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Lydia Davis: Ten of My Recommendations for Good Writing Habits

Advice for writers on editing, revising, and taking notes.

Adapted from the essay “Thirty Recommendations for Good Writing Habits” in   Essays One .

The following are just my personal pieces of advice. They won’t be the same as someone else’s, and they may not fit your life or practice, but maybe you’ll pick up something useful.

1. Take notes regularly. This will sharpen both your powers of observation and your expressive ability. A productive feedback loop is established: Through the habit of taking notes, you will inevitably come to observe more; observing more, you will have more to note down. Here are some examples from my own notebooks and also from the Austrian fiction writer Peter Handke’s notebook selection entitled The Weight of the World . Other notebooks that might serve as useful models are Kafka’s and the painter Delacroix’s.

* Observe your own activity:

From my notebook:

a. “I keep hoping for a new and interesting email, and for hours now it has been the same subject line: ‘Used Kubota tractor for sale’.”

b. “I kept smelling a smell of cat pee but could not find where it was coming from, until I found the cat pee—on the tip of my very own nose!”

From Peter Handke’s notebook:

c. “Someone [a stranger] drops something and I pull my hand out of my pocket, but that’s all I do.”

* Observe your own feelings (but not at tiresome length):

a. “At the sight of a woman with enormously protuberant eyes, my irritation vanished”

b. The feeling of love, it seems, in my response to Peter Bichsel’s stories—they are loving stories. They awaken in me a feeling (love) that I am then quicker to feel in response to other things.

* Observe the behavior of others, both animal and human:

a. Little kitty crouches down and flattens her ears (in the entryway, in front of the glass door) so that she won’t be seen by the dead leaves whirling around outside.

b. Grandpa is over there under the tree working on his retractable umbrella.

c. That very handsome dark-haired and dark-eyed young man walks up and down the aisle of the train so many times to show us how nice he looks in his cream-colored summer suit and white shirt. He will continue to walk up and down until he is sure we have all seen him.

(In this case, the observation has already turned into something a little more, even as I write it, because I am adding something to it that I imagine, or can pretend I imagine, about the man.)

* Observe the weather, and be specific:

a. High wind yesterday blew women’s long hair, women’s long skirts, crowns of trees, at dinner outdoors napkins off laps, lettuce off plates, flakes of pastry off plates onto sidewalk.

Apropos of weather and precision, here is Webster ’ s Collegiate Dictionary ’s chart of the Beaufort scale—a scale in which the force of the wind is indicated by numbers from 0 to 17. This source is “just” a dictionary, but the images are vivid because of their specificity and the good clear writing in the dictionary, and because the increasing strength of the wind on the scale becomes, despite the dry, factual account, dramatic.

I have to say, as an aside, that I’m sure I learned something about writing clear and exact prose from the very precise definitions in this same dictionary, which I acquired at age 25 and consulted constantly.

* Observe other types of behavior, including that of municipalities:

From my notebook, while traveling:

a. To commemorate the St.-Cyprieux victims of the flood of 1875, the city erected . . . a fountain.

(I revised this, in the notebook: I changed the order a little to avoid a succession of prepositional phrases. My sentence originally read: To commemorate the victims in St. Cyprieux of the flood of 1875, the city erected . . . a fountain. That version may, after all, be perfectly all right, or even better.)

* Note facts

As a writer, whether you are writing fiction, non-fiction, or poetry, you must be responsible for accurate factual information about how a thing works, if you’re writing about it. You will have to be well informed about such things as the weather, biology, botany, human nature, history, technology, such matters as color spectrums and the behavior of light waves etc. etc. This means that, over time, you will learn a good deal. Here’s an example of a piece of knowledge acquired while traveling:

Question: can you figure out three reasons why trees were planted along this canal in a French city?

My answer, noted in notebook:

a. trees planted along canal for three reasons: shade for boatmen, help slow evaporation of water, hold earth in banks. Often planted at exactly equal intervals.

* Note technical/historical facts:

Here are some notes I took in the Cluny Museum in Paris, about construction methods in Ancient Rome:

a. “Courses of limestone (rows) intersected by leveling courses (bands) of horizontal bricks forming a construction named opus vittatum mixtum , [banded mixed materials], a reference to the layering techniques and to the mixing of different materials.”

b. “The floor . . . is made of Roman concrete, opus caementicium , a mix of stones and lime mortar . . . probably covered in stone slabs or mosaics.”

Important: Take notes at the time, because you will forget so much, if not everything, later—you will inevitably either forget the moment entirely, or forget a part of it, so that won’t be as complete or interesting when you do note it down.

a. Here is Samuel Johnson on the subject of travel writing: “He who has not made the experiment will scarcely believe how much a few hours take from accuracy of knowledge.”

On the subject of taking notes, I want to add one last thing, and that is about public transportation: I do a lot of writing and note-taking on trips: in airports, on airplanes, on trains. I recommend taking public transportation whenever possible. There are many good reasons to do this (one’s carbon footprint, safety, productive use of time, support of public transportation, etc.), but for a writer, here are two in particular: 1) you will write a good deal more waiting for a bus or sitting on a train than you will driving a car, or as a passenger in a car; and (2) you will be thrown in with strangers—people not of your choosing. Although I pass strangers when I’m walking on a city street, it is only while traveling on public transportation that I sit thigh to thigh with them on a subway, stare at the back of their heads waiting in line, and overhear sometimes extended conversations. It takes me out of my own limited, chosen world. Sometimes I have good, enlightening conversations with them.

2. Always work (note, write) from your own interest, never from what you think you should be noting, or writing. Trust your own interest. I have a strong interest, at the moment, in Roman building techniques, thus my notation above, taken down in the Cluny Museum in Paris. My interest may pass. But for the moment I follow it and enjoy it, not knowing where it will go.

Let your interest, and particularly what you want to write about, be tested by time, not by other people—either real other people or imagined other people.

This is why writing workshops can be a little dangerous, it should be said; even the teachers or leaders of such workshops can be a little dangerous; this is why most of your learning should be on your own. Other people are often very sure that their opinions and their judgments are correct.

3. Be mostly self-taught.

There is a great deal to be learned from programs, courses, and teachers. But I suggest working equally hard, throughout your life, at learning new things on your own, from whatever sources seem most useful to you. I have found that pursuing my own interests in various directions and to various sources of information can take me on fantastic adventures: I have stayed up till the early hours of the morning poring over old phone books; or following genealogical lines back hundreds of years; or reading a book about what lies under a certain French city; or comparing early maps of Manhattan as I search for a particular farmhouse. These adventures become as gripping as a good novel.

4. Revise notes constantly—try to develop the ability to read them as though you had never seen them before, to see how well they communicate. Constant revision, whether or not you’re going to “do” anything with what you’ve written, also teaches you to write better in the first place, when you first write something down.

I have already given some examples of revision, since it is an inveterate habit when I reread anything I’ve written. I will give more examples as I go along and explain more about the importance of this later.

5. If you take notes regularly, sitting in an airport, for example, you can “grow” a story right then and there. Revising it, you can give it a good shape and pace. Here are some notes I took sitting in an airport lounge at a table near a Starbuck’s:

a. First I copy down some dialog I hear that strikes me:

“Caramel syrup or caramel drizzle?”

“Caramel syrup or caramel drizzle?” (I look up; it is a tall slim woman with a ponytail buying the drink. She’s an airline employee in the Starbuck’s line.)

Long pause for deliberation.

“I’ll take the drizzle.”

(I see her now from behind, over there, her blond ponytail and sticking-out ears, drinking her caramel drizzle. As she deliberated, I was deciding that drizzle was a smaller amount of caramel than “syrup” even though “syrup” must be involved in the “drizzle.”)

Later, she walks away with another airline employee, the empty cup in her hand, the caramel drizzle inside her.

And then she turns out to be the attendant on our flight—her name is Shannon—so her caramel drizzle will also be going to Chicago with us.

In between my observations of the flight attendant, there were other notes, first a comment about something I had experienced trying to learn Dutch, and then another people observation, as follows:

b. Stout, cheerful, rather dandyish man dressed in preppy clothes—tweed jacket, bow tie, loafers, etc.—starts off down the airport corridor in pursuit of a boy of six or seven in camouflage clothes who was galloping away. Stout man calls cheerfully back to woman at table, who is evidently boy’s mother: “James and I are going potty!”

