To those who never have problems writing the first drafts of their novels, you can skip this post. For others like me who sometimes find it a challenge (especially during the past couple of years) getting that first draft down, I highly recommend Linda Sue Park’s 12-minute Pomodoro routine. I learned about this during one of Linda Sue’s conference workshops at an SCBWI conference, with Emma Dryden. In a nutshell:
• Set a timer for 12 minutes. Any sort of timer will do. I use Focus Time on my iPhone while I write on my Mac or iPad. I’ve just started using Be Focused Pro – Focus Timer on my desktop Mac. On very bad days, I set the timer for a shorter interval. On good days, I’ll set the timer for longer.
• Write until your timer dings. Linda Sue suggests purposely writing FAST and BADLY during this time. “Pedal to metal, no distractions….it’s only 12 minutes, after all!” I found the “badly” part liberating because I tend to want to revise as I write. Giving myself permission to write badly, to NOT give into the impulse to re-read and re-write, was key for me. This is not a draft I would show anyone, of course, but gives me something to work with when I start revising.
• At the end of the 12 minutes, if you feel things are going well, hit restart on your timer and do another 12 minutes.
• Repeat previous step. Sometimes I’ll do this several times in a row before taking a break. Sometimes I’ll get so into the flow that I’ll forget about hitting start again and just keep writing. Other days, I’ll only be able to manage a single session — but at least (as Linda Sue points out in her Twitter thread, see below) this helps keep my story at the front of my mind. The important thing is to…
• Do this EVERY DAY.
Thanks to Linda Sue for permission to summarize this in a blog post! You can see her Twitter thread below. And if you organize conferences, I highly recommend booking Linda Sue Park for your in-person event! You can find out more about LSP and her conference speaking on her website.