Choosing and Testing Writing Habits

There are many articles out there about the ideal writing habits for those who want to be successful. Surely some of those habits work for some people, but how do you figure out which habits work best for you?

First you need to know what your writing goals are. Is writing your hobby that you do to bring you pleasure? Is writing your job that you need to bring in money? Do you want to share your writing with many people? Do you want to keep it to yourself? 

Then you need to figure out how much time you can spend working towards your writing goals per week.

With these two influences in mind choose one habit from the list below and try it out for two weeks to see if it makes a difference in your writing. If it does then try to keep it up! If it doesn't then it might not be the habit for you, so choose another and test that one.

Hobby Writing - We've said it before, but we'll say it again. Try going to a local writers group or writing related event. Knowing that there are others around who understand the urge to write can be one of the best and most supportive experiences. If you feel more connected to writers after attending two events then this might be the weekly habit for you. 

Job Writing - Try assisting your brain in realizing that it's writing time by taking a particular action before starting to write. For example always put on a bright yellow hat before starting to write, always take it off before browsing FB. If you do this for a while, then you can put on the hat and your brain will get into gear for writing, even if you don't have the motivation. 

Sharing with Masses - Try writing a piece of flash fiction every day for two weeks. Take the best two for polishing and sending to markets, then take the next two to four and share them on your blog and see the responses start to roll in! 

Personal Writings - Consider going old school with pen and paper. There's nothing more personal, and it still has a nice feel to it. If after two weeks you feel more connected to your writing then this is working well. 

1 hour - Try writing a little bit every day. Make a promise to yourself that the time is worth spending on the writing, and making an appointment for it in your calendar.

4 hours - Consider carving a block of time on the weekend and then cutting it into two parts. One for research and the other for writing. 

10 hours - Consider a jam session. Turn off the internet and start a timer for 90 minutes. Don't get up until the timer goes off again. Do this twice a day every weekday and see if your word count improves. 

What writing habits have you tried?

Shannon K.