Then I go back to observing the stewardess.

6. Taking notes as you sit outside at a cafe table, you can also begin to develop a poem. This is the same wind as before, at the same cafe table. I did not write it to be a poem, but later I look at it, and it almost reads as one:

a. In the wind, the grass is bowing and the Queen Anne’s lace is nodding.

Now, as though blown by the wind, come the runners in the footrace.

Here is how the revision worked: originally I did not have “In the wind” at the beginning. I was sitting there in the wind, I knew it was windy, I knew why the grass and the Queen Anne’s lace were bowing and nodding. But when I read it over with fresh eyes, I could see that I needed to say the wind was blowing, otherwise the reader might hesitate or take time figuring out why the grass and flowers were moving. You want the impact of what you write to be unobstructed ; you don’t want confusion or hesitation in the reader’s mind.

I say “the reader” for convenience, by the way. The fact is that when I revise in my notebook, I’m revising for the sake of the piece itself, to make it work. I’m not thinking about any reader. I may never do any more with it than leave it in the notebook.

7. Another advantage of revising constantly, regardless of whether you’re ever going to “use” what you’ve written, is that you practice, constantly, reading with fresh eyes, reading as the person coming fresh to this, never having seen it before. This is a very important skill to develop, and one that probably develops only with time and practice (although some people recommend various tricks, such as printing different drafts of your work in different fonts).

Another way to see your work freshly is to leave it alone and come back to it after time has passed. I will quite often begin a piece of writing, even hastily, getting a few lines or sentences down, with a title, and then leave it and work on other things, and sometimes I leave it for so long—weeks or months—that when I see the title again I wonder what it is, and even when I read it I don’t recognize it, having completely forgotten it existed.

8. Sentences or ideas reported from reality out of context can be wonderful. But then, when and if you use them in a piece of finished writing, beware of how much context you give them.

Context can mean explanation, exposition. And too much of it can take away all the interest that the material originally had. Here are some more notes, effective alone, without context, less effective with context:

More notebook entries:

a: “When he was in his sixties, he often seemed tired of life.” (from Wikipedia article about the Dutch painter Willem Maris)

b. “Another of Tennyson’s brothers, Edward Tennyson, was institutionalized at a private asylum, where he was deemed dead.” (from Wikipedia article on Tennyson)

c. Alas I’m in Denver” (email)

d: “I can always get someone to open a window in Paris.” (email from schoolmate about learning French)

e. “The children at The Children’s Center are interested in building a castle.” (email)

In this last example, part of the vividness of the entry is the language: the repetition of “children”and then the word “interested”, which somehow seems incongruous to the behavior of children. And then the picture conjured up by children building a (real) castle. This would not have been as striking if the situation as a whole had been more fully explained and the language had been slightly changed, thus: “The children at the daycare center want to build a castle out of blocks.”)

f. “I need a plumber.” (email)

9. Go to primary sources and go to the great works to learn technique. This was the advice of Matsuo Basho, the 17th-c. Japanese master of the haiku.

Read the best writers: maybe it would help to set a goal of one classic per year at least. Classics have stood the test of time, as we say. Keep trying them, if you don’t like them at first—come back to them. I tried Joyce’s Ulysses three times before I read it all the way through. (It helped that I was living in Ireland at the time, where I saw Joycean and Beckettian characters all around me.) I haven’t yet read Don Quixote , but I think I’ll actually enjoy it.

10. How should you read? What should the diet of your reading be? Read the best writers from all different periods; keep your reading of contemporaries in proportion—you do not want a steady diet of contemporary literature. You already belong to your time.

——————————————

Adapted from the essay “Thirty Recommendations for Good Writing Habits” in Essays One by Lydia Davis. Reprinted with the permission of the publisher, Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Copyright © 2019 by Lydia Davis.

Lydia Davis

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A (Very) Simple Way to Improve Your Writing

• Mark Rennella

It’s called the “one-idea rule” — and any level of writer can use it.

The “one idea” rule is a simple concept that can help you sharpen your writing, persuade others by presenting your argument in a clear, concise, and engaging way. What exactly does the rule say?

• Every component of a successful piece of writing should express only one idea.
• In persuasive writing, your “one idea” is often the argument or belief you are presenting to the reader. Once you identify what that argument is, the “one-idea rule” can help you develop, revise, and connect the various components of your writing.
• For instance, let’s say you’re writing an essay. There are three components you will be working with throughout your piece: the title, the paragraphs, and the sentences.
• Each of these parts should be dedicated to just one idea. The ideas are not identical, of course, but they’re all related. If done correctly, the smaller ideas (in sentences) all build (in paragraphs) to support the main point (suggested in the title).

Most advice about writing looks like a long laundry list of “do’s and don’ts.” These lists can be helpful from time to time, but they’re hard to remember … and, therefore, hard to depend on when you’re having trouble putting your thoughts to paper. During my time in academia, teaching composition at the undergraduate and graduate levels, I saw many people struggle with this.

• MR Mark Rennella is Associate Editor at HBP and has published two books, Entrepreneurs, Managers, and Leaders and The Boston Cosmopolitans .  

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7 Writing Habits Of Highly Successful Writers

Discover the 7 writing habits of highly successful writers. They’re easy to apply if you want to become more prolific.

So you love writing. You’re committed to developing your writing voice, improving your skills, and working steadily on your craft. But, sometimes, you want to pull out your hair after a day’s writing.

If only you could figure out what successful writers do every day and then use this insight to improve your craft and learn how to become a writer.

Because many successful writers are inaccessible (or they’ve passed on). The good news is that you can still learn from them if you do the work. All you have to do is emulate their writing habits.

In this post, I’ll explain the 7 writing habits of highly successful writers. I’ll also explain how you can cultivate these habits using practical writing tips. They work for short stories, blogging, fiction, and non-fiction.

How To Cultivate This Writing Habit

The final word on creating good writing habits, what are some examples of writing habits, how many hours a day do authors write, what are some bad writing habits, how can i develop my writing habits, what are stephen king’s writing habits, what can alter a person’s writing habits, cultivating atomic writing habits with james clear.

1. Keep an Orderly Daily Routine

Following a consistent daily routine means a writer is more likely to find time to write because they are less prone to unplanned interruptions and life events.

The creative process is messy, unordered, and demanding, but you’ll find it harder to organize your writing if your life outside the blank page is chaotic.

The writer George Flaubert argued an orderly daily routine is all writers need to create. He said:

“Be regular and orderly in your life, so you may be violent and original in your work.”

For many writers (particularly new ones), being regular and orderly means keeping a job . When you sit down to write, the last thing on your mind should be paying the bills. If the prospects of an orderly routine fill you with boredom, consider T.S. Elliot.

Working with numbers is anathema for most writers, but British poet T.S. Elliot worked in Lloyds bank in the UK and wrote his poetry outside of work.

Until your writing is earning you a decent income, don’t quit your job . That way, you can experiment with different genres or niches.

Instead, create on the margins of the day by either getting up early or writing after work. Dedicate time to the creative process, free from email, the news, and social media.

I usually start the day with a cup of coffee or tea and write the first draft for at least thirty minutes without interruption.

That said, if you’d rather not hold down a job unrelated to creative work, check out our guide to the best writing jobs .

2. Write Every Day

Successful writers sit down in front of the blank page every day , not just on weekends or when inspiration strikes. They do the work because writing is their job, not just a hobby.

Consider Anthony Trollope. This 19th-century English author produced an astonishing 47 novels during his career; two dozen were published while he worked in the General Post Office. According to Mason Currey , Trollope said about writing every day:

“All those I think who has lived as literary men, – working daily as literary labourers, – will agree with me that three hours a day will produce as much as a man ought to write.”

If Trollope completed a novel during his three-hour writing session, he immediately took out a blank sheet of paper and started writing a new one.

Writing three hours a day is a tall order if you’ve never attempted it. As with any new habit, start small.

Start by writing for 15 minutes today and 15 minutes tomorrow. The following week, write every day for 30 minutes. And so on.

If you falter, set the alarm on your phone to remind yourself about your writing schedule. Consistency is vital if you want to become a better writer.

Do this until you create a writing routine that sticks. I also recommend tracking your word count during these sessions to evaluate your progress.

3. Leave Yourself Subtle Writing Prompts

Prolific writers know how important it is to get going quickly and efficiently. They leave themselves subtle prompts that simplify picking up from the previous day’s work.

