It appears that I have a new ritual: namely, that I blog about my work in progress (WIP). It’s a chance to do something different, and I suppose, to hold myself publicly accountable, so that I finish the book sooner rather later (it once took me seven years to finish writing a book – no kidding).
The importance of routine when writing a book
When I do start working on a new project, there are some routines that I absolutely must follow, which are:
- I must be finished with my morning prayers by 7am
- At 8am, I go for a power walk in my local park
- I’m back in my house by 8.30 and ready to start work by 9
- I must have a mug of coffee on hand. No coffee, no writing. Period
- I go for walks – a lot. It clears the head and my characters thank me for it, because it means I don’t kill them off
- When I’m in the midst of said writing project, at some point, morning prayers are abandoned, as are hygiene requirements. This point of the project is usually about a week or so before my manuscript completion deadline
The routine is not set in stone. Sometimes, if work is really busy, I’ll wake up much earlier and write for a few hours before hitting the 9-5.
I’ve heard of some strange rituals of other writers.
Like, writing ‘feverishly’ in a dark room.
Doing headstands.
Locking yourself in a hermetically sealed chamber.
My comment: lighten up. You’re a writer, not a doctor. Get some perspective.
Check out these rituals of famous people.
Over to you: what are your writing rituals?
Also published on Medium.
I am reading the 21 devotional for Christian writers, I am not a writer but a physician. I have written articles in the past mostly political. For a long time I have felt called to write a nonfictional book on creationism. If there is one thing science has proven, evolution is impossible we are here because of creative and powerful genius. You will never hear that. There is a lot of great work on the subject. I have been writing it for years but never put it in readable form, I would like to change that this year. iI’s a great way to reach out to people and there is a lot of interest.
Hi Scott,
Thanks for stopping by. The key thing is getting started. And if you would like some help writing the book, you may find our course, From Book Idea to Finished Manuscript useful. It’s designed to help you write the book that you’ve always wanted to write, with lots of 5-10 minute videos, templates, worksheets and PDFs to help on your way. Do let me know how you get on!