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(Successful) Writers’ Routines

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Well. I am in need of some motivation.

When I can’t get myself to work, when I’m struggling through crippling doubt and generalized despair, I often find myself reading about already published authors’ lives. You know, successful authors who were, in fact, able to push through and publish a book. They have proof and everything! Occasionally, I am able to wallow in the commiseration of an artist’s struggle. But usually, I revel in the reported structure and discipline of others. That’s the kind of perseverance I struggle with recently.

In my ideal day, I would wake up at 5:30am, brew my tea, write in my journal for a page or two, then get to work, writing for hours at a time, with a break for a walk in the bright September sunshine (it’s always September in my ideal day), make a healthy lunch, and edit all afternoon. 5,000 word days, and a full draft every 2 months. Sigh. Most days, I count myself lucky if I cross off 2/3rds of my to-do list and squeeze in a walk when the weather holds out. 

But let’s get back to other people. Successful people. I find myself searching for writers’ routines every few months. The structure and the commiseration is cathartic, but more than that, I am enraptured by the glimpses into another person’s life. Writing is an extremely isolating pastime, where one intentionally locks themselves away from the real world to instead surrounds themselves with imaginary people. Ironic, yes? And beautiful, when the stars align and creativity flows. But that only comes from routine, determination, and perseverance.

So, here are some routines, quotes, and general advice from a few favorite writers:

From Sarah J. Maas, author of YA fantasy including Throne of Glass series and Court of Thorns and Roses series

I shouldn’t say this, but I wrote during my classes (only math and excruciatingly boring seminars, I swear!) I also wrote on weeknights (after homework), weekends, holiday vacations, trips to various parts of the world… No matter what I was doing, no matter where I was, I always made time to write. Not because I felt like it was an obligation or requirement, but because it was something I HAD to do – because my stories were something I HAD to get out of me, had to write down.

People will tell you not to write. Don’t listen to them. They will tell you your writing isn’t good, and that you shouldn’t be writing the kind of stories that are in your heart (believe me, as a fantasy author, I’ve gotten that a LOT). But keep writing. I only made it to publication because I kept writing – because I wrote whenever and however I could, because I wrote what I loved.

From Haruki Murakami, author of literary fiction like IQ84, Norwegian Wood, Kafka on the Shore, and What I Talk About When I Talk About Running

When I’m in writing mode for a novel, I get up at 4:00 am and work for five to six hours. In the afternoon, I run for 10km or swim for 1500m (or do both), then I read a bit and listen to some music. I go to bed at 9:00 pm. I keep to this routine every day without variation. The repetition itself becomes the important thing; it’s a form of mesmerism. I mesmerize myself to reach a deeper state of mind.

From Tamora Pierce, author of iconic young adult series like Song of the Lioness quartet, Immortals quartet, Protector of the Small quartet, and the rest of the world of Tortall, the Circle of Magic, and more

Here are some fixes I use when I get stuck:

  • Introduce a new character. A strong character with an individual style in speech, dress and behavior, who will cause the other characters to review their own actions and motives to decide where they stand with regard to this new character.
  • Have something dramatic happen. As Raymond Chandler put it, “Have someone come through the door with a gun in his hand.” (My husband translates this as “Have a troll come through the door with a spear in his hand.”) Machinery can break down; your characters can be attacked; a natural disaster may sweep through. New, hard circumstances force characters to sink or swim, and the way you show how they do either will move things along.
  • Change the point of view from which you tell the story. If you’re doing it from inside one character’s head, try switching to another character’s point of view. If you’re telling the story from an all-seeing, third person point of view, try narrowing your focus down to one character telling the story in first person. You can even insert a nonfiction-like world-building segment as a change of pace. Try telling it as a poem, or a play. (You can convert it to story form later.)
  • Put this story aside and start something else. Letters, an article, a poem, a play, an art project. Look at the story in a day, or a week, or a couple of months. It may be fresh for you then; it may spark new ideas.
  • Talk to somebody. If you have a friend who’s into the things you’re writing about, talk it out with them. My husband often supplies wonderful new ideas so I can get past whatever hangs me up, and my family and friends are used to mysterious phone calls asking about things seemingly out of the blue, like what gems would you wear with a scarlet gown, or how tall are pole beans in late June?

