6 Easy Steps to Smartmaxxing Your Drafting Process
or… How to Make Your Drafting Process More Enjoyable and Work for You. Keep reading and leave a comment to join this dialogue, then check out today’s motivation in Community Notes!
Sorry! I just couldn’t stop myself from jumping on the ‘maxxing’ trend— that trend where people are ‘maxxing’ everything from their early morning routines to their workloads to their workouts, appearance, diets, relationships, etc. But don’t worry, this post will not be riddled with words like ‘optimization’ and ‘productivity’ and ‘impact’ and ‘hacking.’ No, the aim of this post is to help you consider and enjoy your drafting process, not make you feel like you should be a bot who approaches their drafting process like a machine with zero creative and human impulses would.
First, a confession: I’m a Millennial, so I can’t read the term ‘maxxing’ without thinking about The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’s theme song, where Will Smith raps:
“In West Philadelphia born and raised
On the playground is where I spent most of my days
Chillin’ out, MAXIN’, relaxin’ all cool
And all shootin’ some b-ball outside of the school…”
… so it’s taken me a minute or two to adjust to how ‘maxxing’ is being used now, by both younger and older adults, to communicate when someone intends to take an action or lifestyle to its absolute limit, often to ‘optimize’ a specific trait or achieve a particular goal. Derived from ‘maximizing,’ ‘maxxing’ is used as a suffix attached to nouns or verbs (i.e. looksmaxxing, gymmaxxing, careermaxxing, lovemaxxing, moneymaxxing, stylemaxxing, chefmaxxing, etc.), which means that someone can basically ‘max’ anything, so why not ‘smartmax’ your drafting process, or make it the best that it can be, for you?
When I suggest that you consider smartmaxxing your drafting process, I am NOT suggesting you need to write faster or write more, like a machine, or that you need to ‘hack’ your creativity or creativity itself. Blegh. What I am suggesting is that you pause and take a beat to consider how you can remove friction from your drafting process and intentionally apply, on a routine and satisfying cadence, what already works for you, especially if you aren’t yet mindful of what works for you when you’re drafting. I am suggesting that you look for small, simple, consistent things you can do to make drafting feel less like a chore you loathe and more like a pleasant journey you look forward to being on each time you sit down to write.
The remainder of this post includes steps you can take to start smartmaxxing your drafting process today. I hope they’re as helpful as they are easy to follow.
Step 1: Audit your current drafting process.
Before you can improve your drafting process or apply the drafting process that will work best for you, you’ll want to take note of what’s currently working and not working for you whenever you sit down to write or try to sit down and write.
Consider the basics first: Do you find it easier to write in the mornings or evenings? Where do you tend to get your best drafting done? And when and where do you find it easier to focus? What’s worked for you in the past when drafting went well?
Then consider: What tends to derail you the most when you’re trying to write? Distractions, perfectionism, finding time to write, or decision fatigue? And what do you find to be the hardest part about drafting? Getting started, the muddling middle, or sustaining your momentum once you get going?
Instead of relying solely on generic writing advice, take a beat to ask yourself questions like these so you have a better understanding of your own personal friction points, those things that stand between you and consistent, enjoyable drafting sessions. If it helps, keep a notepad or app handy over the next couple weeks to track what’s working for you, and what’s not.
While this certainly won’t work for everyone, I have learned that I need to start writing as soon as possible each and every day. Otherwise, I get distracted and other things start popping up to do or handle. Some days this means I start writing as early as 5AM, while other days I don’t start writing until around 7AM. Regardless, I do the bulk of my writing each day before anything else can demand my attention.
I have also learned that it’s much easier for me to write each and every day to maintain not only my writing momentum but the quality of what I write. But I’m careful (now) not to overdo it, otherwise I lose steam and creative inspiration. If I write thousands of words in one sitting or write for four or five hour stretches without a break, I get burnt out and it’s highly unlikely I’ll write much, or anything of decent quality, over the next several days. I also make it a point to stop when I know where I am going to pick up the next morning (more on this below).
Step 2: Smartmaxx your drafting environment.
Once you’ve started your audit, you might want to smartmaxx your drafting environment next.