Ernest Hemingway famously stopped writing in the middle of a sentence so he’d know exactly where to resume the following day.

The American novelist Henry Miller was also a big believer in stopping before he ran out of ideas. He said:

“I don’t believe in draining the reservoir, do you see? I believe in getting up from the typewriter, away from it, while I still have still things to say.”

Buy a packet of index cards or Post-It notes. When you’re finished for the day, write on a single index card or Post-It about what you want to work on tomorrow.

Now, stick this on your writing desk . This writing habit will also help you overcome writer’s block as you’ll have a visual reminder about where to start.

4. Embrace Research

Research is a vital part of the writing process, and a writer’s inputs inform what they produce.

I struggled to accept research as part of the non-fiction writing process for a long time.

I told myself research was a distraction from doing the work of putting one word after another on the blank page.

Now, I know better. The contemporary non-fiction writer Robert Greene spends hundreds of hours researching books like Mastery and The 48 Laws of Power .

Greene typically reads 300–400 books about a particular topic. He annotates what he reads and translates his notes to a trusted system for organizing his ideas. In this Reddit AMA , he said:

“I read a book, very carefully, writing on the margins with all kinds of notes. A few weeks later I return to the book, and transfer my scribbles onto note cards , each card representing an important theme in the book.”

Review your calendar and block part of your creative time for writing and another part for research.

If you’re worried about getting stuck and endlessly researching your work, set a hard deadline for when you’ll stop researching and start writing.

5. Work Without Distraction

lone are triggers for deep thinking that supports the creative process.

Perhaps, this explains why pictures of writers’ offices and workspaces are so popular with other writers and creative people?

The American novelist behind Freedom and the Corrections seeks solitude by disconnecting himself from the internet. During a book tour for his 2012 novel Freedom , Jonathan Franzen told a journalist he wanted to write more each day.

So, he physically removed his Wi-Fi card from his computer and permanently blocked his machine’s ethernet connection with Super Glue.

Create a place where you can work uninterrupted on your ideas for at least an hour at a time. This could be a small room in your house or apartment, a quiet table in your local favorite coffee shop, or a seat at the back of the train where you can sit and write wearing noise-cancelling headphones.

The location is less important than having a place your brain associates with writing at length without interruption. When this happens, you’re less likely to face problems like procrastination.

6. Keep Strong and Healthy

Sitting at a desk, hunched over an old manuscript or keyboard for hours at a time isn’t good for your physical health, and writing in pain isn’t conducive to creativity.

Successful writers go to great lengths to keep themselves physically healthy so they have the strength to come up with new and better ideas.

The British writer Charles Dickens was a prolific walker . On a given day, Dickens walked 12 or more miles around Kent or through the streets of Victorian London. He used many moments from these walks as inspiration for his novels. Critic G.K Chesterton writes in Charles Dickens: A Critical Study:

“There are details in Dickens’ descriptions—a window, or a railing, or the keyhole of a door—which he endows with demoniac life. The things seem more actual than things really are,”

Keep a pair of trainers beside where you write as a visual reminder to exercise. Activities like walking and running will help you sleep better and give you more energy to write tomorrow.

I also like sit-ups and push-ups as they get the blood flowing if I’ve spent an hour or two sitting at a writing desk. If you exercise for several days, reward yourself with a healthy treat.

To learn more, check out our guide discussing the link between exercise and creativity .

7. Write Even When You’re Not Inspired

Even if you don’t feel like you have a good idea, write it down anyway. Accomplished writers are meticulous about recording thoughts throughout the day.

Mark Twain carried a pocket notebook with him for his ideas. Thomas Jefferson jotted down notes about everything from the growth of plants and flowers to observations about daily life. Even George Lucas keeps a notebook with him while shooting a film.

My favorite story about a writer who made it a point to write things down involves the children’s author, Roald Dahl.

One day, Dahl found himself stuck in traffic. Suddenly, he thought of a breakthrough for a story he was working on. Having no notepad or pen, he grew afraid he’d forget his idea before getting home.

So, Dahl got out of the car, and with his finger, he wrote the word ‘chocolate’ into the dirt on his vehicle. This idea later became Charlie and the Chocolate Factory . Dahl said about his ideas:

“You work it out and play around with it. You doodle… you make notes… it grows, it grows…”

Commit to writing down 5–10 ideas (it doesn’t matter how outlandish) in a notebook you carry around every day.

You can use digital tools like an app on your smartphone or buy a small notebook that fits in your pocket. Before your next writing session, read back on these notes for inspiration.

If you’ve been writing for a while, you’ll recognize these 7 habits as proven writing advice. That shouldn’t come as a surprise.

Becoming a successful writer doesn’t mean discovering a great secret. Instead, walk the path of the literary betters who came before you.

Do what they do, and you’ll discover how they built a writing career to envy. Then, you’ll be able to use this new insight into your creative life to improve the quality of your writing and strike out on your own.

Want more? Check out our guide to the qualities of successful writers .

Writing Habits FAQs

Some famous examples include writing in the same place or at the same time every day while listening to a particular type of music or ambient noise. More unique examples include writing while drinking tea or coffee from the same cup or wearing specific clothes while writing.

Highly-prolific authors like Dan Brown and Danielle Steele write for a minimum of three or four hours a day. They start early, usually before dawn. Other writers care less about the time they spend writing and more about what they write.

Writing and editing simultaneously, while multi-tasking and writing without the help of an editor are all examples of bad writing habits. They’ll slow down your progress towards a finished manuscript. More specific examples of bad writing habits include overusing adjectives or adverbs and writing in the passive voice .

You can develop your writing habits by starting small. Identify a place where you’ll write consistently. Turn up at the same time each day and write for a set amount of time or aim for a target word count. Get into the habit of sharing your drafts with other readers or an editor for critical feedback.

Stephen King tasks himself with writing two thousand words a day or more. He writes from eight onwards, usually up until 13.30. King listens to music while writing and enjoys bands like Metallica and Anthrax. He works with his phone and internet access turned off.

After a productive morning writing session, King naps. He spends his free time reading, catching up with family and watching Red Sox games. This daily writing habit has enabled him to write over 61 novels and 200 short stories.

A person’s writing habits are dictated by energy, time available to write, location and environmental triggers. For example, a bad migraine could derail even a prolific writer with a solid worth ethic. On the other hand, writing in an environment conducive to deep work, like a library of coffee, should enable more effective writing habits.

James Clear is the New York Times best-selling author of Atomic Habits . He also coaches readers (and even writers) on how to succeed in their personal and professional lives by reaping the rewards of smart daily decisions.

In this podcast episode,  Clear explains:

• How to use effective habits to write a book
• The value of writing just one page a day
• His process for coming up with book titles like Atomic Habits
• How writing two articles a week helped him build a business and write a New York Times best-selling book

We cover lots more. If you like this article, you’ll enjoy our companion piece A Habit Expert Reveals How To Finally Find Success At Work

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The Rituals of Writing Greats: How to Create Writing Habits that Stick

• May 29, 2017
• / Articles     Writing
• / By Garrett Grams

Every writing great had a unique routine.

For many writing greats, they chose a specific time to wake up and stuck to it. Though the time has varied from writer to writer, what is often the same is the commitment to consistently wake up at a set time.

When they arrive at the writing desk, there is always a destination in mind. This could mean writing two great sentences, as James Joyce aimed for, or not stopping until you reach 2,000 words, like Stephen King.

With a goal in mind, the greats have sat down and done the work. Often, the actual work was only part of the process.

“Eccentric” and “writer” are almost synonymous terms. While the rituals of writing greats may not have appeared strange to them, when compared to anyone else, their rituals looked very strange indeed. Each had their own unique writing habits, developed to inspire their best work.

Every great knew what worked best for them. As their writing careers developed, their own unique formula became a deeply ingrained part of their writing, so much so that they recommended their formula as the best way to write.

There is wisdom in much of the advice from writing greats. But the wisdom varies in the same way as their wake-up times, word counts, and habits.

The best wisdom is that which works for you. There might be a wake-up time that is perfect, a word count that makes you excited to write, a ritual that connects with you and sparks creativity, or a formula that fits into your life.

Find and use what works, and ignore the rest. And a good way to find what works for you is to consider the habits of writing greats, and how what worked was different for each writer.

