This post is approximately 500 words.

As a writer, I’m continually looking for ways to say things differently: more concisely, more interestingly, and perhaps most importantly, in a way that you haven’t read before.

One of the more enjoyable ways to accomplish this is using analogies, a sometimes challenging exercise because a bad analogy will fall on its face like an elephant on roller skates.

Good, you’re still with me, despite what I just did there.

In the process of writing this book, I’ve found a new method to be more productive when I sit down at the computer. But before this morning, I didn’t have a way to convey it to others, at least not a satisfactory (i.e. interesting) one.

I suspect many writers are like me in this regard: we want our typing fingers moving top speed the moment we sit down to write. But – he said with a smile at this understatement – it’s hard. Ridiculously so on some days. Much time is wasted staring at the screen or typing the literary equivalent of “Me am good writer who tell good story.” As much as I despise the word can’t, sometimes a person can’t just sit down and start writing.

But imagine sitting down and immediately typing as fast as you can think. No time wasted building momentum. No burning rubber in place, either. You sit down and Pow! you’re already at your optimal racing velocity. Imagine a racecar that was allowed to speed up to the starting line, instead of accelerating from zero.

My new approach requires me to spend time organizing things out in my head first. Well, shouldn’t a writer be doing that anyways? Yes, of course. But it’s more than mulling over characters or plotlines in a daydreamy way, in a I’ll get to that later because it’s soooo good kind of way. It’s developing, and sticking to, a plan.

That’s the way I wrote this post. The gears turned as I perused Facebook this morning. It continued as I shaved my head and showered. By the time I sat down to write, I could immediately start typing, despite my wife watching a show and my son needing help with a puzzle game on my phone. And it’s the approach I use with my manuscript, too.

Yeah, I get it. It feels less organic, less spontaneous. Some might even say it’s less arty because you’re not struck by divine inspiration. But if you wait forever to complete your work because you haven’t been hit by the muse, is it still art? Probably not. It’s another abandoned piece that seemed too difficult and too time-consuming to complete.

Are you looking for a way to power through the distractions? Doing the pre-work – can we call it pre-writing? – will get you moving full speed when you can finally sit down to write.

It gives you an advantage over the person slowly accelerating because their muse is still pushing them out of the racing pit.

–Michael