by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
It’s kind of interesting when you’ve been blogging as long as I have. Recently, I looked back over some of the posts from 2009 and 2010. My writing routine was very different back then and definitely something that was a work in progress. My guest post on Kaye Barley’s Meanderings and Muses blog explains how best to entertain children and get writing done (hint: bring their friends along).
In fact, many of my posts involved writing on the go. I learned to be very flexible with when and where I wrote…the whole point was to meet my goals however I could manage it.
It was, honestly, a crazy time. I was under contract for a couple of different series to Penguin and working on a 3rd for myself. My day, however, was very structured around my children’s activities and school days. I fit my writing around my children and it worked out really well.
Now my ‘children’ are 21 and 17. My son is away at college and my daughter soon will be. Even with one bird still in the nest, my daughter is rarely here. She no longer needs rides anywhere and her school schedule this year involves a dual-enrollment program (part of her day at high school, part of her day at a local college).
My kids’ schedules provided the framework of my writing day. Structure was forced on me by carpool times for both school (two different schools because of the age difference of my children) and for various afterschool sports, clubs, etc.
When you choose your own schedule, you can be spoiled for choice. This is definitely the case for those of us going through empty nest syndrome, and I’m imagining it’s the same for those of us who have recently retired.
Can you have too much time to write? I think that can be a problem, for sure. Before, I had to be extremely focused and protective of my writing time and was sure to squeeze it into any available free spot in my day. Ultimately, this trained me to be very productive. I wrote in carpool lines and while waiting for my children to come out of Scouts or cheer practice.
I realized about a year ago that I needed to rethink how I approached my writing day. Here are my tips for rethinking a routine:
Evaluate what still works. I kept some elements that always worked really well for me. I knew that I always feel better when I am up earlier than anyone else and can knock out most, if not all, of my goal then. This still worked for me, so I kept it.
Reassess word count goals and goals per session. Are you still hitting your goals? Should you make your first writing session longer instead of trying to jumpstart the process again later in the day? For me, this was the answer (or most of it). While I was still somewhat in the writing zone, it made sense for me to lengthen my first session of the day.
Consider when best to add another writing session. When are you most productive? For me, I realized another short session in the morning would work best. I write at 5 a.m. for the first session so I definitely wasn’t feeling burned out at 10 a.m., hours later. But that’s still a time when I have a lot of energy.
Evaluate the new routine. Are you making more progress? Or should you make some tweaks to the new routine and reassess?
For further reading:
Has Your Writing Routine Become a Writing Rut? by Suzannah Windsor Freeman. This article involves a routine that’s been broken up by a baby.
5 Signs You Need to Break Up Your Writing Routine by Colleen M. Story. Indicators that we need to consider adapting our routines.
7 Useful Tips for Establishing a Writing Routine by Claire Bradshaw. Great advice for anyone trying to start a routine or change one.
Do you have a writing routine? If so, is it different now from the way it used to be? Was it hard to adapt?
Adapting Writing Routines: Share on XPhoto credit: Creativity+ Timothy K Hamilton on Visual hunt / CC BY-NC-ND
I used to write best in the evening, but the older I get, the more tired I seem to be in the evening. I need to set a better time to write.
Good example of how ingrained we can be in old habits, even when they don’t still work as well. I know what you mean about changing circadian rhythms. I’ve lately been turning in at 8:30…exhausted. Waking up at 3:30. Not a fun cycle. I stayed up until 10 last night and was up at 4:30, which is more of a normal time for me.
We usually have hounds.
We’re down to just one now ; but. there is still a brisk walk immediately upon getting out of bed and again in the evening after dinner. I think these fast walks have become writing triggers. I often walk out of the gym finding I have new ideas to improve the WIP also.
The effort of movement does seem to have some trigger. Thus I too write early mornings and into the evening. If it weren’t for Lou the foxhound, I’d be lost.
Barkeep: beagles all around!
That’s the healthiest solution yet! Build a writing routine around exercise…it won’t (or at least shouldn’t) go away and we’re healthier, to boot! Great suggestion. Walking is terrific for inspiration.
What a great topic, Elizabeth! Life is always changing, and that means our writing routines have to do the same. I’m finding that I’m having to re-think my own routines a little, so I’m glad for this ‘spur’ to do it. I think the key is be aware that no routine will work forever, and not just assume that it will.
Rethinking is a good thing! You’re so right about the fact that no routine is failsafe.
When you have your own schedule, you can also be tempted to push writing to the end. Which means it doesn’t happen.
Probably the biggest danger of all…not to prioritize it. Good point, Diane!
When I’m writing, which hasn’t been lately I’ll admit, I do my writing after dinner and before bed. That gets me about 3 hours – 4 if I’m on a roll or need to push it. I just finished a marathon edit where, these last few days, I started editing once the coffee kicked in and have gone after it off and on all day. Days like that burn me to a crisp, but they’re necessary sometimes. Now, I have to do a NaNo-like writing thing to get this other book finished, so I can have it ready to publish in probably March. But not today. I’m taking today off.
It’s not a good schedule, but it’s worked for me. For the most part.
It’s a good schedule if it works! And it definitely does for you.
Sounds as though you’re attuned to your more-focused hours and also know how to push through a marathon, when you need to.
Life stays a work in progress, but the seasons keep on changing on us! :-) You seem to be adapting well. And you don’t look old enough to have children 17 and 21! Blood running keeps me tired and impoverished for writing time. But if I don’t make time, who will?
You are very kind (and possibly my best friend now!) Sadly, I’m very much old enough and wasn’t even very young when I had them, ha. :)
I’m glad to hear from you and hope your health improves as time goes on. I’ve been amazed at what you’re able to accomplish while under the weather. And I find your attitude toward your writing very inspiring.
Hi Elizabeth – I hope to adapt my routines so that in the New Year life is organised and running efficiently … thankfully everything is now working. I tend to write in the middle of the day – around other things … and that probably needs to change … make notes the night before, and then on waking set to … then carry on with the day.
Cheers and all the best – Hilary
Hoping that the New Year is a good one for you in every way! Good luck experimenting with your routines.