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Your Writing Routine

cartoon owl reading a book illustrating an article about establishing a good creative writing routineMost of us respond well to routine.

We have routines for our everyday life, including work and pleasure, so it makes sense to establish a good writing routine.

Writing regularly is a good routine to get into for writers.

You can get more work done in shorter but regular writing sessions than in the occasional long, drawn out session.

Having writing as part of your regular routine gets you into the correct frame of mind for the work.

I find that without a routine I tend to feel a bit lost and somewhat aimless. This is a great way to be on holiday but not when you want to complete a project.

CREATE YOUR OWN DEADLINES

I don’t like the deadlines for my projects being too far away and if they are, I tend to break them down into mini deadlines and bring them forward.

Instead of aiming to complete a novel in a years time. I tell myself I will get a chapter done by the end of this month.

Large and unstructured goals often don’t get achieved and you can see why.

The idea of delivering 300 pages is very difficult to even think about.

blackbird on a branch illustrating an article about establishing a good creative writing routineBut, if you break it down into a page a day, or even a page each day five days a week – then it becomes much more manageable.

Getting up a half hour, or an hour earlier in the mornings, in order to write isn’t that difficult.

Taking a short lunch break to write isn’t that difficult either.

Half an hour is more than enough time to at least complete a creative writing exercise and you will benefit enormously.

There are lots of ways to rescue some of your ‘lost time’ and schedule it into your writing routine.

You could also try some of these time management tips.

CAN THAT SOAP

Watching the omnibus version of your favourite soap can free up extra time in the evenings for writing.

Shopping online can save you time by cutting out the time lost traveling and wandering around shops.

Look at your routine and see how you can alter and adapt it to fit in some writing.

Why can’t you write a page a day or spare a half hour a day?

BUSY IS NO EXCUSE

Being too busy is one of the biggest excuses people make.

I have taught creative writing, both at college level and at evening classes and I have heard this one over and over again. 

I wonder is it an excuse not to try?  If we don’t try we can’t fail?

We’re all so terrified of failing and it is one of the biggest reasons for procrastination.

I’m just as afraid of failing as the next person but I don’t let it stop me. At the end of the day you can’t fail by trying.

Still, I wish there was no such word. I would love to replace the word failing with learning.

We need to remember failing is part of the process.

If you allow yourself to be too scared of failing, you will be scared of trying.

Remember you’ve only got one life. 

So, don’t give up before you’ve begun – make writing part of your routine.

While you’re here don’t forget to download your free creative writing tracker. It’s just over on the right of this page.

It helps you keep track of your writing progress and it’s inspiring to see how much you’ve done at a glance.

Best of luck with your writing

Grace

P.S. All the creative writing tips and information are provided here free for you. All I ask is that you leave a comment in the box and like, or share so that others may learn too.

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2 Responses to Your Writing Routine

  1. Christine Campbell May 16, 2014 at 3:46 am #

    Totally agree with all you say in this post, especially the bit about being too busy. So many people claim they would love to write if they just weren’t’t so busy, yet real writers write come what may. I remember being too busy, but that was before I believed I could really write.

    • Grace May 16, 2014 at 2:12 pm #

      Hi Christine, thanks for dropping by. That is an interesting point you make about belief in your writing cancelling out the idea of being too busy! You are right – confidence in your writing helps enormously.

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