Wake Up Early! … Or Don’t

It is often touted that successful people wake up early and get more done.

We all know those early birds who display what time they wake up like a badge of honor. The question then becomes, does waking up early mean you’re getting more done? And is what you’re doing quality work?

After years of research, Maria Popova, the founder of Brainpickings.org , sought to find a correlation between successful writers’ sleep habits and their literary productivity.

Popova took the wake-up times for 37 writers, and decided to quantify literary productivity by “number of published works and major awards received.” With these data, she reached out to Giorgia Lupi , an information designer at Accurat, to organize the data into an infographic, and Wendy MacNaughton , a frequent illustrator and collaborator on Brain Pickings, to illustrate the portraits.

The result is an incredible perspective on the sleep habits and achievements of writing greats.

The morning begins anywhere between Honoré de Balzac waking up at the insomnia-driven 1 a.m. to Charles Bukowski waking up at the bohemian 12 p.m.

Does the early bird get the worm? Or as Popova describes it, “does the early bird get the Pulitzer?”

When looking at the awards in this infographic, the prizes are congested towards the early birds, but only slightly so. Ray Bradbury, who won the Pulitzer and many other prizes, woke at 9 a.m. every morning.

Another interesting correlation is that the later the writer wakes up, the more works they tend to produce, but with fewer conventional awards than their early bird counterparts.

With each correlation, there comes exceptions. Isaac Asimov wrote and edited more than 500 books in his lifetime, rising at 6 a.m., whereas Joyce wrote only 12 books and woke up at 10 a.m.

By no means is the morning the only time to write. Friedrich Schiller wrote exclusively at night. The same goes for Samuel Johnson, Marcel Proust, and George Sand. Even Balzac, who boasts the earliest wake-up time at 1 a.m., wrote during night hours as well as morning hours, sometimes staying up for a full 48 hours straight.

Popova clarifies the most important point when relating the time you get out of bed to the amount of quality work you produce:

“A reminder that no specific routine guarantees success, and the only thing that matters is having a routine and the persistence implicit to one. Showing up day in and day out, without fail, is the surest way to achieve lasting success.” —Maria Popova

Showing up and writing, that is what each of these writers has in common. They got to the writing desk and did the work. The common characteristic behind all their routines is discipline.

These writers had the discipline to wake up at the same time every day, as well as the discipline to put themselves at the writing desk.

Discipline in waking up and discipline in showing up to write creates the habit of a routine that worked for these writers.

Famous Daily Word Counts

When writing greats arrived at the writing desk, the word counts they produced were as varied as the times they woke up.

Word count is often used as a measuring stick for daily writing production. The number varies based on the goal the writer is working towards.

More than that, the word count goal might revolve around the number or the required production to achieve the goal, sometimes on a deadline, self-imposed or otherwise. Usually, this goal is a new project, like an essay, article, or novel.

Many writers have determined a word count based on what they felt capable of achieving to finish their particular project.

I should note that before the advent of technology, with limited tools such as notepad and pen, or typewriter, the writing process took significantly more time than it does to type on a computer. Especially if you typed with only your index fingers in a constant game of hunt and peck, like Ernest Hemingway and Bukowski.

Let’s just get this out of the way: Michael Crichton, who wrote Jurassic Park and over 100 other books, wrote 10,000 words a day.

That’s an enormous amount of words, and most people would feel lucky to get to that number in a week.

If you look at that number with dread, don’t worry — there are plenty of writing greats who existed at the opposite end of the word-count spectrum.

Let’s take Joyce, for example.

Joyce was known to aim for two good sentences a day with pen and paper — a vast sea away from Crichton’s 10,000 words on a computer.

Joyce and Crichton are outliers when it comes to word counts. There are plenty of famous writers who did just fine existing somewhere in between these extremes.

At the lower end of the scale are Hemingway and Graham Greene at 500 words a day. And Greene wrote only five days a week.

Hemingway wrote all morning. He would write until he was empty, feeling good if he got over 500 words.

“You write until you come to a place where you still have your juice and know what will happen next and you stop and try to live through until the next day when you hit it again.” — Ernest Hemingway

Greene was known to do the same.

“I have always been very methodical, and when my quota of work is done I break off, even in the middle of a scene.” — Graham Greene

There are two things to note here. Both writers set a goal and wrote until he achieved it. Each writer also left a little gas in the tank for the next writing day.

They may have been slower than their peers, but that didn’t matter to them. They felt good about the number of words they wrote, and made that number a part of their routine.

Moving up the scale to 1,000 words per day, we have writers like J.G. Ballard, Holly Black, Barbara Kingsolver, and W. Somerset Maugham.

Though the word count is doubled here, higher word counts do not necessarily represent quality, as seen in Kingsolver’s routine.

“I write a lot of material that I know I’ll throw away. It’s part of the process. I have to write hundreds of pages before I get to page one.” — Barbara Kingsolver

Coming in at 1,500 words are Jack London and Mark Twain.

Take away the numbers, 500, 1,500, or 10,000, and what you are left with is the daily goal “X” to finish the project “Y.” With this laid out, the writer recruits their discipline and routine to show up every day and get after it.

“You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.” — Jack London

Jumping up to 2,000 words, we have Margaret Atwood (who writes between 1,000 and 2,000 every day), King, and Brandon Sanderson.

King is outspoken about word counts, and reports using a goal of 2,000 words a day when starting a new project to keep the excitement of the story high. If he doesn’t write every day, the story begins to fade in his mind .

“Worst of all, the excitement of spinning something new begins to fade. The work starts to feel like work, and for most writers that is the smooch of death.” — Stephen King

If you feel yourself losing the plot, it might be time to adjust. Hemingway left the writing desk before he started to lose the plot. King stays at the writing desk to make sure the story remains fresh in his mind. Successful strategies for each writer, however contradictory.

It is about finding where you fit on the word count scale. Two thousand words may leave you burnt out, or it may fortify you and the story you’re working on.

It may be that 2,000 is not enough, and 3,000 sounds just right. That is where William Golding, Norman Mailer, and Arthur Conan Doyle wrote best. Perhaps you might churn out 5,000 words a day, even, if you’re of the Raymond Chandler type.

Not enough? Go for 6,000 with John Creasey, who wrote for “three [hours] on a good day. Thirteen on a bad day.”

Feeling crazy, are we? Then hang out in the five digits with Crichton and R.F. Delderfield at 10,000 words a day.

Or write more! Just remember the “X” factor here. “X” is a word count goal where you’re not burning yourself out, but also not giving into laziness. Set a goal for yourself that is achievable, and continue hitting that goal.

Joyce’s two sentences per day may seem appealing, but also recognize that he spent most of the day agonizing over each word, and it took him 17 years to write Finnegans Wake .

Slide the word count scale back and forth until you find where you fit. That is how I found my own “X” factor at 1,000 words a day when I have a project I’m working on.

At first, it was frustrating to hit 1,000, as it is easy to check the word count and see how far there is to go. I had to start lower, working to write every day, no matter what.

The motto became, “better than yesterday.” I tracked how many words I wrote and aimed to write more the next day. When I reached 1,000 words a day, there was a sense of accomplishment that let me feel like I had gotten my work done.

I’ve gone over 1,000 words many times, but I noticed that even on the harder days, as long as I hit 1,000, I felt okay.

Something that helps on those hard days is to set a timer instead of actively checking the word count. I say to myself, “I will write for the next 50 minutes and not check the word count until after 50 minutes.” This puts the pressure on a deadline instead and lets my mind focus on the writing.

The idea here is to set a word count goal and work towards it. What number are you comfortable with? And if it is too comfortable, push yourself to write 100 more words the next day.

Once you have found your spot on the scale, there are even more ways to crank up the creativity.

Strange Habits of Great Writers

Many writing greats used rituals to maximize their chances of producing good writing. These rituals were far removed from the making of a cup of coffee every morning.

You may find that your strange rituals are not so strange after all.

While forming habits, many of the writing greats went further than setting a wake-up time and word count. While not all of them had strange habits, the ones that did incorporated the habit into their routine in much the same way as they did a specific wake-up time.

These habits may have appeared inspiring or superstitious, but above all they were necessary to create the right conditions for their best work.

Habits relating to food may offer the inspiration you’re looking for. Take Schiller, the Romantic-era German poet and playwright, for instance. According to his wife, Schiller could not live or work without the smell of rotten apples. The smell kept him lucid and inspired.