To eliminate decision fatigue, you’ll want to consider drafting in the same place, at the same time, using the same tools each time you sit down to write. You’ll also want to consider implementing a simple ritual before you write to signal to yourself that it’s time to write, like taking five deep breaths, making a cup of coffee, or repeating a mantra (i.e. “You got this.” or “Time to write.”). This way, the simple act of sitting down to write will trigger your instinct to start drafting, like you’re on autopilot. Repetition is key here.
Also, consider arranging your writing area and getting your coffee and drinks ready, even take a bathroom break, before you start drafting. This way, simple things won’t distract you once you get started. Which means you’ll also want to silence your phone and other mobile devices and put them on the other side of the room, so you don’t absentmindedly reach for them while you’re drafting.
And (perhaps during your audit?), you’ll want to know what tools and apps you’ll need to write before you sit down to write. What word processor will you want to use? Will you want to use voice-to-text to get ideas down faster, or use pen and paper?
You’ll also want to allow yourself five to ten minutes at the beginning of each writing session to review where you left off and end each session with a note about where you want to pick up next so you’re never starting a writing session blind or from scratch.
Basically, removing potential distractions and micro-decisions from writing sessions before those writing sessions even begin will allow your brain to focus on what you’re actually writing and your writing process, not everything or anything else.
Step 3: Smartmaxx your drafting mindset.
This step is more challenging than it seems, as it requires you to let go of those mindsets that hinder your drafting process so that you can adopt a mindset that keeps you focused and writing.
First, it’s helpful to adopt a curious mindset. Ask yourself questions about what you’re writing as you’re writing instead of assuming you should already know exactly what you should be writing and exactly how you should be writing it before you even begin writing. Expect the drafting process to feel incomplete sometimes, and that your blossoming work will have a lot of holes in it as you’re working on it. If you’re unclear about what’s happening in your writing as you’re drafting, that’s a good thing… until you stop asking yourself questions about what you’re writing as you’re writing.
Condition yourself to think of writing as an empowering and creative, artistic process, a discovery process where you’re working with raw materials to build something that doesn’t yet exist, which means you’ll have to allow yourself to write badly and stop clinging to your worst enemy: perfectionism. Drafting should be messy, like you’re flinging paint onto a blank canvas that you’ll have to contour later. A rough draft is supposed to be rough.
“I thought of myself as like the jazz musician: someone who practices and practices and practices in order to be able to invent and to make his art look effortless and graceful. I was always conscious of the constructed aspect of the writing process, and that art appears natural and elegant only as a result of constant practice and awareness of its formal structures.”
“I don’t mind writing badly for a couple of days because I know I can fix it - and fix it again - and again and again and it will be better.”
— Toni Morrison
Smartmaxxing your drafting mindset will also require you to separate your drafting hat from your editing hat. Consider turning off spell-check or using a different font or writing in a different color—anything that signals “I’m in drafting mode, not editing mode.” Editing and revising require a more methodical, critical mindset. Instead of discovering what happens next as you draft, when you have your editing hat on, you’ll be picking apart every single word you’re choosing and restructuring the same sentences over and over again way too soon, killing your writing momentum and creativity.
Find ways to stay writing as you draft, to maintain your best drafting mindset. For example, use the ‘placeholder technique’ by inserting notes into your drafts like: [DESCRIBE SETTING LATER], [FIX THIS DIALOGUE], [RESEARCH X], and come back to those sections later. Or highlight passages you’ll want to come back to and play with later. As you draft, it’s more important to keep moving forward and maintain your writing momentum than it is to perfect each paragraph, which you’ll do when you edit and revise what you’re drafting.
When I draft, I will highlight words and passages I know I’ll want to edit later in yellow, passages that I want to reiterate or remember for later sections in the same draft in green, and where I should start my next drafting session in orange. And I am a fan of the placeholder technique. But again, you should take note of what works for you as you draft, what keeps you in the best drafting mindset, so that you can intentionally do those things each time you sit down to write.
Step 4: Smartmaxx your drafting momentum.
Here’s the truth. Starting anything worth doing is hard. Stopping something that is going well, or that you’re learning and enjoying, can also be hard. But restarting something that is going well, after losing your momentum, is harder than both of those things.
