Writing Habits (Patreon)

There's a good chance that some of you are doing NanoWrimo (National Novel Writing Month) and trying to throw down 50,000 words in November. Go, you! Writing is hard. I was reading Malinda Lo's pep talk for writers (I've included it) that talks about putting your butt in the chair. I'm a big fan of Lo--she's smart, insightful, and wicked talented. You should go read her books. I loved Ash and Huntress broke my heart, but was so damn beautiful. Anyway, her post had me thinking about writing habits, and I thought I'd share a few in case any of you were interested.

Your goal, really, is just to put words on the page. They don't have to be good--that's what editing and revising is for. You just need to get them down. A lot of my friends have different habits that work for them, so experiment until you find something that works for you.

I don't have an office. I don't even have a quiet out-of-the-way space to work. My house has too many people, two of them children, and all of them able to open my bedroom door and talk to me. My bedroom isn't big enough for a desk or anything either, so I rarely write in there. Which means the dining room table, which is literally in the middle of our wee house and offers no protective covering. In other words, you can't miss me. It's really, really easy to get distracted by questions, noises, suspicious quiet, dogs, cats, weird smells, whatever. So what do I do?

Well, sometimes I leave. I have a standing date with other writers on Fridays where we meet in the big common area at a local cafe/bookstore area. But it's also loud there and sometimes has a toddler meet up nearby which means screeching children. So, same problem. Loads of distractions.

Here is what I suggest--exploit muscle memory and Pavlovian responses. Train yourself. When I go and meet my writer friends, I grab my coffee. I sit down, pull out my laptop and my headphones. For me, the headphones are KEY. I put them on and it's like Pavlov's dog with the little bell--it's my signal to my brain that we're going to focus and work now. It's also a signal to let people know that I don't want to be interrupted. (We all know people ignore those signals sometimes, but it helps.) Sometimes I don't even have the headphones playing anything. They just block some of the ambient noise and help me focus. Mostly, I play music. If that's too distracting, I use a white noise generator. (One of my young reader friends, Sarah, found one that has themed sounds that mimic the common rooms of the Harry Potter houses. It was cute.)

Set short goals. Some writers do timed sprints--this can be good to force yourself to start writing. I often get caught up in writing during a spring and can keep going. Getting started is the hardest. Or, I'll set short word count goals. For example, "I can get up and get more coffee when I write 200 more words." Changing location or even method of writing can help. Handwriting uses a different part of your brain than typing, so sometimes you can try that.

Blocking digital distractions. So, I often need to actually have internet so I can google things really quickly (don't get too bogged down in research if you can avoid it while drafting for the day) and look up words or character names. I get frustrated when I can't do this, but it's easy to then check email or get on Twitter. So you can either leave yourself notes on what you need to look up later and block internet, or you can get an app (I have the Freedom app) that will block your social media for a set time. It's very helpful.

Set a writing time. Look, most of us don't get to just live in a cabin and think deep thoughts and write. We have day jobs, school, children, social obligations, volunteer work, etc. It can be hard to find writing time. Figure out a small space to fit it in. You don't need hours. Fifteen minutes can be really helpful, believe it or not. Words add up. If it's hard to sit down and really focus and get into it in small amounts of time, try it for awhile anyway--you might need to do it for a bit to train your brain to accept that as work time. One of my writing friends, Jessica Brody, has told me that she gets up and writes first thing--no email first, no distractions. Doing it first thing prioritizes it in your brain. It also can be helpful if your day is long and exhausting--decision fatigue is a thing, and writing when your brain is wrung out can be hard. However you fit it in and make it work, that time will add up, promise. 

If you have local writing friends--which can be impossible if you live in the boonies--meet up. Pick friends that won't distract you and are also focused on getting work done. (It can also be nice to talk to other writers, so if you need some chat time, add a little buffer after to vent, discuss, brainstorm, whatever.) If you don't have local people, try to find community online. Set up writing times or check ins where you discuss how your work is going, problem solve, or cheer each other on. Community is helpful, honestly. I have a handful of friends that I text when I'm frustrated. On those days when it's like pulling teeth to get down a hundred words, I text them. My friend, Martha Brockenbrough (seriously, go read her books, too) is really good at getting me to work. I'll complain and she'll just text back, "You can do this! I know you. Just give me 500 words. That's all. You can do that in your sleep. Before you quit today, I want those words." For some reason, that works for me. I will sit down to write 500 words--something of course Martha has never checked on or anything--and I always end up with more. (I will say that Martha knows what my daily averages are like, so she knows 500 is an easier milestone. For some writers, 500 words a session is their limit. That's okay! Seriously, every word is a victory.) 

And remember, this is not a one-size-fits-all situation. What works for you won't work for everyone and vice versa. Keep trying things until you find something that fits. If it stops working, try something new.

Good luck, writers! Oh, and if you have any suggestions on things that help you focus and write, please comment below!