Though you may not enjoy the smell of rotten apples (and you’d be crazy not to), there may be a drink you indulge in to strike some inspirational matches.

Balzac’s ritual was to drink 50 cups of coffee throughout the day. His intention was to find inspiration at the bottom of the coffee cup and he did so more than a couple of times.

Voltaire wasn’t far behind, at 40 cups a day.

It might be that food and drink serve as a distraction from writing. To get yourself to focus, you might follow in Maya Angelou’s steps.

She rented hotels in every town she ever lived in. She went to the hotel every day for months when it was time to write. The hotel was instructed to remove everything in the room but for key items, like a legal pad and pen, a bottle of sherry, and a Bible. This forced her to focus on the task and allowed her to relive moments in her life to provide her real truth.

You don’t have to leave your home to eliminate distractions. Victor Hugo didn’t . When he needed to write, he locked away his clothes. This made sure he couldn’t leave the house because he’d be naked — a solid way to keep himself inside and close to his writing.

Mary Flannery O’Connor needed the outdoors to get her writing done, because that’s where her pets were. She had an affinity for fowl and kept a zoo filled with peacocks, pheasants, turkeys, ducks, and quails, to name a few.

Enticing, I know, but if you look around, you might find you have some animal inspiration already around you. A few pats on Fido’s head before writing might be the ritual that you need in life.

You might feel overwhelmed with strangeness at the thought of trying to do all of these rituals, and need to lie down to think for a minute. While you’re lying down, the words may begin to flow easier.

Joyce wrote exclusively while on his bed. He wrote with crayons due to bad eyesight and wore a white shirt to reflect as much light on the paper as possible. By lying down on his stomach, he felt the words flowed better. This theory was shared by Twain and Truman Capote, as well.

Perhaps this is all too superstitious for you. Capote would tell you it’s not superstitious enough, however. Capote refused to write on Fridays, and he believed that if a hotel room’s phone number included “13,” it meant bad luck, and he wouldn’t stay there. He would also never leave more than three cigarettes in an ashtray.

All of this to make sure his writing went untainted.

What these great writers did was figure out a method that worked for them.

Not every writer has a strange ritual, or even a normal ritual. If you do have a strange ritual already, or were thinking about adding some, then don’t hold back.

There are plenty of things writers do that may appear mystical or silly to the outside observer, but to the writer, that particular ritual is as necessary as the writing itself. So if you find that something works for your writing, but are worried that it seems too strange, look past the judgment of others (or even your own) and keep on doing it.

Capote may have skipped writing on Friday accidentally and found his words greatly improved. Joyce may have agonized over a certain sentence, fell flat on his bed, and found that it all suddenly made sense. Angelou may have checked into a random hotel where she found only things that triggered past stories.

When it worked, it stuck. That is what is important. There may be a coffee shop that has a magic table for you. There may be a smell that makes your brain light up like illegal fireworks. Whatever it is, don’t be embarrassed by it, and more importantly, keep doing it.

The Recommended Dose

When writers find their own way — especially if they become considered one of the greats — they tend to profess their way as the way.

Many writing greats have gone on to write books about how to write. King has his On Writing . Bradbury gave us Zen in the Art of Writing , and Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird .

Each book holds tips for daily writing habits and routines.

King recommends a writer work for four to six hours a day on either writing or reading. When you’re just starting out, he says you’ll probably read more than your write. Reading and writing feed each other as you learn what has been done while staying fresh with your own work. He also recommends writing 1,000 words a day.

“The sort of strenuous reading and writing program I advocate—four to six hours a day, every day—will not seem strenuous if you really enjoy doing these things and have an aptitude for them; in fact, you may be following such a program already.” —Stephen King

Bradbury’s formula is similar. He also recommends 1,000 words a day.

“I always say to students, give me four pages a day, every day . That’s three or four hundred thousand words a year. Most of that will be bilge, but the rest …? It will save your life!” —Ray Bradbury

The most crucial ingredients, Bradbury recommends, are zest and gusto.

“Zest. Gusto. How rarely one hears these words used. How rarely do we see people living, or for that matter, creating, by them. Yet if I were asked to name the most important items in a writer’s make-up, the things that shape his material and rush him along the road he wants to go. I would only warn him to look to his zest, see to his gusto.”

With zest and gusto, and 1,000 words a day, working somewhere between four and six hours a day, you’ll be on your way to creating a writing habit in no time. As you’ve seen above, however, with writers like Hemingway and Greene averaging 500 words a day, the formula that works is the one that fits best.

In her book Bird by Bird , Lamott takes a different approach to finding the best writing formula. With a recommendation of 300 words a day, her intention is to make sure the writer shows up at the desk.

The goal here is to establish consistency . One thousand words a day can seem daunting and may stop you writing that day, because it feels like work just thinking about it. Three hundred words removes the tension, allowing the writer to ease into the work, and provides a space for a writing habit to take root.

Getting to the desk can be the most difficult part of the process. Bukowski describes the excuses we make for ourselves in his poem Air and Light and Time and Space . Gavin Aung Than , the founder of   Zenpencils.com , has created an excellent comic strip bringing the poem to life, which you can see here .

In the poem, Bukowski speaks for two characters. The first is the person making the excuses for not doing the art. The air is bad. The light is all wrong. There’s never enough time. The space isn’t inspiring.

The second voice is a response to the person making the excuses, spoken in a Bukowski narrative.

“no baby, if you’re going to create you’re going to create whether you work 16 hours a day in a coal mine or you’re going to create in a small room with 3 children while you’re on welfare, you’re going to create with part of your mind and your body blown away, you’re going to create blind crippled demented, you’re going to create with a cat crawling up your back while the whole city trembles in earthquake, bombardment, flood and fire.”

—Charles Bukowski

This again points to the showing up. Consistency is at the core of each of these formulas.

It should also be noted that not all the formulas recommend the exact same thing. For instance, there are plenty of writers who do best when they binge write.

This could mean writing in great bursts as Paulo Coelho writes, finishing a book in two weeks. The same goes for those who lock themselves away to make sure they get the work done, like Angelou and Hugo.

As with the variance in the wake-up time, daily word count, and strange rituals, so too is there variance in what each writing great has prescribed as the proper approach.

This is because each of these writing greats found what uniquely worked for them. They believed in it so thoroughly that they were certain this was the right way to do it.

That is what you should find for yourself. Find the wake-up time, word count, and writing habits that hit the sweet spot for you.

Find Your Own Groove

It is obvious that there is no exact formula for becoming one of the writing greats. The time they wake up, how many words they write each day, the habits that make them write (and make them eccentric), and what they recommend for you all vary from person to person.

Each of these writers is different from the others. There is no clear path, no structure, no ladder to success (however you define that — maybe being among these writing greats).

What is clear are a few solid facts. These writers developed strong habits towards their craft. When they sat down to write, there was a goal, whether that was a word count or an end time.

It is certainly easy to follow the routine of a particular writing great, whether it’s waking up at 6 a.m. like Hemingway and writing until noon, or waking up at noon like Bukowski.

Following a well-known routine is a good starting place for finding your own. As you continue to write, some part of the routine might not work as well as you had hoped.

Maybe you do better the earlier you wake. Or the word count goal may be keeping you away from the desk, and needs to be lowered. Or it might be that the word count goal is too low and the sea of creativity lies in the next 100 or 1,000 words.

What time you wake up and how many words you aim for that day might profit from a strange ritual. There is plentiful strangeness involved in many of the writing greats’ routines. From nausea-inducing smells that trigger inspiration, to giving away all your clothes so you can’t leave the house, there are plenty to choose from if you don’t already have a strange ritual of your own.

What is important is a mindset of experimenting with different strategies until you find what works best for you.

When it works, keep it, however strange it may be to the rest of us. Find the formula that suits you best and make it a habit.

One day, it could be you providing the example for the next writer, eccentricities and all.

About the Author Garrett Grams

Garrett Grams is a freelance and fiction writer. He loves the SciFi and Fantasy realms. After graduating with an IT degree he joined the cubicle masses. His soul cried out to pursue a life in writing, and so at the end of 3 years, he left for Vietnam where he taught English for 18 months. He is currently working on a dystopian novel that WILL be finished this year. He can be found in the back corners of coffee shops in a crazed caffeine-addled typing fit, or on the interwebs at his website .

