The five components of an unbeatable writing routine

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Almost every successful writer has some kind of writing routine. Not only does a routine help you get into the mindset of writing, it ensures you have some time to actually put the pen to paper. We’ve found five components that most great writing routines share, but before we pass them on to you, we have a couple of disclaimers. First, your writing routine doesn’t need to feature all the pieces, but it should include the ones that work for you. Second, don’t wait around for the pieces to fall into place. The absence of a solid writing routine should never act as an excuse for not writing—it’s simply there to facilitate the process as painlessly as possible. As E. B. White said, “A writer who waits for ideal conditions under which to work will die without putting a word on paper.” And on that cheerful note, let’s delve into the five components of an unbeatable writing routine.

Give yourself a time to write

For many writers, the hardest part about writing is committing to the act. When you combine a busy schedule with our tendency to procrastinate, it becomes very easy to postpone writing indefinitely. By setting a regular time to write, whether it’s an hour a day after dinner, a full morning every Saturday, or a three-day no-phone retreat once a month, you’re guaranteeing yourself a window to get your words in. It’s also a lot easier to persuade yourself to sit down at the desk when it’s in your calendar. If you can’t commit to a particular timeslot, tie it to a regular activity in your daily routine: write when you’re on the bus, on your lunch break, or for a few minutes before you go to bed.

Give yourself a location

Stephen King used to write in a laundry room, but some writers can’t start until they’re somewhere soundproof. Your ideal writing location will be up to you, but it should ideally be away from major distractions. If you find your kids keep interrupting you every time you hit your stride, leave the house during your writing time and head to a nearby café. If you can’t work around noise, head to the library. Or if you don’t need silence but can’t fight the temptations of Facebook, go somewhere you know there’s no Wi-Fi.

Give yourself a goal

It’s all too easy to give up on your writing session every time there’s a snag in your flow. To prevent this from happening, give yourself an ambitious goal and force yourself to write until you hit it. This could be a daily word count or time spent. Just keep it consistent and stick to it—remember that without applied effort, a goal is just a dream!

Give yourself motivation

To keep that goal from becoming a dream, you’ll most likely need a little motivation. The benefits of finishing your book will often be motivating enough, but for those days where the last thing you want to do is stare at your computer screen or notebook, you’ll need something stronger. Some people find that offering themselves a reward for completing their daily writing goal suffices, but National Novel-Writing Month founder Chris Baty recommends backing yourself into a corner by bragging incessantly about your book so that you’re forced to write it. There have even been reports of people writing substantial cheques to organizations they despise and imploring their friends to mail them if they don’t hit their writing goals. While some of these tactics may seem drastic, the important thing is to find a motivation that works for you. Besides, that check will never have to be cashed because you’re going to finish your book, right?

Give yourself somewhere to start off

You can set aside a time to write and sit down in your favourite café with a writing goal and all the motivation in the world, but sometimes it seems like no matter how hard you try, you just can’t get a single word out. There’s an easy way to avoid this, though. Simply finish each writing session in a place where you know what you’re going to say next. By doing this, you’ll be excited about your next writing session, and when you sit down you’ll already have a jumping off point.

The ideal writing routine is different for everyone, but these five components should give you a good template for creating your own. Let us know how you get your writing done in the comments!

Paris Spence-Lang

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