Stop Spending Your Energy Writing The Wrong Material

So you want to be a writer. But how much of writing time are you spending focused on writing the wrong things?

I want to be a fiction writer. It has always been my dream to be a published author. To wander into a bookshop and find my books on the shelves.

That dream is very much alive and I have finished a manuscript and I’m working on my second book. But lately the progressed has slowed down. In fact, it has stalled and after looking at my writing practice, I have figured out why.

I am spending too much of my writing time focused on the wrong things.

In a recent story on Vocal, I wrote about mistakes that are common for new writers. My first advice to new writers was not to spread themselves too thin, but to focus on what type of writer they wanted to be. Maybe they wanted to be a fiction writer, a blogger or a lifestyle guru. My advice was to choose one thing to focus on and stick to it.

It is time to make a confession

I have not followed my own advice and have been trying to accomplish too much in the time I have available for writing.

I divide my writing time between my blog where I publish weekly, my books and my stories on Vocal. While I was off work, this was not a problem.

Last year, I had seven months off work following a cancer diagnosis. I had only just returned to working part-time when the lockdown happened. That was followed by a six week teachers’ summer holiday. I could dedicate whole days to writing if I wanted to and it was easy to keep up with the blog, online stories and my books.

But that could not last forever and I had to return to work in September. Since then I have been juggling the day job with my writing ambitions.

I have kept up with the weekly blog posts. I have kept up the frequency (at least almost) of my online stories. What has suffered the most are my books.

I have more to confess

The reason I kept writing on Vocal, was because I thought I might make some money faster than from my books. I have read several stories of writers who are making a living from writing on Vocal. This fuelled my decision to keep writing the stories.

But it hasn’t worked out like that.

It is possible to make decent money from your online stories, but making a living from them is rare.

I realised I needed to shift my focus back to my books, which had been on the back burner since I’d returned to work in September. I need to find a publisher for my first book and finish the second one. My dream of becoming a published fiction author is not going to materialise without me focusing on it.

Right now you might be thinking but you are still writing and publishing on Vocal. True, I am. Shifting my focus more on my books doesn’t mean I will stop writing online. I’ll still publish stories on Vocal, but I will adjust the frequency.

I believe writing in different genres and styles is good practice. So is publishing your work on Vocal. Publishing your work online gives your writing a purpose and an audience. It is also a chance to get feedback.

It is also possible that I still have hopes of one of my stories going viral and earing me a nice Christmas bonus.

The Take Away

Jokes aside, if you find yourself frustrated by your writing progress, or rather the lack of it, ask yourself this: are you spending your writing energies in the right places?

You need to use your writing time wisely. Especially when you are like me and juggling writing with the day job. Focus on your long-term writing goals rather than short-term gains.