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Dealing with Obstacles and Developing Good Habits

Good Writing Habits

Many of the tips for overcoming writing anxiety discussed in the previous section are also just plain good tips for getting the job done. Here are a few more good writing habits.

Practice Recursive Writing

Use a variety of writing strategies (many of which you can gather from this text) and avoid the tendency to view writing as a linear process. If you acknowledge that the process of writing is recursive—meaning that you will come back to different parts of the process again and again—you are most likely to keep moving forward toward your final writing goal, and your writing is also likely to reveal your full potential as a writer.

When you return to a previously written section of a draft to generate new material, collaborate with others, or take a break from your writing and come back to it again, you’re practicing recursive writing. Most successful writers will tell you that they practice recursive writing in some way. Good writing doesn’t happen in a single late night cram session the day before the deadline. Good writing takes time. This includes time away from the writing itself to allow for distance and reflection, and good writing requires multiple drafts. That said, everyone finds themselves in a time crunch sometimes. If that’s where you’re at, check out “How to Fix Procrastination,” found under the topic of “ Procrastination ,” later in this section of the text.

Revise, Revise, Revise

As we’ve just explained, one linear trip through the writing process is not enough to achieve your best writing. In addition to strategies for generating material, you will also find revision strategies in this text. Try some different approaches to revision, and see which ones work best for you. Understand the difference between revision and proofreading, and make sure you allow ample time for each. Revision is the act of seeing something anew. This means considering higher level concerns in your essay, for example, the overall organization or how well you’re addressing the audience or purpose for the piece. Proofreading is what you do at the end to make sure that your final draft is free from errors. For specific revision strategies, see the “ Revising ” section of this text.

If you play it too safe, there’s probably not going to be anything original or imaginative about your essay. Good writing involves risk. Too often, inexperienced writers will begin writing from a position of considering only what they think their readers expect to read on the subject. What a boring world it would be if we only ever read or experienced what we expected!  Begin by exploring your own thoughts and what most interests you about the topic. Open yourself to all the possibilities. Of course, this does not mean that you can forget about the parameters of the assignment or about the audience or purpose for your writing. But allow yourself to be creative first, and then think about how you can best tailor your own ideas to the audience and purpose dictated by your writing assignment.

Be Patient and Be Willing to Learn

Good writing takes patience. As with all good things, it takes time to create something good. And good writers also understand that a big part of writing is learning. You’re selling yourself—and your readers—short if you begin the writing process with the idea that you already know everything you have to tell your readers about the subject. Even experts in a subject area continue to learn new things and expand the boundaries of their chosen fields (that’s how they become experts!).

Neil deGrasse Tyson, a prominent American astrophysicist, writes about the importance of the quest for knowledge in his 2005 article for Natural History Magazine , “ The Perimeter of Ignorance ” (found online at naturalhistorymag.com). He explains that great scientific thinkers like Newton and Galileo were successful in expanding the boundaries of human understanding (the perimeters of ignorance, as Tyson calls them), precisely because they did not conform the reports of their findings to what society—and especially some of the most powerful institutions in society—expected them to report. I hope that you will also allow the creative and inquisitive potential of your mind to search beyond what you expect to say and what your readers might expect to hear about this topic.

Consider Environmental Factors

Finally, not all aspects of writing are about process or about the inner workings of your mind as a writer. Some factors are external or environmental. Consider what time of day is best for you to write. Write every day, or as often as you can, and establish a schedule (as suggested in the section on overcoming writing anxiety , earlier in this text).

Don’t multitask. Recent studies have proven that the human brain does not operate at its best while multitasking. Switching between tasks has been shown to cause each of the tasks to take longer to complete than if they were handled independently (“Multitasking”). So put away your phone and turn off other distractions (like social media or the television). Find a quiet place to work where you are less likely to be disturbed. And don’t try to work on more than one subject or project at the same time. Make sure you have everything you need as you get started: pens, pencils, notebooks, textbooks, computer, snacks, or whatever you need to be productive and feel comfortable. Allot a set period of time to each task, and attend to each one separately.

Hopefully, these tips will help you to get started, help you gain some momentum, and help you to make the best use of that one precious resource that is limited for us all: time. As with any strategies, try different ones, and if something doesn’t work for you, move on and try something else. Select the strategies that work best for you, and modify them to suit your needs.

Take two or three minutes to list some examples of a time when writing was difficult for you and you found it hard to get started. Note that that your list does not need to be constrained to times when you were writing for school, although you should consider those times too. But also consider other writing situations, such as applications, letters, or requests. Then, choose one of those times and take a couple more minutes to consider what barriers or obstacles may have made it difficult for you to write in that situation:

• Inexperience with the type of writing
• A previous negative experience with writing
• An immediate deadline
• A distant deadline
• A lack of interest in the topic
• Personal problems or challenges

Discuss your list of writing obstacles with some classmates in a small group. Then, as a group, try to identify some strategies or good writing practices discussed in this chapter that might have helped you overcome those obstacles. If class time allows for it, your small group might share some conclusions with the whole class about which strategies and practices would best suit the difficult writing situations that you discussed.

The Word on College Reading and Writing Copyright © by Carol Burnell, Jaime Wood, Monique Babin, Susan Pesznecker, and Nicole Rosevear is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Encyclopedia

Writing with artificial intelligence, develop effective writing habits.

• © 2023 by Joseph M. Moxley - Professor of English - USF

Although individual writing processes are vastly different, composition scholarship provides evidence of patterns across disparate writing methodologies. This section identifies and explains some of the most notable patterns of successful compositionists. We suggest that successful compositionist practice some of the following strategies: Return, Revise, Risk, Reject.

Researchers in the field of composition and rhetoric have uncovered important insights regarding effective writing habits. Below are a few of the important insights researchers have discovered regarding how college students and professionals manage writing processes:

• Return : Successful writers often describe their composing strategies as recursive.  By recursive, they mean that they engage in a variety of writing strategies in a non-linear manner.  For example, they may begin by collaborating with others, then try inventing on their own, then consult authorities and scholars via research, and then return to collaborating.
• Revise – and then revise again: From composition research and scholarship, we know that many students do not plan or revise as much as professional writers.
• Risk – be open-minded about trying new methods: Unsuccessful writers may become trapped in a single composing strategy. For example, they may get stuck researching, thinking they need to read absolutely everything before writing.
• Reject fatalism – embrace learning: Inexperienced students may believe they receive low grades because they weren’t “born writers” when the real truth is that they aren’t really employing the invention, revising, and editing strategies that more successful writers use. Writing well requires patience and practice.

How much do you know about how writers work? Have you ever researched the creative processes of writers? What do you know about ways to manage revision and editing so that you can write an effective document in less time? Perhaps most importantly, have you experimented with different ways to conceptualize and edit ideas?

Brevity - Say More with Less

Clarity (in Speech and Writing)

Coherence - How to Achieve Coherence in Writing

Flow - How to Create Flow in Writing

Inclusivity - Inclusive Language

The Elements of Style - The DNA of Powerful Writing

Recommended

Academic Writing – How to Write for the Academic Community

Structured Revision – How to Revise Your Work

Professional Writing – How to Write for the Professional World

Credibility & Authority – How to Be Credible & Authoritative in Research, Speech & Writing

Citation Guide – Learn How to Cite Sources in Academic and Professional Writing

Page Design – How to Design Messages for Maximum Impact

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5 Hacks to Create a Good Writing Habit

by Joe Bunting | 11 comments

One would-be writer asked me recently, “How do you stick with your writing plans for more than a week?” It's a great question, and one that I asked myself for about a decade as I slowly made my way from wannabe writer to full-time writer.

How do you create a consistent writing habit? Even when you're busy? Even when you lose your motivation to write?

So  many people struggle with this, not just writers but everyone trying to do creative work, whether it's painting, acting, songwriting, or writing novels.

However, this question is also incredibly important because your ability to make your passion a habit is the most important key to your success in that field.

How do you make writing a habit?

Are You Too Busy to Write?

Developing a consistent writing habit is even harder because if you're like me, you're busy. Very busy.

Most of the aspiring writers I talk to claim that they're just too busy to write, or at least too busy to write consistently. Sound familiar?

While you know you  should  be writing there are so many other SHOULDs:

• You should spend more time exercising
• You should drink more water
• You should spend more time doing schoolwork
• You should spend more time with your family
• You should be putting more hours in at your job
• You should floss and brush your teeth longer
• You should learn a second language
• You should call your mother more often

And a thousand more shoulds.

