How to Get More Writing Done While in Isolation

A good writer is not a product of a dice roll. Rather, resilience and hard work result in improved writing skills.

The isolation required by COVID-19 may be new to us, but not to the history of humankind. Writerly resilience shines through hard times. This might as well be your time to shine.

If you’re determined to draw in strength, knuckle down and do the work necessary to produce your best writing ever, here are 3 ways to get to it.

1. Stay Creative

Writing is a form of art. Staying creative is essential to get more writing done.

As writers, we use words to give creativity a voice. When words fail us, shift and focus on giving it a form instead. Painting, drawing, sewing—channel the newfound free time in self isolation to any creative art that piques your interest. Change helps keep the momentum going.

As the old adage goes, if you have four hours to chop down a tree, you stand a better chance if you take one of those hours to sharpen your axe. Investing time in finding ways to stay creative sharpens your writing skills.

Creative work, after all, stretches your mind and compounds the quality of your writing.

2. Stay Focused

Writing requires focus, there’s no other way around it. Steven King would hunch over his writing desk for hours. Benjamin Franklin would skip breakfast to explore the intensity of focused work. The good thing about isolation is that fewer distractions will come knocking at your door.

If you’ve ever struggled to say no to a trivial party or an ineffective business meeting, COVID-19 has made the job easier for you. The time you never seem to have for the goals you keep pushing back is finally here.

What’s stopping you?

3. Stay Connected

Did you know that a sorrow shared is a sorrow halved?

Talk to your fellow writers and stay connected to a creative community. Chances are, other writers share the same challenge as you. Online social networks, writing groups and communities offer platforms for meaningful exchanges and relationship building.

Use the power of connectivity to hold each other accountable and move faster towards your common goals.