The Dead Battery Game

The hardest thing for a writer to do is to actual sit down, get comfortable and start writing. In our daily lives there are distractions everywhere.

Y'know that old saying, "Couldn't (blank) to save his life?"

Well, what if the simplest thing to get you going on your writing was to create a deadline for yourself? Don't think you'll stick to it? How about if the deadline wasn't up to you but more your computer. If you're the kind of writer who types on a laptop, this will be the perfect exercise for you. Sometimes, to get the ball rolling, I'll play this game. I've only tried it on short stories but it seems to do the trick. Oh, and it has to be a laptop too. No desktop computers.

What you do is, bring your laptop with you to a place that is comfortable. Check the battery to make sure it's charged. When it is fully charged, unplug the battery charger and pack it up. Voila. Instant deadline. You now have to write, in a way, to save your muses' life. Depending on your laptop, you'll have anywhere from an hour to five hours of battery life without the charger. Maybe even a little bit longer. But now, with the charger gone, there's no stopping the creative clouds to start rumbling in. You have to type until the battery dies. Not to worry if it is good or bad, just so long as you type something.

In high school I would procrastinate all the way up until the very last minute on projects partly because those were when I would get my best ideas. The same might work for you.

And it might make writing a more furious, fun and challenging prospect.

Kimberly Steele, author of Forever Fifteen, a popular vampire novel, recently said in a forum that she wished she had the impetus to write a blog like mine. Thanks Kimberly. I feel honored that you read my blog and enjoy it. This post goes out to you and any other writer who wants a little extra kick to get their fiction writing going.



"One day I was speeding along at the typewriter, and my daughter - who was a child at the time - asked me, "Daddy, why are you writing so fast?" And I replied, "Because I want to see how the story turns out!" ~ Louis L'Amour