SW027: Write More


We discuss developing writing habits, and how to turn them into cravings, and the importance of learning to write everywhere.

We discuss what flow state is, and how to train yourself to reach it quickly.


There are times when I hate everything I write, and constantly check the clock, but then there are times when it’s like I’m in a dream. I live in the story, and it flows out of me, and I wake up an hour, or sometimes 5 hours later. That is flow state. That is what you want to train your mind to do.

When I first started writing, I felt like if I didn’t have at least 45min, I couldn’t get into the story, and what happened was I only wrote twice a week. But learning to write a novel in 5min a day is not about only writing for 5min. It’s about learning to write at any time and learning to write anywhere.

There are two ways to look at writing in non-optimal environments. You can ask yourself, “Can I write in the subway?” Or you can challenge yourself, “Can I learn to write on the subway.” Once you master that, you can write anywhere, as long as you have your laptop, or just your phone if you do dictation.

Sometimes writing has to be interrupted so you can deal with the rest of your life, and if you’ve learned to reach a flow state, you need to set a timer or you will miss everything.

To create an addiction to writing, pair it with something else in life you crave. For me, it’s Swedish fish, for a long time I didn’t allow myself to buy them because no matter how many I bought that’s how many I’d eat in a day. If I bought a 5 lb. bag, I ate 5 lbs. Once you’ve made that pairing, have a barrier that you can strengthen, so you’re not constantly getting into it.