Writing habits

[izi 出久]

I find myself missing writing often. I've gone from 2k+ words per day to 500 per week... oof. It's a difficult change. Once I've run the two races, I'll have more time in the mornings. But until then...

How do I deal? Mostly, I feel sorry for myself. But I also keep my notebook close and write poetry (related or not to my series) or dialogues between characters when they come to mind. It doesn't replace my old writing habits in any way. I still long to write more. For now, though, this must do.

What are your writing habits? Write when you feel like it, write at a certain time for a certain time, word count per day, etc.. Is there a method to your madness? I'd love to hear.

 

[Hannah F]

I do not write to word count. I write in scenes or chapters or poems or short stories or writing exercises. Sometimes and in first drafts this will be on pen and paper so wordcounts would be impossible. I don't actually care how many words I write - 2000 or 500 - as long as I accomplish what I set out to do. I don't write every day. I need good chunks of time because I lose myself in my writing world. Also, I need to earn money, but when I timetable my working week, I timetable in the writing, and I stick to my timetable. I write when other things are done, so I won't have to stop writing until I've finished what I set out to do.

 

[LJ Beck]

Hum, interesting question. I find it depends on the stage I'm at with my story. When I'm outlining, I spend a lot of time thinking and not writing. In the thick of a first draft, I write whenever I can, early morning and weekends. Hannah, I also like having long chunks of time for the same reason. Then I pause when I'm waiting for feedback. Back at it for rewrites. So I ebb and flow. I find it gives me breaks to think, make notes on revision ideas, write marketing material (ugh), then fingers to the keyboard when I'm ready for yet another rewrite.

I like goal setting, giving myself (mostly) achievable long and short-term deadlines. X chapters per weekend, Draft done by y. If life throws me a surprise, as it does, I reset my goal and keep going. I try not to beat myself up about missing a self-imposed deadline, or writing time. External deadlines are another matter, and I find are a great motivator in themselves. If I miss my deadlines too often, then I have a think about what's going on with me. There's usually a reason if I can get to the bottom of it.

Izuku, please be kind to yourself. Sounds like you're doing what you need to do. Priorities change, and change back again. As you said, you'll find your way back to a grove when the time's right. At least you miss writing! I do too when I'm not writing. That's a good thing.

 

[Robinne Weiss]

I treat my writing as a job. It is my main task two days a week (three days I work at a job with an actual paycheck, and two days are for the garden/household chores/family time). On those two days, I generally put in a 10 to 12-hour work day (to make up for the fact I only get two days to write). I have a quarterly plan that keeps me on task and helps me remember what I intended to accomplish, since the rest of life can throw me off. I look forward to those two days all week, and write myself notes throughout the week to help me remember ideas, tasks and whatnot so I can make the most of my limited writing time.

 

[Brayati]

When I have the time earmarked for writing, my best process needs some prep before I go in, either a scene outline, or a few paragraphs about the context and POV and actions that drive to the next scene. Otherwise, I sit and think for too long.

 

[Pamela Jo]

Sometimes you just have to let the creative well refill. As long as you are doing something writing related let yourself off the hook. The words will come back. It's all good. I was dry for about 2 mos , but now what I'm writing feels better than ever. The brain is a funny old instrument.

 

[Becca T]

Good question!

I'm excited to hear the answers. I'm always looking for new things to try to see if they work for me.

I tend to write in bursts. I will have a week or so of really productive writing where I am churning out new pages of writing. Then I'll have a week or so where I will go back over what I just wrote several times to add, subtract, and tweak it. Then I will stop writing for a few weeks, or a few months. After that, the process begins anew.

I find that I can't just sit down and start writing or keep to a certain writing schedule. I need to be in the right frame of mind. When I write, I often close myself in the back bedroom and put on music - only the instrumental kind. I try to match the music to the emotional tone in the part of the story I am working on.

Unfortunately for me, this doesn't lend itself well to getting much "done". I've been sitting with the same story/novel for years. One of the reasons I joined back in January is to be around writers, in hopes that it will inspire me or give me a kick in the pants to write more often.

 

[Peyton Stafford]

I'm with @Robinne Weiss except I am self-employed, so I can set my schedule. I spend 6 am to noon writing, editing, and related, then take care of business tasks in two one-hour stints in the afternoon, between family duties. Even if it does not bring in much money, I conceive of writing as my profession.

 

[Jake E]

I think it's important to remember that 'writing' isn't solely the act of putting words on a page.

Thinking about your WIP, your characters, those plot holes that need filling in are all 'writing'. So in a sense, we are always writing. I wouldn't worry about words on the page as a measure of progress.

I write this on my lunch break at work, and also think about my next project. How will it work, what is the theme and plot, who will the story follow etc...
No words are being written. It's all in my head.
When I get home, I'll scribble them down into an outline if i remember them, but my personal rule is: if I forget, it wasn't that good to begin with.

 

[Josephine]

Good question!

I'm excited to hear the answers. I'm always looking for new things to try to see if they work for me.

I tend to write in bursts. I will have a week or so of really productive writing where I am churning out new pages of writing. Then I'll have a week or so where I will go back over what I just wrote several times to add, subtract, and tweak it. Then I will stop writing for a few weeks, or a few months. After that, the process begins anew.

I find that I can't just sit down and start writing or keep to a certain writing schedule. I need to be in the right frame of mind. When I write, I often close myself in the back bedroom and put on music - only the instrumental kind. I try to match the music to the emotional tone in the part of the story I am working on.

Unfortunately for me, this doesn't lend itself well to getting much "done". I've been sitting with the same story/novel for years. One of the reasons I joined back in January is to be around writers, in hopes that it will inspire me or give me a kick in the pants to write more often.

@Becca T this sounds really similar to my process. I don't know if you get this but I've had a lot of negative self talk about it, like you're lazy and undisciplined, you should be more productive, you should be able to write x words a day, you should, you should...*

I found this blog (link below...) exceptionally helpful in accepting that it's just the way I work, and trying to work with the way I am rather than always trying to fit into someone else's (more productive, or more consistent, or whatever) mould. I don't know if it's like that for you, but I share it here in case, because it's probably saved me a couple of years' worth of analysis paralysis and utterly counter-productive self-berating.

Note - she's pretty heavy on the old Myers-Briggs (it's aimed particularly at people with INFJ/INFP tendencies) and I know that's not everyone's bag, so it might not be for you!

(Also, have you done The Artist's Way? She says some good stuff about 'filling the well', as per @Pamela Jo )

*interestingly enough while I'm perfectly content to level these accusations at myself I want to be clear I'm absolutely not saying them to you!

Anxiety and Resistance Around Writing? Why Writing Rituals Are Not the Answer. - Lauren Sapala

I got an email from a writer the other day who had questions about writing rituals. I’ve talked to a good many writers who have these same questions, and of course, I’ve also seen many of the articles out there on the writing routines and habits of famous writers. We writers seem to have a...

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