If you’ve been reading advice on writing, you’ll most likely be familiar with the term writing routine. Every writer has a routine of some kind whether it’s writing a fixed amount of words every day, devoting a certain amount of time to writing, or writing at a certain time each day. Today I thought I’d talk about why a writing routine is important and why it works for me.

How I Found My Writing Routine

I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember but it wasn’t until the second half of 2016, July to be exact, that I formed a writing routine. You see, I was one of those people who put everything else first, always saying I’d find time to write but never actually doing it. I’d be exhausted after work and time with my husband and children was a priority. I’d go weeks even months, and sometimes years without writing. It was always there though, always in the back of my mind, ideas churning, sentences and chapters forming, words that popped in every time I sat with a cup of tea. Writing burned inside me but was never given an outlet.

In March of 2016, I joined a local writing group and the immense joy I felt is indescribable. One day every week, two hours devoted to writing. It was surreal and exactly what I needed. At first, I was nervous, afraid of sharing anything I’d written. In fact, I didn’t read aloud any of my stuff for about three months. I usually asked one of the other members to read it for me. That in itself was a huge step for me. My writing had always been private – something just for me. I remember listening to the words being read out and being overwhelmed by the feedback and the response from the group. I looked forward to writing something new each week and my whole being changed. My mood was the biggest thing I noticed. Once I put pen to paper my stress levels decreased and a sense of peace washed over me. It was the easiest thing in the world to do and yet I’d resisted for so long. I’d made excuse after excuse after excuse. Whenever I finished writing something for group, I’d ask myself the same question – Why don’t you do this every day, you love it?

I didn’t do it every day though. I did it every Tuesday because I knew I had to have something to read out that evening. I made time on a Tuesday.

The Page A Day Challenge

It was around that time I’d been flicking through my YouTube playlists and I came across a talk given by the late Wayne Dyer. I’d watched it numerous times before but for some reason, his words struck a chord with me that day. He said, “if there’s something you want to do, make it a priority.” And so, I did.

In July 2016 along with my writers’ group, I agreed to do the Page a Day Challenge for the month. A page a day for me was one page in my A5 notebook. (I handwrite everything) To say I was excited about the challenge is an understatement. I was in my element. Every morning in the space between my children going to school, I’d sit with my notebook and let the words flow. I knew all I had to do was that one page. Some mornings I wrote two, other mornings I wrote up to ten pages.

Going into the challenge I thought I’d complete some of the short stories I’d started from the weekly prompts. I chose one called Pirates. I’d already written just over 1,000 words, so on day one of the challenge, I picked up my pen and continued. I did this day after day until about day 5 when the words took on a life of their own and something strange happened. I found myself inside a new world, inside a story I’d never imagined. A huge twist occurred, and I didn’t know what to do. I knew at that moment that I wasn’t writing a short story, this was something bigger. I continued the challenge and by the end of the month, I had written what became my first fiction book – Finding Forever.

The Wisdom of Wayne Dyer

The challenge ended and I stopped writing again. After about a week my moods took a dramatic shift. I was on edge, fed up with everything, and I was just a complete nightmare to be around. I found myself wishing I had writers group every evening. It was then that Wayne Dyer’s words popped into my head and I had the aha moment. For the whole month of July, writing that page every morning had been a priority. What if I continued?

So, I did. I made writing a priority. Every morning I took out my notebook and wrote my pages. I’d also been reading Julia Camerons The Artist Way, so I added morning pages to my schedule. I still do it today. At approximately 8.10am every morning, I go into my office, pick up my pen, and write my morning pages followed by a couple of pages of whatever story I’m working on. Emma leaves for school at 8.35am so those 25 minutes are my writing time. Some mornings I might only get 200 words written, other mornings it can be up to 500, but I get it done and I love it.

When I was writing the second half of my novel Winterland, I began typing it on my iPad instead of writing by hand. I discovered with Save Her Soul how painful it is to have 80,000 to 90,000 words to type after you’ve finished a story. I changed my routine a bit after that and instead of just handwriting everything, I also typed it up each day too. With the second half of Winterland, I set a target of 1,000 words per day. I stopped handwriting and typed it instead. Again, I made it a priority and before I began my day’s work, I wrote my 1,000 words. It worked because I’d set myself a goal of having the novel completed by October.

Writing Routine and Mental Health

Since completing Winterland, I’ve worked on a number of things. I took a couple of days break and then I went back to writing in my notebook every morning. I’ve written a couple of short stories, some poems, and about 15,000 words of a YA novel. I’ve no idea whether it will get finished or not, I just know I have to write every morning, my page each day, for my own sanity and mental health. Words are my medication.

Last week I typed The End on the Bronte inspired short story I was working on. My maximum word count is 12k. This story is for an anthology being published in 2020. Now that I’ve finished it, I don’t know what to do. My next project is book 2 of my Cursed Angels series, but I need to re-read book 1 to get back into my characters’ heads.

What I’ve Learned About Having a Writing Routine

I’ve gone a little off track in this article, so to pull back, I wanted to mention something I’ve learned about having a writing routine. It’s not about having a word count goal. It’s not about writing every day. It’s about making your writing a priority. For me, my writing routine is similar to brushing my teeth. My day doesn’t start without it.

I see some writers who can write up to 10,000 words a day and if you’re on social media you’ve probably seen posts like this – writers achieving huge word count goals. It can be disheartening. I often find myself reading these posts and berating myself for not doing more. Don’t do that. Don’t feed the little voice that says you’re not doing enough. You are doing enough for you and if you make writing a priority, you’ll always be doing enough. It’s not about how fast you write, it’s that you write.

A writing routine is something that works for you. My 25 minutes every morning works for me and my life. You have to figure out what works for you and your life.

And to answer the question I asked at the very beginning of this post – Do you need a writing routine? For me, the answer is yes. I need it. Without it, I never would have completed my stories and I never would have realised how important writing is to me or the immense joy it brings.

I hope you’ve found this post useful and it has inspired you to create a writing routine that will work for you. Remember, even if all you write is a page a day, that’s 365 pages a year, and that my writing friend, is a novel.

Until next time,

Keep reading and writing,

Amanda