Getting better writing habits doesn’t happen over night. It takes discipline, believing in yourself, trusting your abilities, and determination. You must also be excited about your writing project. Assuming you are really excited about your project and you are committed to getting it finished, let’s get you started on some new habits.
It takes time to develop new habits. In the beginning, we want them to be uppermost in our psyche and working for us immediately. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way. The first question to ask yourself is, ‘Am I committed to my writing?’ If you can answer this with a heartfelt ‘yes’, you have the power to change your habits.
The next thing to consider is that you really want to be a more productive writer. Many people want to write. They start out enthusiastic for the project, but then the writing gets hard. They realize writing a book is hard work. Writing a book takes a lot of time, which means sacrificing time with family and friends. Writing a book is solitary work, and as humans we need time with other people. So there are many factors that contribute to becoming a more productive writer.
It’s a new year and I’m suggesting you don’t try all of the habits necessary for writing a book at once, but to focus on one habit each month for the next twelve months. By focusing on habit one per month, it should make building your habits for writing more sustainable over the long term, and in 2022 you will be synced into this new habits for an even more productive year.
So here goes:
January. Physical space. Make sure you have a regular writing space that you go to where you can focus on writing. Make sure there are no distractions. Make it a place you enjoy going to. If you like being near a window, set up your writing area near a window. If you like a room where you can’t see out, close the blinds or face the wall, and/or ensure there is a door you can close to block out interruptions. Good lighting is important. Move your desk around several times if you have to. Just get comfortable in your space. Make sure you are wearing comfortable clothing. You don’t want to be distracted by a shirt that keeps falling off one shoulder or your pants are cutting you in half at the waist or other parts of your anatomy. Make sure you have all your stationery close to hand, so that you aren’t getting up and walking around every five minutes to get the stationery you need. If you go to a public place, make sure you have your earphones with you so you can avoid tuning into what is going on around you.
February. Focus. Before you start a writing session, quieten your mind from all that’s happening in your life. This is a simple exercise to do. Ensure you have all your notes and stationery to hand. Close your eyes and take a deep breath. Let all the thoughts of your daily life drift away and fill your mind with what is happening in your writing project. No stress here. You have devoted this time to your writing so let the thoughts that aren’t related to writing go. You’ll get back to all that other stuff at a later date. This is the time to focus on writing alone. Let those around you know you aren’t to be disturbed unless the house is burning down.
March. Determination. Become more determined you are going to be more productive. You might have to become bloody-minded about this one. Remember you have thirty-one days to achieve this, so don’t despair if it’s taking a few days for you to become comfortable with this. A new habit usually takes 28 days of focus to become a habit.
April. Believe in yourself. Something has brought you to be a writer. What is your motivation for writing? Do you believe you’ve been called? Then allow this belief to become real in your mind and heart. Take hold of that belief and allow it to consume you in the essence of who you are. This allows you to connect with yourself at a deep level. Once this belief is aligned with your mind, you find you become more creative. You are more easily able to tap into the senses as you are writing. One of the hardest things for a writer is to believe in themselves and their work. Conquering this mindset will change the way you look at your writing.
May. Write. You are a writer, so get those words down. When you choose your writing time, put your hands on the keyboard or pen in your hand and don’t stop. Just keep going until your allotted time is finished. I set a timer when I write, including my blogs. This helps with keeping my fingers over the keyboard or my pen over the paper. This is like having a deadline and you want to get as much done as you possible can. So don’t stop until that timer goes off.
June. Relationships. You have been going on your new habits for five months now. Don’t forget to take time out to be present with your family and friends. It’s easy to have your mind on your project all the time. Don’t! Your family have given you the space to write. Give them the same respect as they have given you. Give your time to them with a happy heart. Your relationships will improve and so will your writing. Building the better relationships have freed your mind.
July. Trust your subconscious. When you are engrossed in a project, you consciously work on it. At the same time your subconscious is also sifting and sorting through all the information in your mind for what you need for your project. Sometimes it needs more time to find the stuff you need. This is why, when you sit down to write, the words aren’t flowing and other times there is a flood and your fingers or pen can’t keep up with it. Other days you may have worked all day on a piece and can’t seem to get it right. Next morning you wake up and there is the solution. This is the power of your subconscious at work. Trust it! Continue the practice of letting go you did for June to improve your relationships, and combine that with trusting your subconscious this month.
August. Refill the creative well. If the writing is tough going, it can be that you need a break away from your writing. Your mind can get tired, feel overworked and you feel your creativity has died. You need a break. It’s time to refill your creative well and it should be done at least weekly. This means taking time out to do an activity by yourself. Go somewhere or do an activity that you love. Here you will forget about the writing and concentrate on where you are and what you are doing. This activity may be something new you want to try or a favourite place you want to go to. This is your time on your own. This is where you are listening for what your soul is saying to you. That’s why you need to be alone, so you can ‘hear’ the message.
September. Journaling. Journaling is a great way to clear your mind. I journal every morning before I start work. It’s a mind dump where you write about all those thoughts that are pushing forward for attention. I use the journal to record how my writing is going. If I can’t seem to get a scene right, I write about it in my journal until I get some clarity. I write the questions in the journal and I work at it until I get a breakthrough, so that I can continue writing the story.
October. Fear. Fear is part of being human, but misplaced fear can stop us from writing. What are you afraid of? Succeeding? Failing? Until you address this issue, you are sabotaging yourself as a writer. Every author has doubts about their writing. Feel the fear and do it anyway. What have you got to lose? If you are worried about the time you spend writing, then maybe you should be looking for something else to do. Writing is time consuming, and it is a solitary activity. If what you’re thinking here is holding you back, you need to have a close look at the reasons why you are writing.
November. NANOWRIMO. NANOWRIMO stands for National November Writing Month. In November, this is where you can come together with a group of other writers to write your novel in a month. It doesn’t matter if you reach your target or not. NANOWRIMO is a great way to get focused on a project for a month. Go here to find out more: https://nanowrimo.org. This is where you can catch up on your writing, if you have struggled with your output during the year. I have never done this challenge because I am already motivated to write daily. However, if your have been struggling, NANOWRIMO could be the very thing that gets you back on track.
December. Review. You’ve worked hard all year on all of the above habits to becoming a more productive writer. This is the month where you take time to evaluate how you went throughout the year. There will be wins for you, and there will be some ‘I could have done better’ moments. Remember that you are human; you have high moments and low moments, and your loved ones need you, too.
Throughout the year, for the first post of each month I will give you a reminder of the habit we’ll be working on each month. I am hoping you will inspired to put your best effort into each monthly habit. I want to encourage you to be yourself. You know what is right for you, and as you work through this exercise this year, it’s about your habits and what you want to change for your writing life. I’m here to answer your questions on the journey this year.