Why You Should Start Writing In Sprints
After years of writing personal essays and nonfiction, I have decided to return to my roots of fiction writing. It’s been several decades since I attempted to create a world and characters all my own, but in some ways, it’s proving to be just like getting back on a metaphorical bicycle.
For the most part, anyway. Other times, I stare at the blinking cursor in my document with mounting frustration because the words just aren’t coming. I’ll spend hours staring. I’ll waste an entire Saturday afternoon only to come out on the other side with only 200 words to show for it.
This is why I decided to start writing in sprints. Quick, short bursts of writing set against a timer. Amazingly, I get more writing done in 15 minutes than I do in four hours.
Here is why I love sprints and encourage you to also start setting your own timer to write:
Sprints make it easy to make time
One of the struggles of being a writer with a full-time job is finding time to write. Between work and family obligations, carving out an hour or two on a frequent and regular basis is a challenge.
My sprints are 15 minutes. That’s it. Just 15 minutes. Every morning I wake up, get ready, eat breakfast, then write for 15 minutes before going to the office. I set a…
