Writing routines and rituals are an important part of the writing process. They are the answer to ‘I don’t have the time to write’ – figuring out a writing routine can help us find available hours in our busy week. 

But here’s the critical thing about creating a writing routine…it has to fit in with your life.

I have helped many writers go through the process of creating a writing routine. It can sometimes be lengthy, as the process requires investigation into time, creative data, and more. So, it can be tempting to look at other writers and see what they are up to because there lies the promise of it all being figured out for you. 

Following Others Routines 

Let’s say we listen to Stephen King and pay close attention to his writing routine. He writes every day. Awesome!

At first, it goes well. Writing every day can be a bit addictive even, but then, there comes a day when something gets in the way. It could be anything from taking the car to be serviced to forgetting to sit down and begin, but ultimately, a day is missed. The overall feeling that comes from this is that it didn’t work, and it may even stop us from having a go at another writing routine. 

If we haven’t spent time considering whether writing every day fits with our lives, it can be a rigid and strict rule that must be broken at some stage. Life happens, and if we restrict ourselves to fixed structures not developed for us, it is far more likely that these structures will be broken.

This is why I do not recommend my routine to anyone else. Finding a routine that works for you is all about just that! It is wonderful to take inspiration from others, but a routine is more likely to work when it takes your schedule into consideration.

A writing routine must fit your life and responsibilities and nobody else’s. Luckily, it doesn’t have to be challenging to work this out because I can share the process of development with you. 

Finding Your Own Path

So, are you ready to find your writing routine and fit more writing into your life? No problem at all, for I have just the thing!

The Ultimate Writer’s Planning Workbook

This 60+ page PDF fillable workbook will take you through the stages of planning YOUR writing year, focusing on:

• Reflection on the previous year.
• Building and understanding your writing vision.
• Working out what your targets are and setting them.
• Engineering your actions toward your goal.
• Finding the time to write.
• Taking action and setting yourself up to achieve your goals!

Here’s what Jenn had to say about it:

“At one point, I looked at a target and the work required in the first three months to reach it and thought, “That seems too easy.” But, no matter how much I played and worked the target, it was true, and I felt a flood/wave of relief that sometimes goals can really be easy or simple to achieve once you break them down. I discovered things I didn’t know I wanted before starting the workbook, and that opened up so many new and exciting possibilities for me as well as helped give such a clearer direction for the next 12 months and beyond. Blasted through my expectations 100%. Where I’d expect it to stop at the monthly goals, as is typical with other workbooks, the additional steps really make sure the work done with the planner morphs into action instead of remaining simply words on paper/on a screen.”

Grab your copy here.

As a writing coach trained by an ICF-accredited company with a PhD, MA and BA in Creative Writing, you can trust that this book has been created carefully, using tried and true coaching practices informed by writing knowledge.