Maintaining your writing momentum is critical to smartmaxxing your drafting process, which is why I write every day, even if I only end up writing one or two paragraphs on some of those days. If it helps, keep a daily writing minimum that feels laughably easy to do (100 words or 10 minutes), so that you never lose your writing momentum.
“One of the only ways to maintain a strong and consistent writing momentum and avoid writer’s block whenever you sit down to write is to keep a daily writing routine. Even if you only have one hour to write each day, your brain will get used to writing for that one hour you do manage to allocate for writing each day— your brain will be ready to write each time you sit down to write, once it’s hardwired to write due to the writing habit and routine you create for it. Furthermore, a daily writing routine will ensure you know exactly where to pick up with your writing each time you sit down to write because there won’t be large gaps of time between your writing sessions, as long as you’re intentional with your writing sessions and always make it a point to know what you’re going to write during your next writing session before your current writing session is over.”
I also smartmaxx my drafting momentum by stopping when I know I am ‘going good’ and when I know what will happen next. I often stop drafting mid-sentence or mid-scene, so I know exactly where to pick up the next time I sit down to write. Read more about the nuances of this practice, inspired by Hemingway’s advice (below) in: The Writing Habit That Changed Everything for Me.
“The best way is always to stop when you are going good and when you know what will happen next. If you do that every day when you are writing a novel you will never be stuck. That is the most valuable thing I can tell you so try to remember it.” ― Ernest Hemingway
To keep your momentum, you might want to skip ahead and write the scenes and the portions of your draft that you’re most excited to write first. Also, don’t shy away from writing bullet points or summaries about what you’re drafting first, which you can go back to and expand on later. Consider tracking metrics that motivate you to keep your writing momentum, whether it’s figuring out a difficult scene or reaching your daily minimum. And most importantly, acknowledge that showing up to write is a win, especially when it’s difficult and not perfect.
Step 5: Remember why you’re smartmaxxing your drafting process.
Above all else, remember that you are smartmaxxing your drafting process to ensure that you enjoy your drafting process, not so you can write millions of words at optimum speed like some sort of machine.
Smartmaxxing your drafting process is about removing friction and being mindful of and intentionally applying that routine and cadence that works for you and your drafting. It’s about finding and implementing the small, simple, consistent things you can do to make drafting feel less like a chore you loathe and more like a pleasant journey you look forward to being on each time you sit down to write.
You are smartmaxxing your drafting process so that it’s easier to show up and draft regularly, long-term, by removing those parts of the process that make drafting feel more like a punishment than a journey and by creating conditions where your creativity is celebrated and harnessed.
You’re not smartmaxxing your drafting process to be the fastest writer or for ‘optimal productivity.’ You’re smartmaxxing your drafting process to channel consistency, joy, discovery, and sustainability in your own authentic writing voice and writing lifestyle.
Please remember how critical it is that you’re mindful of what works for you and what doesn’t work for you as an individual writer, and that you don’t get too caught up in comparing what works for you with what works for others. As I mentioned above: Instead of relying solely on generic writing advice, take note of your own personal friction points, those things that stand between you and consistent, enjoyable drafting sessions. And feel free to keep a notepad or app handy to track what’s working for you, and what’s not.
Step 6: Smartmaxx what works for YOUR drafting process.
Pick one thing from this post to experiment with this week to get started. Decide on the best word processor for you or download a tool that helps you minimize distractions as you write. Or figure out precisely how you want to arrange your writing area to get rid of unnecessary decision fatigue when you sit down to write. Or figure out how to adopt a curious mindset while taking off your editing hat as you’re drafting. Or figure out the best strategy to maintain a writing momentum that works for you. Or do something not mentioned in this post.
Just pick one thing to do that will help you smartmaxx your drafting process and do it for a week, then make note of what happens and be prepared to tweak what works for you. Smartmaxxing is iterative.
Be prepared to discover what works for you as you draft. And remember that the best drafting process is the process that keeps you drafting, regardless of what that looks like.
What are your thoughts on this topic? What’s one friction point in your drafting process you’d love to eliminate? Or what’s one thing about your drafting process that’s already working really well for you?
Leave a comment to join this dialogue, and don’t forget to share this post with others so they can join this dialogue too.
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© This work is not available for artificial intelligence (AI) training. All Rights Reserved by K.E. Creighton; Creighton’s Compositions LLC.
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