How to Develop a Writing Routine
How to create a writing routine to get work done.
If you’re first getting started as a writer, a writing routine can help you establish a habit of writing regularly, improving your productivity and creativity. Writing routines can also help you stay motivated and focused on your work.
The Basics of a Writing Routine
Writing routines are different for every person, and what works for one person might not work for another. You might have to play around and try different things to find what works for you.
Here are some tips to help you establish a writing routine:
Set clear goals. Define your writing goals, whether writing for a set amount of time per day or writing a certain number of words, etc. Having clear goals will provide direction and motivation for your routine.
Determine your optimal writing time. Identify the time of day when you feel most energized, focused, and creative. It could be early morning, late at night, or any other time that works best for you. Choose a time slot that you can consistently dedicate to your writing practice and schedule those blocks of time in a calendar. Treat this time as a non-negotiable appointment.
Create a conducive writing environment. Designate a space that is conducive to writing. It could be a quiet corner in your home, a local coffee shop, or a library. Eliminate distractions as much as possible and set up your writing area with the necessary tools and resources to support your writing process.
Start with manageable commitments. Begin with small, achievable writing goals to build momentum. For example, commit to writing for 15 minutes daily or a specific number of words. As you develop consistency, you can gradually increase the duration or intensity of your writing sessions.
Develop rituals or triggers. Establish rituals or triggers that signal the start of your writing routine. It could be making tea, listening to a particular song, or reading a few pages of a book. These cues help condition your mind to transition into the writing mode and enhance focus.
Experiment and adapt. Be flexible and willing to adjust your routine as needed. If your chosen writing time or location is not working optimally, try different approaches until you find what suits you best. Experiment with different techniques, such as freewriting, outlining, or brainstorming, to discover what enhances your productivity and creativity.
Hold yourself accountable. Find accountability measures that work for you. It could involve sharing your writing goals with a writing partner or joining a writing group where you can regularly discuss your progress. Alternatively, you can use productivity apps or tools that track your writing time or word count.
Read more: The Different Types of Editing
The Routines of Famous Authors
If you’re struggling to come up with ideas for your writing routine, try borrowing practices from some authors you might know:
“When I am working on a book or a story I write every morning as soon after first light as possible. There is no one to disturb you and it is cool or cold and you come to your work and warm as you write. You read what you have written and, as you always stop when you know what is going to happen next, you go on from there. You write until you come to a place where you still have your juice and know what will happen next and you stop and try to live through until the next day when you hit it again. You have started at six in the morning, say, and may go on until noon or be through before that. When you stop you are as empty, and at the same time never empty but filling, as when you have made love to someone you love. Nothing can hurt you, nothing can happen, nothing means anything until the next day when you do it again. It is the wait until the next day that is hard to get through.”
“I awake at 5:30, work until 8:00, eat breakfast at home, work until 10:00, walk a few blocks into town, do errands, go to the nearby municipal swimming pool, which I have all to myself, and swim for half an hour, return home at 11:45, read the mail, eat lunch at noon. In the afternoon I do schoolwork, either teach or prepare. When I get home from school at about 5:30, I numb my twanging intellect with several belts of Scotch and water ($5.00/fifth at the State Liquor store, the only liquor store in town. There are loads of bars, though.), cook supper, read and listen to jazz (lots of good music on the radio here), slip off to sleep at ten. I do pushups and sit ups all the time, and feel as though I am getting lean and sinewy, but maybe not.”
Stephen King
“I sit down, from 8:00 to 8:30, somewhere within that half hour every morning. I have my vitamin pill and my music, sit in the same seat, and the papers are all arranged in the same places…The cumulative purpose of doing these things the same way every day seems to be a way of saying to the mind, you’re going to be dreaming soon.”
Alice Munro
“I write every morning, seven days a week. I write starting about eight o’clock and finish around eleven….I am so compulsive that I have a quota of pages. I’m also compulsive now about how much I walk every day….Three miles every day, so if I know I’m going to miss a day, I have to make it up. I watched my father go through this same thing. You protect yourself by thinking if you have all these rituals and routines then nothing can get you.”
Read more: Three Elements for Writing the Setting of Your Story
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