11 Tricks That Will Actually Get You In The "Writing Zone" Without Wasting Time

You don't have to sacrifice a newborn lamb to the writing gods every time you sit down to write, but sometimes it helps to have a small ritual transition between normal-you and writer-you. Maybe you light a candle, or make yourself a cup of coffee. Maybe you start by writing out a description of your week so far, or you put on your favorite shade of lipstick, or you straighten up your desk. Try out a couple of different rituals if you need to, and find what gets you psyched up/chilled out enough to write.

Are you an early riser or a night owl? Try setting aside writing time first thing in the morning, in the mid-afternoon, and right before bed to see which works best for you. Then stick with that time as much as you can. Sometimes finding the writing zone is as simple as finding the right hour of the day to start writing.

If you know that you write best in a coffee shop, find a local coffee shop and become a regular. If you write best at your own desk, make sure that it stays relatively neat. If you like to write from bed, then... just do that, I guess. And if you can't force yourself to start writing alone, find a writer buddy so the two of you can sit there and suffer together.

Some people (myself included) can only write in dead silence or while blasting Celtic rock. But musical tastes vary, so find a reliable writing playlist for yourself. Try classical music, movie soundtracks, or even video game music if lyrics are going to be too much of a distraction. Even if you don't like to write with music, having a pump up or chill out song to get you into the zone can help focus your energy on your manuscript instead of work/stress/the guy who's currently ghosting you.

Put your phone on airplane mode. Turn off your computer's Wi-Fi. Tell your friends you'll be out of reach for the afternoon. If you need to, download a self-control app that'll shut you out of distracting websites. I promise that you'll survive life off of the grid for an hour or two, and you'll find it much harder to procrastinate without the world wide web at your fingertips.

Remember outside? The air moves out there. It's pretty great. If you've been spending the whole day in bed, or staring at screens, or lying motionless on the floor, you might want to try going for an old fashioned walk. Grab a notebook and walk to the park, or even around the block. Go for a run if that's your thing. Go buy yourself a new flavor of potato chip. If you're really feeling ambitious, leave your phone at home. Just getting out of the house and moving your body might help you refocus and start thinking about how to start that next chapter.

Unfortunately, we don't always have unlimited time to stroll through the park or try out different writing spots. Many of us have to work at "jobs" to earn "money" for "rent." So if you need a shortcut to get yourself writing, you can always bribe yourself with some kind of treat: if you write 500 words today, you get to take a bubble bath, or watch the next episode of Veep. 1,000 words, you treat yourself to brunch. 5,000 words, you buy that cute faux leather jacket. (Use this method sparingly, though, because it gets expensive fast.)

I am forever making other people nervous with my pacing, foot jiggling, and hand wringing. If you tend to have a lot of excess energy, try jumping jacks or yoga before you dive back into writing that screenplay. Stretch. Breathe. Invest in a standing desk, or a fidget spinner, or silly putty, so that you're not just sitting motionless as you try to come up with ideas. You'll be surprised just how much easier it is to stay in that zone when you're not bursting with restless energy.

If you just aren't in the mood to write, try reading. Get another author's voice inside your head, and you'll find it a lot easier to start putting words on paper yourself. Every writer needs books to fuel their weird writer brains. And while it can be hard to go from watching TV or talking with friends to writing the next Great American Novel, going from reading to writing is the most natural transition in the world.

Stick with it. If you train yourself to write at the same time every day, or every other day, or even every week, chances are it's going to get easier and easier to get into the zone. Make your writing time sacred. It's not just free time that you're using to write, it's your daily allotment of writing time, and it must be respected. Write something during every session, even if it's just your grocery list.

Don't underestimate the power of a good free-write. Not in the right creative mood to revise your poetry chapbook? Too bad. Just start writing whichever words come to your brain, until some of those words start to take shape as ideas. Free yourself from the need to write "well," and just write. Write like nobody's reading. Don't beat yourself up if you write for a solid hour and none of it is usable. Count it as a success, because you were able to start writing and keep writing, and that's no mean feat.