That doesn't leave much room for writing. How, then, do you make room for your writing in the midst of all these other important things you  should  be doing?

Are You Too Overwhelmed to Write?

Dan Blank says this, which I think is brilliant:

No Focus = Overwhelm

If you aren't clear about focusing on your top goals, you will easily become overwhelmed.

There will always be too many shoulds. If you're not very careful about choosing the goals that are most important to you, you will be overwhelmed by all the things you feel like you should be doing.

Ask yourself, What do I really want ?

Is writing every day really one of those things your top goals?

It's okay if it's not. Perhaps writing only ranks tenth on your list, behind family, schoolwork, your health, and work.

But if writing consistently  is  toward the top of your list, you need decide what else can be let go.

Get clear on your focus, say no to the things that are less important, and then follow through.

Ready to start your daily writing habit? Read on!

5 Hacks to Create Your Writing Habit

How do you create a writing habit? Here are five more tips, many of which I learned from Dan Blank  ( learn more this subject and about the class he's teaching  exclusively for Write Practice members).

1. Write for Just Fifteen Minutes

I've found that professional writers rarely write for more than five or so hours a day. Why? Because writing is mentally exhausting!

However, this also means you can get a surprisingly amount done in a short amount of time.

To keep yourself focused as you write, consider writing with a timer .

Could you start your writing habit with one fifteen-minute story per day?

2. Stop checking email!

Too many of us use email as a to do list instead of using a to do list as a to do list. This leaves us  reacting  to life rather than living it according to goals.

Reaction is the opposite of creating. That's why it's so difficult to write when you're checking email every five minutes.

I'm not saying you shouldn't check email. Just don't do it during your daily writing time.

3. Lower Your Expectations (for Now)

It takes practice, a lot of time, and some luck, to write a great story. Settle for a story (for now).

When you sit down to write your first story, it might not be very good. But later, you'll rewrite. Then perhaps you'll rewrite it again after that. Maybe you'll rewrite it one more time, and afterward the story will be remarkably better than it was on your first, quick draft.

4. Make It Social

Humans are social creatures, and, as Dan Blank says, by making writing a social experience you'll find more enjoyment in it and will be more likely to keep it up.

How do you make writing social? Here are a few ideas:

• Make friends with other writers, whether through this community, by taking a writing class , or joining a local critique group
• Publish your writing , whether that means printing out a story and giving it to a friend, posting it on your blog, or self-publishing your book
• Throw a party for your fellow writers. Who doesn't love a great soirée with interesting people?
• Go to a writing conference to learn more about the craft and connect with other writers

Don't buy into the myth that writers are solitary creatures who lock themselves in the attic to slave on their masterpiece. Every great writer I've ever studied has had a close network of other writers and creative people who would inspire, encourage, and support them.

5. Celebrate Progress

Too many of my friends—people who have written books, gotten published, even made the bestseller's list—stop celebrating how far they've come.

These were people who struggled with the same problems you struggle with: not enough time to write, not being able to make writing a habit, feeling overwhelmed by all the other things they SHOULD be doing. They came so far, and yet they're often too eager to move on to the next goal to celebrate their progress enough.

If you write today, you should feel proud and celebrate your progress.

If you've written every day for the last five years, you should feel proud and celebrate.

If you want to cement writing as a habit in your life, reward yourself each time you do it, celebrating the fact you are making progress, the fact that you are creating, celebrate that you are  writing .

Do You Dream of Doing More Creative Work?

Most of us want to live more creative, more meaningful lives, but actually finding time to do creative work often seems like an impossible challenge.

That's why yesterday we opened a writing class in partnership with Dan Blank to help you find more time to do the creative work that matters most to you.

The class is called Fearless Work, and it's perfect for anyone interested in writing more and making their writing a bigger priority in their life. I highly recommend it.

Also, if you sign up for Fearless Work you'll get an exclusive lesson with me about how I found time for my writing when I was getting started.

Hope to see you in the class!

Do you struggle creating a consistent writing habit? What hacks have you used to make writing a habit?  Let me know in the comments section .

Write a story for fifteen minutes today. When your time is finished, make it social by posting your practice in the comments section . And if you post, please be sure to leave feedback for your fellow writers.

Happy writing, and don't forget to celebrate your progress!

Joe Bunting

Joe Bunting is an author and the leader of The Write Practice community. He is also the author of the new book Crowdsourcing Paris , a real life adventure story set in France. It was a #1 New Release on Amazon. Follow him on Instagram (@jhbunting).

Want best-seller coaching? Book Joe here.

11 Comments

It may not be the best way but I have to get started early and work as long as I can and then I might be interrupted so I have to leave and come back. I probably put in a good four or five hours total per day. Right now my main hack is illustrating a first time book writer for a children’s book for another writer. I have got a lot of hours involved in meeting her expectations and have drawn the same pictures three times over to get them just right. Being a new writer I feel she has reached for the stars without realizing they are a long ways off.

I’ve written a story, my belated reply to a WP Daily Prompt, but it took me 45 minutes. Please pardon my exceeding the time limit.

“Old Mother Hubbard went to her cupboard to get her poor dog a bone but when she got there, the cupboard was bare…” except for a small bag of pot barley, a chunk of salt, and a bit of parsley.

She looked sadly down at her hound and shook her head. “Sorry, old Jack. Only enough for one last pot of barley broth for us. No meat.” A tear trickled down her cheek. The dog sensed the situation and hung his head in despair.

A sharp rapping on the door made her jump. “Whoever could that be?” Poor, emaciated Jack gave a few brave barks and wobbled over to the door—and there he plopped down, too weak to stand.

With her apron she wiped away her tears. “Maybe it’s someone bringing a poor widow a bite to eat, eh Jack. Maybe.” She unbolted the door and opened it a crack.

The finely dressed gentleman standing there removed his top hat with a flourish. “Good morning, Mrs Hubbard.”

Mother Hubbard gasped. “Ebenezer Scrooge!” But she barely recognized him. The man was actually smiling—something she’d never seen him do in all the years she’d passed him on the street. She visited his office every month to pay the rent on her tiny hovel, and had gotten a glimpse of his sour face on occasion. But she’d never seen him smile.

Jack managed to rise to his feet and walk over to the man, sniffing at his shoes, then at the bag he held in his hand.

“Indeed it is I.”

The old lady winced. In her penury she had nothing with which to pay her rent, so she’d stopped her landlord on the street as he passed and pleaded with him not to evict her.

His reply was curt. “If you can’t pay your rent, there are others who can. Have the money here by due date or face eviction.”

“So you’ve come in person to order me out, Mr. Scrooge?” She summoned up her courage and looked him right in the eye. Mother Hubbard had her dignity; she wasn’t going to grovel for this greedy grasping villain.

“No, Madam, not at all. I’ve come to make amends for treating you so poorly last week, Mrs. Hubbard. You see, I’ve had a…shall we say, a miraculous…change of heart.”

Mother Hubbard was speechless. She could see by his countenance that something amazing had happened. Why he looked almost…kindly!

Jack was sniffing eagerly at the bag in Scrooge’s hand; Mother Hubbard eyed it now herself. It looked rather bloody.

Scrooge held the sack out to her. Here you go, Mrs. Hubbard. I’ve brought you two chickens to cook for your Christmas dinner. And I’ve left orders at the grocer; they’ll be sending around a food hamper on Monday.”

Mother Hubbard, not sure if she was hallucinating all this, took the sack and peered inside. Sure enough, from what she could see it did indeed contain two chickens. “How can I ever thank you, Mr. Scrooge?” she stammered.

“And you needn’t worry about your rent money, either, Mrs. Hubbard. I’ve given instructions for Bob Cratchett to mark your account paid in full for the next year. I have enough money; I don’t need yours.”

Mother Hubbard’s mouth dropped open, but not a word came out. Scrooge, however, didn’t seem to need more thanks. He tipped his hat again and bid her good day, a merry twinkle in his eye. Then he walked away, stepping lively.

All in a daze, Mother Hubbard closed the door. She looked at the sack, then at jack, and keeled over in a faint. By the time she came to, Jack had already eaten two drumsticks.

