Just for fun I googled about writing routines. And do you know that there are 126,000,000 results about the subject?
Having a routine, if you go by the amount of results, is important. The repetition of a routine helps you maintain your commitment to writing your story. Your typical novel consists of at least 90,000 words or more. And when looking at it that way, it might seem impossible and overwhelming. But if you break it down, with a writing routine of 250 words a day, you can achieve your goal. That is if you can keep it.
I’ve started and fallen off writing routines more times than I can count. I’ve done writing 500 words a day to keeping it all in my head until I can write it later. And more often than not, I’d forget most of my inspiring ideas before I could get to a notebook or my laptop.
But that’s nothing to be discouraged about. Because as I see it, I’m stumbling around until I find the routine that’s right for me. Like Thomas Edison said, “I haven’t failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”
I admit, there are things that we as writers do in excess, myself included, that disrupts our routine. Thus prolonging our goals in writing our novel. And here are several ways I’ve been guilty of in not keeping my writing routine:
- Binge watching Criminal Minds, Leverage, anime and Asian dramas
- Binge reading manga and or re-reading some of my favorites
- Conducting “research” online
- Social media...enough said
What is your writing routine? What have we done to trip it up?