Most important of all, know when it’s time to quit. Sometimes you take an idea as far as it will go, then run out of steam. This is completely normal. Whether you finish something or not, the things you learn and ideas you developed, even in a project you don’t finish, can be brought to your next project, and the next, and the next. Sooner or later you’ll have a story which you can carry to a finish.

From Tessa Gratton, author of YA fantasy like Blood Magic, The United States of Asgard, and more

My regular day in the life schedule is something like this: alarm goes off at about 5:15am because my mama convinced me in my youth that sleeping until 7 means missing all the best parts of the day. At some point I transformed into a natural morning person who loves sunrise more than any other time of day. Plus, I need a chance to drink some coffee before exercising outside before it gets too hot.

After walking the dog and the dreaded squat/situp regimen, I read the news and news blogs for about an hour while drinking MOAR COFFEE. Around 930am I open the manuscript (assuming I’m in a drafting part of the cycle) and spend a few hours in word wars against myself or my crit partners until I hit 2,000 words. I schedule blocks of time to read (it’s part of the job!) and to respond to emails/business stuff. I write 10k a week doing this M-F. If I’m revising, I work differently since I need different markers of progress, and same for research-mode. But regardless, since I’m up at 5am, by 5pm my brain is shutting down and all I have left in me is reading, tumblring, watching TV, bourbon mixing.

When I’m not on major deadline I only let myself play around with off-contract “fun” projects during the weekend, or read read read. On deadline crush, no-holds-barred of course, and I move myself to a different location every 2-3 hours. As in: office to coffee shop to lunch to different coffee shop to sofa to office in order to jump-start myself by changing view/chair/location.

From C.J. Redwine, author of YA fantasy like the Defiance series and The Shadow Queen

Since I run YABC from home and also have 5 children ranging in age from 3-17, I find that carving out pockets of time to leave the house really ups my productivity during the week. I try to go write at a local coffee shop 2 days a week, although now that my 3-year-old is in a 3 hour school program 4 days a week, I’ll have some alone time at home to use for writing. I also write late at night after the kids go to sleep. My brain does better in the morning, but I have to use whatever time I can get. This often means I survive on about 4 1/2 to 5 hours of sleep most nights. I write in cycles, though. I spend months just living with the story in my head and world building etc before actually writing, but then when I sit down, I really sprint through it. Example (and the reason I am currently desperate for a Netflix binge and some sleep), I just turned in the draft of my next book. Literally the email before this one. And I just wrote 50k in 3 weeks. Now I won’t write anything for weeks and so it goes. 

From Kurt Vonnegut, author of iconic modern sci-fi like Slaughterhouse 5 and Cat’s Cradle, and more

In an unmoored life like mine, sleep and hunger and work arrange themselves to suit themselves, without consulting me. I’m just as glad they haven’t consulted me about the tiresome details. What they have worked out is this: I awake at 5:30, work until 8:00, eat breakfast at home, work until 10:00, walk a few blocks into town, do errands, go to the nearby municipal swimming pool, which I have all to myself, and swim for half an hour, return home at 11:45, read the mail, eat lunch at noon. In the afternoon I do schoolwork, either teach or prepare. When I get home from school at about 5:30, I numb my twanging intellect with several belts of Scotch and water ($5.00/fifth at the State Liquor store, the only liquor store in town. There are loads of bars, though.), cook supper, read and listen to jazz (lots of good music on the radio here), slip off to sleep at ten.

From Daniel Gilbert, author of Stumbling on Happiness

A good writing day starts at 4 AM. By 11 AM the rest of the world is fully awake and so the day goes downhill from there.

E.B. White, author of classic children’s books like Charlotte’s Web, Trumpet of the Swan, and Stuart Little

A writer who waits for ideal conditions under which to work will die without putting a word on paper.