August 24, 2011

“Habits are the little anchors that keep us from straying very far from the lifestyle to which we’ve become accustomed, whether that lifestyle makes us happy or miserable,” says Karen Scalf Linamen in her book Only Nuns Change Habits Overnight.

Habits: Help or Hindrance?

We all have habits that either support or hinder our writing lives. Habits are simply the ways we repeatedly do some things. Positive habits include daily writing practice, telling ourselves positive things about our abilities, and keeping current with publishers’ requirements.

Negative writing habits run the gamut from playing computer games and surfing the Internet during our writing time, to not keeping track of submissions and not studying to improve our craft.

Do you see any consistent patterns in your writing life? Which positive habits help you? Which habits detract from your ability to pursue your writing dreams consistently?

Habits from Scratch

If you could redesign your writing life from scratch, which patterns would you reestablish? Which habits would you drop, if you could break them? Can you even identify the habits that are getting in your way? Do you wonder where your time is going, why you can’t seem to get around to working on the project that is so dear to your heart? Try journaling about it.

“Keeping a journal can help you identify hidden habits that are interfering with your life,” says Linamen. “You can embrace the changes you want to embrace–and getting a handle on what’s really going on is a great way to begin!”

The Art of Change

A good writing life–a productive writing life–is built on good writing habits.  They keep you anchored to the writing life you want to have, both now and in the future. Building good writing habits may not sound very exciting, but discipline now will give you a lot of freedom later on–and a writing life worth having!

If you have time, share with others one GOOD writing habit you’ve developed (any kind) and one BAD one you’d like to break before the end of the year.

6 Comments »

1. 

   Great information. I absolutely love it. And I have developed a lot of hideous writing habits over the years. And a few good ones too. My worst one: Writing and rewriting that first sentence, first paragraph and not getting anything written until I make myself stop. I’d love to break that nasty habit before the end of the year.

   Best one: Knowing my best writing time and sticking to it. Early morning does it for me.

   Comment by Robyn Campbell — August 25, 2011 @ 3:41 pm

2. 

   Robyn, you’re singing my song! Early morning writing is best for me too. I’m finally going to bed so early that I wake up very early and can write and STILL walk before it hits 100 degrees outside. (Good luck with budging yourself past all that initial revising!)

   Comment by Kristi Holl — August 25, 2011 @ 3:45 pm

3. 

   One GOOD writing habit I have developed recently was breaking my week down by assigning specific days that I devote to Writing (Manuscripts, revising, etc.) and a couple of days to devote to working on short pieces and doing research, submitting, social networking, etc. That way I have a set goal for each day and I don’t get overwhelmed.

   One BAD writing habit I have been fighting is not procrastinating and letting other things take over my writing time. I am still working on getting myself on a set schedule where I write or work at a set time or for a set length of time each day.

   Comment by Ann Schwarz — August 25, 2011 @ 4:00 pm

4. 

   Ann, any goal that keeps you organized AND helps you not feel overwhelmed is a keeper! I have schedules for stuff too, and it helps me block out the rest of the week’s to-do list! I fight the same bad habit you mentioned on a weekly basis. But being all things to all people can really use up your writing time! Sometimes I wish I could clone myself. One self would go off and do for others, and one self would hide here and write.

   Comment by Kristi Holl — August 25, 2011 @ 5:09 pm

5. 

   One good habit would be daily writing – any writing, story, idea, journal, if I don’t writing one day it bothers me…
   A bad habit would be procrastination/self doubt (these two seem to go hand in hand with me); I’m still working on a writing assignment (progressing but not completing) because something is missing in the story but I can’t put my finger on what…

   Comment by Ally M — August 25, 2011 @ 9:18 pm

6. 

   Ally, developing a daily writing habit is probably the best one you can have. Everything else seems to come from that. And yes, procrastination often comes from doubt. I set aside two books last year because I couldn’t put my finger on what was missing. I’m now reading a great book (ANATOMY OF STORY) that is helping me pinpoint the problem.

   Comment by Kristi Holl — August 26, 2011 @ 10:10 am

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