Increasing Productivity With Writing Sprints

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

I’m always looking for ways to change things up and find ways to increase motivation and productivity.

I usually don’t have a hard time writing first thing in the morning because it’s a rote activity for me now.  But what’s harder is adding additional writing time during the day…you know: those tricky times when life has a way of interrupting in many ways. And, with my life somewhat uprooted by the pandemic, I’ve sometimes struggled to maintain focus in late-morning or afternoon writing sessions.

One way I’ve worked to add in more writing time is by engaging in writing sprints. In one sense, I’ve always been a sprinter because I write in 15-20 minute intervals with a timer. But this is a little different: these are sprints with other writers, who are also working on goals.  I got hooked on them during NaNoWriMo, where I found sprints pretty much around the clock on Twitter for the month of November. But after November was over, I looked online to find some other places to sprint.

Somehow I’d forgotten about YouTube. :) There’s a large author community there and quite a few of them host live write-ins.

At times when no one is sprinting, I’ve watched replays of some of the write-ins and used their timers to work on my books.

Although I specifically was using the sprints to work on one of my two current projects, it was interesting to read and hear in the wrap-ups afterward what other writers were working on. Some of them would do promo-related things. Some worked on outlines, others on editing. And some even spent the time working to clear up their writing space.

Even though I’m usually lurking during sprints, I’ve found they can really help me add more words each day.  I’d think it could also help writers with their confidence: hearing other writers’ word counts can make you realize writing can be a struggle for everyone. Many times in the breaks between sprints, there will be a roundtable discussion of current challenges the different writers are facing and how everyday life finds a way to intrude. And, if you introduce yourself during your sprint, I think it could offer a form of accountability, too.

There’s one particular group that I focus on following because they helpfully publish a spreadsheet each month listing scheduled sprints.  (See below for an example from January.)  Find the stream for April here.

As I mentioned before, if none of the scheduled sprints work for you, the replays seemed to work just as well for me in keeping motivated.

Some of the YouTube channels I subscribe to (that offer sprints and write-ins):

Word Stitch Write-Ins (Mondays 4pm-6pm ET Write-ins)

Lisa Daily (Wednesdays 11 a.m. ET)

Tamara Woods (Thursdays, 2:00 p.m. ET)

Carrow Brown  (Tuesdays, 1:00 p.m. ET)

Misha Gerrick (Saturdays 12:00 p.m. ET)

Formats for the sprints/write-ins vary, although usually you’ll have sprints (from anywhere to 5-minute warm-ups to 25 minutes of longer sessions) interspersed by  single or group moderators discussing writing and life in between.

Do you participate in writing sprints? Are there any on YouTube you can recommend? How do you keep yourself motivated?

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