Use the Growth Mindset to Write in Fifteen Minute Chunks
Writing Tip Number One
Recently, several people have congratulated me on my “natural” writing. I thank them and try not to giggle. Why? Because I am not a “natural” writer. I have written and published enough that I found my writer’s voice.
Instead of talent, I have persistence. I use that persistence in small, timeboxed chunks. That’s part of the growth mindset.
Why? Because I don’t need a ton of time to write. I can take one thing, explore it, and see how far I can go in just fifteen minutes. No writer’s block, because it’s just fifteen minutes.
🤣 Side note: I need a fourteen-minute block for fiction. I’m not sure where to go once I hit fourteen minutes, so I need a break. How funny is that??
Why fifteen minutes? Several reasons:
- I can almost always find fifteen minutes to write something. (If I can’t, I use ten minutes. Sometimes, I use five minutes.)
- That short time allows me to make progress on whatever writing project I have.
- The pressure is off. I made a little progress and I know I can write more later.
- With enough fifteen-minute chunks, I can finish something almost every week.
🔊 Like this secret? Want to use your growth mindset to improve your writing? Please join me in the Free Your Inner Writer Workshop.
This article is part of an intermittent series of writing secrets, originally posted on the author’s website on June 30, 2021.
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