Establishing a habit as a writer can be tremendously freeing. It allows writers to settle in and let the words flow for whatever time is available to them. But like all else in the world, there’s a good thing and a good thing gone too far. Which is which in the process of writing?
Why Establishing a Writing Habit Is Important
Establishing a habit related to writing gets words on the page consistently. It benefits the writer’s identification of self. It affirms a belief that writing as a task is important enough to set borders around that task. The very first priority in establishing a habitual routine for writing is defining a set day during which you will write, ie: “On Tuesdays, I write.” or “On weekdays, I write.”
Why is establishing a day to write the number one step to forming a writing habit? Because it’s the key to success as a writer. Let’s define success as getting words on the page on every day we’ve scheduled writing time, whether that’s seven days a week or once a week. If you get words written down that day, you’re a success. How does that happen? We’ll get there, but stick with me a minute while we discuss some unsuccessful habits that may be familiar.
Ineffective Habits of Occasionally Successful Writers
Forming habits related to writing leads to a habitual routine, right? What writers frequently call their “process.” Habitual routines can be awesome and lead to success. But when they’re overly structured, they can become detrimental to both the work and the self. These habits are often related to processes that include “must”, “only”, “if”.
“I must be in my office.”
“I must sit in that particular chair at the coffee shop.”
“I can only write if I have three pens and a coffee beside me.”
“If only I had remembered my earbuds because I can only write if I have my playlist for this story.”
If only we had a word on the page for every time we hear ourselves put off writing with this type of habit that we’ve let become an obstacle to our success.
Some writers find when jolted out of their habitual routine by travel or time constraint or circumstance that they can’t relax enough mentally to let the words come. When this happens regularly, writers start feeling less like writers and that’s a problem, because it damages the internal belief that one day the work that’s been started will be completed. That there’ll be something of value come of the time and hard effort and sacrifices required to write regularly in the first place. And that decreases motivation. It’s a downward spiral.
So what habits do work?
Effective Habits of Successful Writers
Successful writers may have habitual routines that they feel helps them settle into a writing session, but they don’t let interruptions to those routines stop them from writing. How? By prioritizing two habits in their routine above all others. 1) Writing despite what life throws into their lap that day and 2) Writing whether or not they’re feeling motivated to write. That’s it. Two things have to happen. You write anyway and you write even if you don’t want to.
“That’s it, Elle?” you might be saying. “Two habits? Write despite my life and write even if I don’t want to? What if I just don’t know what comes next?” That comes under “you don’t want to” because not knowing what comes next doesn’t prevent a writer from writing what comes later instead, or what comes earlier, or for fiction, a throwaway scene between any of your characters discussing all the potential situations that could come next, or in the case of memoir, a potentially non-relevant memory, or for non-fiction, writing about a different topic that you don’t even plan on including in your book or article. Why?
Because the definition of our success is getting words on the page on every day that says “write today” on it. And every day that we can go to bed a success is a great day, right? And motivates us for the next time we get to write.
A Word on Habits versus Goals
A habit is what you do consistently in order to reach your goals. For a look at setting goals in writing, here’s a post I wrote on goals a while back.
Share your experience with the writing habits or habitual writing routines in the comments below, and join me on the first Friday of each month for exploration, discovery, and discussion of the writing life.
Marc Burke
Contrasts well with yesterday’s post…. that this isn’t always the case. People have lives. Habit works well for professional writers. For everyone else who has a family, kids, dogs to walk, a real 8-12 hour a day job, people to visit in hospital and occasional vacations, etc. it might not work so well. In the real world “Write whenever you can” is the only motto that will work for so many.
Sidney
Professional writers have lives too and live in the “real world” with families, dogs to walk, people to visit in the hospital, sick children and parents, vacations, sick days, etc. etc. etc. All that doesn’t magically go away just because you’re writing for a living. Nor do the long work hours. (Company-paid benefits do, though.) You won’t find too many writers outside of journalism who don’t do something else to make a living. The fact is that all people have “real” lives in the “real” world. People who really want to write will make the time to do so.
Elle Andrews Patt
Thanks, Marc and Sidney for the comments! I don’t see anything that contrasts here with Lara Lazenby’s wise words. A habit takes implementation to become a habit. Writing whenever you can is a great motto, and you should do that, I do! But writing “write today” on the calendar on one day of each week and committing to a goal of fifty words that day, come hell or high water, even if it means getting up at 5am, becomes a habit that can be scaled to two days a week or to a 100 words. And fifty or 100 words once or twice a week habitually gets you feeling good about being a writer and results in a short story or an article or even a novel given enough of those days. Deciding to write whenever you can and then NOT writing does not feel good when long amounts of time go by and you realize you haven’t written in awhile. It may get you one of those things above or it might not because “whenever” may never come. Sidney, you’re right. This is true for “pro” writers and every other writer, too, even if they are just writing for themselves or their families. I’m a cancer survivor as well. I did not write during my treatment and much of my recovery. It’s okay to not write when real life is being an ass. But developing a habit of writing on the days you choose each week and sticking to that commitment, no matter what, will get you back on track when you’ve been knocked down and producing and feeling like the writer you are instead of someone who wants to write and can’t find a “whenever” to do so.
Ann Henry
Good article, Elle.I feel more empowered already!
Elle Andrews Patt
That’s great, Ann! Glad I could help :-)))