Scrivener - you can sync it between your main computer and an iPad, which is great. An iPad with a keyboard is a really useful mobile writing tool.

For most people there are limited hours per day when they can do intense creative output. So you don't really need 9-5 hours. A couple of hours in the evening, or some time in the morning if you're an early riser, may be enough. Some authors find the creative tap really starts flowing absurdly late, like after midnight (however this is not great sleep-wise!)

If you can train yourself to dictate your novel - not something I've managed yet (too lazy to practice!) - you can absolutely accelerate the process and even use time commuting - by car, maybe not on the bus! - to "write".

Every November there's a self-adjudicated contest called NaNoWriMo where you have to write a 50k word novel - or the first 50k words of a novel - in 30-days. Many people who do it have full-time jobs, so it's absolutely possible.

[Verbena17]

Glad you posted this @istara - because my Xmas pressie was Scrivner but I’ve not got it yet, as I can’t work out whether to have it on my iPad or laptop (and I’m really needing a new laptop). Scrivener says you can only download to one device I thought but you can definitely switch between?

[istara]

@Verbena17

Glad you posted this @istara - because my Xmas pressie was Scrivner but I’ve not got it yet, as I can’t work out whether to have it on my iPad or laptop (and I’m really needing a new laptop). Scrivener says you can only download to one device I thought but you can definitely switch between?

Unfortunately I think you have to buy the desktop and mobile versions separately - however if you are serious about writing, it's an amazing app and likely tax deductible if you're making money writing or if you use Scrivener in your day job.

I use it for other writing work that I do, aggregating notes, briefs, finished articles, background material and so on. I have a separate .scriv file for each client with a tonne of subfolders in them. It means I can search for a term and see multiple docs/pages at once, without having to open a dozen Word docs and search individually (or with Mac OS's Content Search which is flakey and not always recently indexed).

I've also got a .scriv file of recipes, I've got one for short stories, I've got one for translations of languages that I'm learning, etc. I just find it brilliant and adaptable for so many things.

[Urcheon]

I don’t think apps are important, I think that fitting writing around a FT job and family life/caring responsibilities/whatever involves giving something up to carve out regular meaningful time. I would go straight from putting DS to bed in the evenings to my desk — I gave up watching tv and a couple of night-time hobbies, and switched my runs to early morning.

[Longlazyday]

Blue tooth keyboard is inspired. Excellent thread.

[Fluffywhitecloudsinthesky]

I would think about getting a very light laptop so that's an option to carry it around, even just two or three times a week. The Bluetooth keyboard/phone is a great idea, but I wouldn't want to then edit on a phone, so something that is accessible from multiple platforms is probably good.

I just open Word and start. Now I'm thinking if I need Scrivener! I don't like making notes separately from my writing though.

I write pretty much most days- one of my colleagues writes 750 words a day in about 20 min, I write about 500, and I write on anything, books, autobiographical stuff, me moaning, diaries connected with specific topics, write about writing, anything that gets me going.

I've found once I started writing some words most days, this flow has carried through to the 'real' thing I'm writing, which is usually a book or a paper (I write for work and for fun).

If I get stuck on one thing, I switch genres to something else, and if I want a day or two off, I take it! It's not a regime, just a way of getting started and enjoying writing rather than putting it off.