Monday, October 4, 2010

The Importance of Routines

I prefer to get my writing done in the mornings - set aside a few hours of quiet time for just me and my project. Sometimes, though, life reaches a large hand in and snatches that morning time clean away from me. What then? Then I make time to write in the evening. I find that a daily routine is important to me, but just as important - being flexible with that routine.

What if I'm not inspired? I write anyway. I don't wait for inspiration to strike. I need to be writing whether I feel motivated or not. If I wait until I feel like doing something, the house would NEVER get cleaned. The laundry would never get done. I wouldn't exercise. I don't believe that true writer's never have to force themselves to sit down and write. Hogwash. There are days that we don't feel well, that we have other things on our mind, that we'd much rather watch shows on TiVo or go to the movies/coffee/lunch with our friends. What makes us writers is that we WRITE. Consistently. Not just when we feel like or inspiration strikes. If my tush isn't in my chair with my laptop on, I might miss out. Thirty minutes into struggling with something, I might hit gold (I often do). That carries me through the rest of the writing time I have set aside, and sometimes takes me over it! If I had made an excuse not to write that morning, I wouldn't have that new little plot twist.

What if I don't have a lot of time? Some days, I don't. I teach three days a week. I know that I have to come home and walk the dog, feed myself, tidy up. I still set aside time. Even if I can only get 30 minutes in, I take it. I sit down and write something for that 30 minutes. I have found that my writing routine can come on vacation with me. It's completely adaptable to whatever and wherever. I was camping - I still had time for a long hike every morning, then family time around the campfire every evening, and daily naps! I told myself I would write for an hour each day. It ended up being a minimum of two hours every afternoon. I didn't always work on the three projects I had going and that was okay. I wrote short stories, poetry. But I wrote. Every day.

Do you have to write everyday? No. I have friends who set aside time three days a week. They write those three days. The other four are too busy. One of my three-day-a-week friends is far more productive than I am. Those three days are precious to her. She gets the most out of the time that she has. It's an easier commitment for her. It works quite well. I have another friend who writes for 8 to 10 hours a day when he is working on something. At the end of the day, our writing routine needs to work for us or we won't be successful.



What is your writing routine? Do you write every day? How long do you write for? What works best for you?

13 comments:

  1. I know I should have a routine but I don't. I just write when I can as long as I can. Works for the time being.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I wish I could write every day!

    I've been thinking more and more that I need to establish a schedule, maybe a weekly goal (e.g. minimum of 10 hours butt-in-chair writing). Maybe I'll work on that this week...

    ReplyDelete
  3. I am glad to see that someone has a schedule! I'm working on putting one in place, it's not as easy as I would like. My ideal time would be first thing in the morning, but it's hard considering the hours I'd like to write (7-10am) are the hours that I would be at work. For me it's about writing when I feel it, working it out when I know it's right. It's not necessarily efficient but it's what I do!!

    Great job on the writing everyday! You're motivation!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I've tried writing daily & it just doesn't work for me. So I go in huge spurts of not writing, then frantic 30 hours a week writing, it's nuts. I'd like to be on a more stable routine. Like yours, it sounds perfect!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I used to write everyday but somewhere along the way I lost my mojo. I think your idea of designating "Write Nights" three or so times a week is an awesome one.

    Althought with NaNo coming up I'll be writing everyday for sure :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. That sounds like an excellent routine! I write whenever I get a chance every day. There is usually always time, no matter how short.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I try very hard to write for at least an hour everyday. When I'm really motivated it gets pushed up to 2-3 hours and if i'm really, really motivated I stay up til 2-3 am getting my writing done (those days are few and far between lately). But I so agree with you that you need to keep yourself on a committed schedule. Great post!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Fantastic post!
    I've actually been concerned about my routine lately because I usually work with a word count goal instead of a time goal. Pretty soon I'm going to be working on revisions of a contracted novel AND my WIP (which is a different genre) so I'm thinking I'm going to have to switch to hours if I'm going to maintain a semblance of insanity.

    Thanks for the inspiring post!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I do have a schedule for the most part. I write afternoons Mon through Fri, weekends off to recharge. The first hour is always the worst, then it tends to get better if I can survive that.

    Everyone's schedule is unique and I think so long as you're consistent with what works for you, the book will get written. Great post!

    ReplyDelete
  10. It's always good to have a routine. I try to write every day, even if it's not on my actual WIP. It could be a blog post, notes on my novel, ideas for other novels etc. But I schedule all day Wednesdays for my writing. I am off work, and my daughter is in school all day. Then, the rest of the week, I try to just fit it in when I can.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Word. All of it. I like to have a routine, but try to be flexible (have to be with small children). I write some thing entirely new for an hour @ 4:30 am. Then during my kid's nap time I edit or draft, depending on where I'm at in a story.

    It's good to know I'm not alone in my need to write even camping! Thanks for sharing, Jennie. :o)

    ReplyDelete
  12. You're so good to stick as much as possible to your routines! I try to write every day, though I don't have a set time where I have to write. As long as I can sit down in front of the computer for a few minutes, I'm happy!

    ReplyDelete
  13. I'm really glad I have been able to get on here tonight. I've needed all the advice I've found around the blogging world. And, I needed the crunch I found here. I've been SOOOOOO slack lately. You're right. A writer WRITES!!!! Thank you. Thank you for this!!!

    ReplyDelete