Writing for the Busy

How to finish that first draft even if you think you don’t have time.

Writing is time-consuming. Writing a book is time-devouring. A common excuse I have heard from many people is that they are “too busy” to finish the first draft. If you have ever written or attempted to write a book, you will most likely know the feeling. I know that I did.

The Concept

The other day, I had an idea while I was browsing Twitter. What if people wrote in short, 140 character bursts? It could take a while—probably a long while—to write long articles or books, but you might be able to get words written instead of staring at a blank page (in the end, anything is better than a blank document). I would like to think of this as writing for the busy. Any time you feel bored, instead of whipping out Angry Birds or Facebook, try writing just around 140 characters. You don’t have to write anything specific, this can be a kind of journal or just a place to keep stray thoughts. Make sure you can get words written. I would encourage you to try to keep a habit of writing two or three bursts a day.

The Numbers

If you wanted to write a fifty-thousand word book (about as long as a mid-sized novel), that is an average of around three-hundred-thousand characters. These numbers seem quite daunting, but at an average of 420 characters a day (three bursts a day), you could finish the draft in just around two years. Keep in mind that this was only using these short bursts and, as a writer, I know that you will most likely have a more than a few longer sessions thrown in with these that will bring this number down much farther.

Small bursts break writing down into bite-sized chunks that make the task seem far less daunting and much more managable. If you are having trouble getting the habit to catch, I suggest that you actually take up a new Twitter account and put your short bursts here, then tell a few friends who you can trust to guilt you into keeping up with the habit.