Finding the Writing Routine that Works for YOUR Work

Writing is about perseverance. You have to keep going. The work only gets done if you keep writing. The revision only gets done by revising. The querying is only successful if you keep sending them out. 

This week, I posted a quote from Neil Gaiman over on Instagram:

“This is how you do it: you sit down at the keyboard and put one word after another until it’s done. It’s that easy, and that hard.”

Truer words have never been spoken.

The answer is easy, but the work is hard.

When the work gets hard, our procrastination and distraction monsters move into action. Instagram and Wordle are way more fun for our brains in the moment than sitting down to work out a thorny plot problem. Or is it just me?

As writers, however, we have to stop and consider which will ultimately be more satisfying.

If you are anything like me, this is when the guilt monster shows up because I know that writing the book is more satisfying but my monkey brain wants the quick dopamine fix.

This month, I’ve been trying to slay some of my own distraction/procrastination/guilt monsters. Monsters that have kept me from starting a new project and want me to slow my pace querying the old one (that’s the fear monster…he really doesn’t like me putting myself out there so brazenly).

So I’ve been experimenting with some new routines and making them a priority:

• No checking my phone in the morning when I wake up. Reaching for the phone was typically my first action after stumbling downstairs making sure the high schooler was up for school. I wasn’t proud of it, but email, social, they all sucked me in under the guise of “catching up.” Instead of reaching for my phone, I am now reaching for a journal. I do a version of Morning Pages while the high schooler is getting his breakfast then by the time the middle schooler is downstairs and getting his breakfast, I’m changing for my workout. Which leads me to…
• Movement every day, first thing. I try to build movement into my day (writing can be a very sedentary pursuit) but found that I was slipping a lot. It was easy to push a walk off to meet other deadlines or find an excuses to not stop my flow to get up from my desk. Now, I tackle it first to make sure it’s happening. And I’m feeling much better when I finally sit down to my desk to write.
• Creative work comes first. I go to my desk after my workout, put the phone on do not disturb, and focus on my creative project for an hour or two depending on what I’m working on. I have long known that morning is my most creative time, but lately, I had not been prioritizing it then blaming myself when I didn’t feel inspired in the mid-afternoon.
• No phone after 8pm. No more mindless scrolling before bed. No seeing an email I’ll need to respond to tomorrow. No anxiety over the day’s latest awful headlines before bed.

After just a week, I already noticed a difference:

• The day I had a morning appointment 45 minutes away and couldn’t do my creative work first thing was the least productive day I had overall. Focusing on my creative work first actually made me more focused and efficient when I switched later to coaching and a volunteer project.

• Having to push through in a workout in the morning made pushing through the mental blocks later in the day easier. I’d already practiced perseverance for the day and won. And the day I had the early morning appointment, I did manage to prioritize my workout, so it wasn’t a total loss.
• Limiting my phone use has decreased a bit of my anxiety this holiday season and I find myself sleeping better on the days I hold fast to the rule. That’s a total win and something I knew intellectually, but is always fascinating to watch play out personally.

Granted, one week is a small container, but the results were positive enough to keep me trying in week two. I am excited to see what else I learn or where I need to make adjustments. 

I know this may seem like a stretch — you came to this post looking for tips on how to write when it’s hard. But setting up our minds and bodies for success is the first step. Figuring out where your monsters live will help you determine what you need to do for your writing routines.

Ask yourself:

• When does the writing start to feel hard? Maybe when it’s too emotional or writing description or getting to that open door sex scene. Knowing what triggers you to seek avoiding your writing will help you make an informed plan to get that writing task done.
• What does the voice in your head say when the writing feels hard? If the answer is, “I don’t know what to do” or “I’m never going to be good at this” or “this whole book stinks and I don’t know who told me I could write a novel” then you’re avoiding the hard monster stuff. Try to identify your monster first so you can start to recognize that pull to distraction or procrastination or negative self-talk before it happens.
• What is your go-to form of distraction when it starts to feel hard? When you reach for your phone or open an Internet window or head for the pantry for a snack, ask yourself why you’re doing it? The answer could be as simple as, “the scene I’m writing is boring.” That’s an ‘easy’ fix. Go back to the beginning of that scene and start again or do some thinking on the stakes or the character’s scene motivation. If the answer is more of a mental monster, then it’s time to bring in the bigger routine changers. Put your phone in another room or turn off your wifi. Write in focus mode in Word or Scrivener. Take a moment to breathe, stretch, get a glass of water, then set a timer to deal with that hard thing for 10 minutes. Promise yourself a reward (an Instagram check-in or that snack) if that helps. Eventually, it will feel less hard to tackle the hard. Meta, right?
• Sit with the hard. Hard is going to happen. Acknowledge it. Appreciate it. You’re doing hard work. Remind yourself of that. And take a break when you need to.

If you’re still stuck, remember why you’re writing this story. Something drew you to the page or inspired this particular story problem. Free write on your inspiration and find the heart of your writing motivation. Write it on a sticky note and put it near your desk so you can reference it whenever you need.

Your story is important. Don’t let hard keep you from finishing.

Happy Writing!