A lot of us don't have problems writing, we enjoy writing, and it comes easily... But there is a problem that many of us who like to write also suffer from, and that is the issue is losing our focus, or losing our trust in the work.

 

Focusing on your writing, and finishing a work is important, it's as important as doing everything correctly, because if you write, then never finish anything, that is only barely better than never having started at all. Finishing SOMETHING should be your primary goal, because finished works are what everyone wants, no one wants something unfinished of yours unless you're already famous. So how to stay focused on your projects and finish it even if you get discouraged? 

 

 

Set goals for yourself that fit with what you're capable of accomplishing. If you know that you can only write 1 or 2 good pages a day, NO PRESSURE, set a goal for a page or 2 a day, and that is fine. Remember most of us aren't working on deadlines yet, so don't act like it'll be the end of the world if you can't finish it as quickly as you wanted. Most of us are just starting out, and unless you're a prodigy most of us are only capable of writing a small amount a day. Someone like Stephen King who can sit down and knock out a dozen pages a day, gets that way because he's spent 40 years writing, once you spend 4 decades writing EVERY SINGLE DAY, you might get that fast too, until then be comfortable with aiming small. 

 

Completing a work in 2 months is better than trying to hammer out something in 5 days, getting mad because it's not flowing, then giving up on it. 

 

 

A tactic that really helps for me is to have a physical calender or planner that I can look at every day. It helps me keep track of my progress better, and it gives me something tangible to keep in my head. 

 

Something I like doing is making a check on it everyday that I work, that way I can see gaps in my progress, and it's a little bit more important than an "Oh I can just do it later"-feeling. I see the days that I missed out and I go, "Well now I know I have to work harder to try to make up for my lost time." 

 

Calenders really help me stay focused, and might help you so try it out.

 

 

For me, I have a few different schedules that really help me, and something that helps me is taking breaks. It gives me a set of objectives to accomplish, and lets me cool it a little and think before I jump back into the fray. It helps me stay focused because it gives me something to work towards. 

 

This might help you, or it may not, but try it out. I usually go with a 30 minutes on, 30 minutes off system, but i've also worked well with an hour on and a half hour off when I am really busy and I am writing easily. So just try it, remember to just stay cool and let it flow, and that will be much easier than trying to force it out. 

 

 

You aren't done yet, and you are constantly disparaging yourself instead of moving forward. Finish the work, making it "good" can come in the editing phase. The important part is getting the first draft out and getting it FINISHED, then you can worry about how good or bad it is. 

AND, even if you don't like it, and it really is bad, you STILL got the experience of writing it, and got it out, and learned things. Sometimes we have to write a few really bad works until we can get to something that we think is deserving. Your first work will probably be not that great, but the important thing is finishing it. 

 

The important idea behind staying focused is reminding yourself to just get it out, take time each day to set aside and write a little, and as you write more and more, it really does get easier. 

 

If you just remind yourself that every other writer started in just about the same position, it really helps you to move on and write how you really want to instead of feeling trapped by a blank page. 

Good luck!