Ten Healthy Habits for an Effective Writing Routine
After working as a writer in Hollywood for years, I’ve gotten to know plenty of writers. We all have our routines. For those of you aspiring to write and unsure how to start and for those of you who are just curious, I’ve compiled a short list of the writing habits that helped me train my brain to write. Maybe they can help you too!
Dedicate a set of hours every day to write. This is the most important thing you can do! Start small if you want. Set a timer for ten minutes and write whatever comes to mind: journal, fiction, stream of consciousness. All that matters is that you do it for then minutes, or whatever time you have decided upon. And with time, ten will become twenty, and twenty will lead to two hours, and two will become five. Stephen King writes for four straight hours every day. That’s right - uninterrupted and every day. Those details are key, especially in the early going. Once you’ve been doing it long enough, taking a break or a day off, won’t shake your rhythm. But at the beginning, the consistency is vital! And ideally, try to write during the same hours each day. I typically write from one in the afternoon until about five or six in the evening.
Pair your writing habit with something you love. For example, I need to write, but I want to go to the gym. I go to the gym at eleven in the morning. When I get home, I sit down to write. I know it sounds crazy, but your brain recognizes and craves habits like these. At this point, it feels weird not to go to the gym if I don’t write and vice versa, because it’s become an automated response in my brain.
Remove temptation and distraction! Put your phone in another room. Better yet, leave it at home. If you’re unwilling to leave your phone, then at least log out of all of your social media on all of your devices while you write. I can’t stress enough how important this is. With time, your brain will transfer the dopamine hit you get from a like on Instagram to the personal satisfaction you get from writing a great line or scene. And it will compound - the more you write, the bigger the dopamine hit. The bigger the hit, the more you want to write.
Brainstorm. There’s no one way to brainstorm. Jot down ‘what if’ situations. Review current events for inspiration. Think about themes from books and movies that resonate with you. Let the ideas fly - good and bad - just don’t stop, even if you find one you like. Do it for hours. Do it for days. Do it until you have a list of at least ten.
Discuss. Sometimes you find an idea that you feel in your bones. Hold that feeling and keep that thought to yourself. Take three of your favorite ideas from your brainstorm session and present them to three people you trust (can be your reps or friends or colleagues). If we operate in a vacuum, we risk getting blindsided. I pitched an idea to my manager once that I thought was undeniable. As it turns out, it was. Someone made a film with the same story two years earlier. Had I skipped this step in my routine, I would’ve wasted a lot of time and energy. Anyway, settle on the idea that you feel most passionate about and that also resonates with your circle of trust.
Marinate. Don’t be impetuous and start hammering away at your keyboard after you pick an idea. Without a road map, it’s too easy to find yourself at a dead end, which will kill your momentum. Just think about your story. Let your brain get to know the world and the characters. During this phase, I often turn off the radio when I drive just to allow myself space to soak up the world and find the most compelling aspects of it.
Outline. As the story begins to take shape in your brain, break it down into acts. Create that road map for yourself. Give it structure. Write out what the beats are and why and how one leads to the next. An outline is your best friend if you hit a wall or lose your flow when you eventually write your draft. But this is a guide, not the Holy Grail. The story will evolve during the writing phase. Beats in your outline may become irrelevant or redundant, so allow for that when that time comes.
Total immersion. Marinate again. That’s right. Just keep thinking about it without committing anything to the page. As your mind becomes habituated to the workings of this world that you are creating, it will become your first thought when you wake up and your last thought as you fall asleep. By the end of this phase, you should know your story and your characters intimately. In essence, it will become your first language.
Create deadlines. If no one else is imposing them, give yourself deadlines. It will give your brain another reason to remain focused. Even better, choose an accountability partner - a friend or colleague who you need to deliver to on deadline.
Eat. I always find my thoughts focused on my growling stomach if I don’t have a plan for food. If I’m on deadline, I’ll have a breakfast burrito before I start to knock out any cravings, so I can completely invest my thoughts in my writing. I also had another effective routine for a few projects - I would write from ten to noon, take a thirty minute break to have a sandwich, an apple, and a coffee, then write for another three to four hours.
Feel free to share your own routines here and if you have any questions, let me know. Hope this was helpful and good luck with your writing!