5 Habits of Habitual Writers
By: Gwenna Laithland
Tags: Creative Writing, Writers On Writing, Habit Building, Writer, Writing

Writers Helping Writers

5 Habits of Habitual Writers

Want to write more? Create habits that support writing.

Photo by Icons8 team on Unsplash

The best writers in the world have writing habits. The biggest names in the literary world are able to sit down and write at all hours of the day. Most of us don’t have that luxury. Just the same, we can borrow from their toolbox and create habits that encourage more and better writing.

Pre-Writing Routine

Experts in health and fitness agree that a pre-workout routine is beneficial. It prepares both body and mind for work. Writers need the same. I prepare my mind and space by addressing all five senses in my little pre-writing routine.

Get dressed (Touch)

Make a cup of coffee (Taste)

Tidy up my writing desk & water my desk plant. (Sight)

Turn on a writing playlist. (Hearing)

Light a candle. (Scent)

Some writers refer to this as their ritual. I’m not a fan of that moniker, personally. It makes it feel like calling it a ritual means any missing part of your routine makes it impossible to write.

Craft your routine to allow for variables. I don’t have writing socks or a particular sweater I NEED to write; a fresh set of clothes will do. I have several playlists to choose from, designed to either match or lift my mood. I get a little sticky on the candle as scent is a powerful memory trigger¹ but only to a point. If one candle runs out, it doesn’t destroy my will to write.

A Time for Everything

You’ve been told over and over to pick a time and commit to writing at that time. I’m going to tell you again. Pick a time and commit to writing at that time.

The most successful people on the planet keep tight schedules for work, play, health, and relaxation ². They cover all their bases from physical to emotional needs. If you want to be a successful writer, copy the habits of successful people.

Make yourself a schedule for various writing tasks ³. Commit to at least one time frame, every day, for words to hit the page. Pinpoint times in your daily routine that you can spare a few minutes for research, reading, and writing-centric social media or blogging.

Of course, if you find yourself inspired outside your allowed time, go for it. The schedule is not a god demanding homage. It’s a habit. Once the writing is a part of your everyday experience, you can give yourself a little more grace.

Hydrate & Nourish

Water is essential not just for overall health, but especially brain health. ⁴ We are approximately 60% water, with the brain coming in at 73% water. Of all the tools we carry, our brain is obviously a rather important one. Taking good care of it makes writing better and easier.

Grab a drink before you sit down to write, have a drink handy while you are writing, finish off your wordsmithing with more liquid, the libation of your choice. While water is best, if you aren’t a big H²O fan, drink whatever will keep you hydrated. Chewing ice chips counts if that’s your thing.

Listen to your body. If you are hungry, don’t try to power through it. First, you’re likely to get distracted by an empty stomach. Second, creativity requires a nourished vessel. Grab a snack and have it handy while writing in case the munchies strike, mid-chapter. Even better, have a light, balanced meal before sitting down for your writing time.

Photo by Nathan Riley on Unsplash

Give Yourself Space

Find a space that is for writing. It might be a cozy spot on your bed or a more structured place like a writing desk. It needs to be comfortable for you. I love natural light and structured environments so I put my writing desk next to a window. Wherever you choose to write, visit that spot regularly.

Curate that space with things you enjoy but do not distract you. I’m a fiddler. When I’m thinking, my hands are often idly toying with something. My writing desk has various things for my hands to do when they aren’t on the keyboard.

Train your brain to focus on the craft in that space. Even if you only generate a sentence or two, your writing space should encourage the act. Once writing in your writing space is a habit, you’ll find it easier to crank out the content every time you are in it.

Keep Your Inspiration Handy

Even when it is not time to write, writers must be ready to capture inspiration from everywhere. Be sure those notes, as well as research notes you’ve completed leading up to your writing, are easily accessible.

Prior to your scheduled writing window, organize your research notes so they are easily referenced in the midst of the project. Open up that dictionary and thesaurus tab before you start generating content so they are at the ready when you can’t find that “right” word.

I find it invigorating to read through my list of story and project ideas before I get started. While I have multiple projects in various stages of completion, I typically only work on one first draft or second draft at a time. For me, this simplifies the later editing. Reading through my list of projects fuels my desire to slog through a hard-to-write section. The sooner I finish that, the sooner I can get to a fresh, exciting idea on my inspiration list.