I finished writing the second chapter of my novel today. It’s also been a month of consistently writing every day, which is a big achievement for a veteran procrastinator like me.

I’ve learned that when I get stuck in my writing or my mind starts to wander into the depths of the internet I need to pull back and do a quick draft of whatever it is I am working on at the moment.

I’ve also learned that when an idea comes to my mind I need to write it down as soon as I can. That means carrying a pocket notebook on whenever possible, but also writing things on scraps of paper or my phone and sorting through them as soon as I get home.

Finally, I’ve learned that I need to “brake for nobody” when I write. No looking up anything, no pausing to find a better word, no contemplating the merits of this name over that one. Get it all out on paper or on your computer, then go back to edit, polish, do the research, and figure out the nuances.

In writing like running, stopping for anything just makes starting back up again ten times as hard.