5 Good Habits for Writers

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

There are so many different aspects of being a writer these days. We have to be more outgoing online than many of us might want to be. We have to think of ways to increase visibility for our books. And we have to write the books.

With all the different things we have to juggle, here’s a post that goes back to the basics. These are five habits I’ve developed through the years that have made my writing life either easier or better in some way.  I’d love to hear yours in the comments.

Exercising: This is one important thing I had to add to my list about five years ago.  If you’ve ever suffered the consequences for sitting too much, you’ll understand why it made the list. After spending far too many weeks in physical therapy, I realized it’s better to prevent back problems from happening than to fix the problems after they’ve happened. I have an inexpensive ($300) foldable treadmill at my house that makes it easy for me to meet my goal of walking on it every day. Stretching multiple times a day helps, too.

Jami Gold has a great post on wrist exercises for writers.

Colleen M. Story offers us 8 stretches and exercises to prevent “computer hunch.”

Reading: I’ve always been a huge reader and I’ve always enjoyed reading mysteries most of all. For the last couple of years now, I’ve also tried reading more of a variety of different books. The different writers’ voices and themes have really helped me grow as a writer and have helped inform my mystery writing.

Shannon Dittemore explains other benefits of reading for writers in this post.

Writing–Something:  As long as you’re writing regularly, you’re in good shape.  I think blog post writing is also a great writing warm-up for other types of work.  I don’t think it’s important to set big goals or to write really quickly.  Creating a writing habit is so much more important, whether that’s daily or weekly. And never try to catch up to where you think you should be: there’s nothing more discouraging.

Note-Taking: This can either be high-tech, low-tech, or a combination of both.  The important thing is to always be ready to jot down random ideas: phrases, names, situations, story concepts . . . whatever pops into your head when you’re out living your life. I keep a small notebook in my purse and another notebook in my car. I also jot down ideas on my phone using the free Google Keep app.

Jacqui Murray has other writerly uses for Google Keep.

There’s no reason to curate what you stick in your notebook, either, as you’re jotting things down.  You can either develop your jottings into a great idea or you can scratch them out later. Writer and artist Austin Kleon loves notebooks. One reason is that he thinks notebooks are “a good place to have bad ideas.”

Refilling the Well: This is primarily to keep from burning out, but it’s also to gain inspiration in a variety of different ways.  Reading does help me refill my well, but so does listening to music, going for walks, and watching interesting television and movies (I try to keep a list going so I always have something good to watch. I want to refill my well, but I don’t want to waste my time).

Those are the five habits on my list, but I’m curious to hear yours. :)  What habits have made your writing life easier or better?

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