I’m delighted that Jack perked up enough to gobble two drumsticks! I can see his tail wagging away happily…

Nice mashup of two or three different classic stories, Christine. It would be interesting to see more of this story from Mother Hubbard’s perspective.

I had a much longer story in mind, with Scrooge hiring Mother Hubbard as his housekeeping supervisor 🙂 but it wouldn’t all fit here. I’ll likely post it on my blog sometime soon. Perhaps spending time on these irrelevant little tales is why I never get any “real writing” done? 🙂

Buoyed by the question, “how about we go shopping for new shoes for you today?” I skipped out to the car. Right sneaker in hand, I hovered from shelf to shelf flitting from lace-ups to mules to boots. Each one got it’s chance before the mirror as I appraised each factor: comfort, colour, style. I knew as soon as I slipped them on. The satisfying sigh said it all: this is the pair!

Grinning big and silly I made for the cash register. The cashier checked each shoe, “both size 6, always good to double check! Would you like the box?” Looking over my shoulder, my breath caught in my chest as my eyes squinched in the direction of the door, “where is she going?”

Eyes widening before I briefly shut them, my brain whirred past the realisation that she hadn’t explicitly offered to buy the shoes for me and onto the sobering truth that the bill was all mine. I clenched my teeth and smiled at the waiting cashier, “let’s try this card.”

This is a good scene of a very awkward situation! I want to know more, though, who is the friend/family member who ditched her, who is the main character and why is she (I’m assuming it’s a she although it’s obviously not specified) so excited about shoe shopping, why did the friend/family member ditch her at all? So many questions! 🙂

Very fun to see your writing, Aoife. I hope all is well with you in Dublin!

It’s autobiographical! I thought my Mum was going to buy me shoes so that I didn’t have to spend money I needed for a trip to Germany this month. I ended up buying them myself to avoid making a scene and then the next day a ministry partner gave me a one off donation.

Thank you for the questions, helps me to step back from my writing and see what kind of context the reader may need.

Life in Dublin is good thanks! Love seeing pics of you with your wife and kids on Facebook!

The Gloomy Mermaid

At the very deepest segment of the ocean, was an exquisitely appealing kingdom of half-human creatures that swam with exquisite flipping tails. These creatures were named: “Mermaids.” The kingdom was ruled by a warm-hearted king. The fellow mermaids respected the king’s commands as much as they loved him. And so they sent their sons to battle the feared beast that slitters the dark caves every now and then.

The king had two beautiful twin daughters. Both were so-very alike that the others couldn’t tell the difference there was between the two. The only difference they had was that both had different qualities. Blossom was radiant and an open book, while on the other hand, Bloom was the opposite. Bloom was sorrowful in a stealthy way. She’d hide from everyone and shut them out.

One night, the soldiers of the kingdom brought honor to the king and defeated the enraging monster that has been attempting to destroy the kingdom. They kept the monster locked and hidden, in the deepest dungeons of the castle. This enlightened so much that the King went and declared a feast for all on that night. The gates were opened and the mermaids swarmed inside, laughs and smiles were shared.

Until, the prince of another wealthy kingdom disembarked the party and asked to marry one of his daughters. The king then appointed both daughters to let the prince select his soon-to-be bride.

Bloom was delighted; she was hopeful that the prince would choose her. She closed her soft hands into a rocklike fist and breathed heavily in nervousness. The prince examined both ladies and after awhile, he had finally come up with who he wanted to offer a hand in marriage. He walked towards Bloom and said,

“You are rare. You’re like a flower blooming on the dessert. But I’m afraid I seek for something else. I seek for someone already appeased. Are you sorrowful my lady?” The prince asked in curiosity.

She blinked.

She cleared her throat to speak but she couldn’t find her voice. So she remained silent, her arms shaking and her eyes red.

The prince and Blossom went away in a carriage.

The king gave her a sour face and said,

“You will never be good enough. You will stay here your entire life if you remain stolid.” He scowled and Bloom sped towards her room.

That night, bloom was so enraged that she snuck away, flipped her tail until she couldn’t handle it anymore. She swam to the dungeon and found the monster weeping.

“Why are you weeping?” Bloom asked,

“Go away.” The monster said, in a grim voice.

But Bloom chose to stay, and so she stayed until dusk. Finally, the monster gave up and told Bloom her story. Bloom felt moved, that she knew she wasn’t alone – because the monster too, was once a beautiful maiden that was also dejected.

She thought that the monster did not deserve any of the punishments she suffered today and so she freed her.

The monster did not go back to the kingdom ever again, many people wonder who freed her but never did find out the answer.

Every now and then, Bloom would dive to the surface.

She wept like there was no tomorrow, and soared with all her might. She spun vigorously, her head swirling. She mourned with the orb of night as she stabbed herself with her bony fists, blaming herself for never being good enough – because that night, something in her changed. She found herself. She went from fragile to firm. Her soft heart turned as hard as a rock. And there she found her inner self. From Bloom, to Gloom. —– Finished it at 16 minutes and 45 seconds! 😀

Wow, Gloomy Mermaid. You’re fast! This is a fantastic fairy tale. Perhaps the framework for something much longer, a novella or a novel?

interesting ! It was very nice to read a fairy tale after a long time. I got a bit confuse (for a while) that king gave her a sour face. Second thing,if Bloom freed the monster that night so how can you say that she turned from a soft hearted to a hard one. Overall it was great 🙂

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Practice Makes Perfect: How Writing Every Day Can Make You a Better Writer

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Written by  Eilish Toohey

Madeleine L'Engle , author of A Wrinkle in Time , once gave the following three pieces of advice for aspiring authors:

L'Engle is one of many authors who recommend daily writing practice, yet it is this piece of advice that tends to turn people away. This is completely understandable. Having to force yourself to write every day sounds tedious, and, if writing practice seems like a chore, you will likely try to avoid doing it.

That said, if you're interested in becoming a better writer, making a habit of writing every day can greatly improve your writing skills.

Make Writing a Habit

Think of writing practice as a form of exercise. If you decided to take up running for the first time or were returning to running after being out of commission for a long period, would you be ready to immediately do a marathon?

Of course not. You would have to train for an extremely long time to strengthen your muscles and improve your stamina. The same goes for writing. If you are no longer in school or have a job that does not involve regular writing tasks, these skills can enter a state of atrophy. Much like our muscles, we need to habitually practice writing so we remain in top condition.

Writing every day does not mean that you need to draft a full-length novel or 51 essays every 24 hours. As impressive as that would be, no one has time to do that. We all have responsibilities throughout the day that take away from our free time—jobs, school, children, dogs, houseplants, pet rocks—but just because you have a busy schedule does not mean that it is impossible to find time to write.

One of Canada's most prolific authors, Alice Munro, managed to start a writing career while simultaneously running a bookstore and raising three children by sticking to short stories . If you can set aside 30 minutes to an hour every day for writing practice (and set yourself a word or page limit to meet), you can become a better writer. You should also aim to schedule your writing practice for the same time every day so it becomes a habit.

Overcoming Obstacles

One reason that people find it difficult to write every day is writer's block. We have all been there. Instead of writing, we distract ourselves with other activities while we wait for inspiration to arrive.

However, daily writing practice is actually the best way to combat writer's block. As Mario Vargas Llosa once said in an interview with The Paris Review:

"If I started to wait for moments of inspiration, I would never finish a book. Inspiration for me comes from a regular effort."

If you're having a hard time with your current project, use your time set aside for writing practice to write lists about odd habits of yours or about people that you see on the street. While these may not immediately spark ideas for your current project, you can always come back to what you wrote later; you never know what interesting ideas might spring forth when you revisit old writing. This is also a good way to help organize your thoughts, which can be another factor that keeps inspiration from flowing.

Writing every day can help you become more aware of the limits of your vocabulary. The more you write, the more obvious that frequent word choices become. Once you know your limitations, you can expand your vocabulary by finding stronger words or experimenting with word order to see if there are other ways to get your message across. In this way, writing practice can help you craft a distinct voice, which is something that every good writer must have, and it can help you on your journey to becoming a better writer.

Get yourself a notebook and set aside an hour every day just to write. Write about strange dreams that you had. Record what happened at work today. Try little writing exercises—Scribendi actually offers free writing prompts, which you can download here . Do not feel discouraged if your initial writing is not great; the whole point of practicing is to steadily improve your skills, which you can only do if you have something to work with. As short story author Katherine Mansfield once said:

"[It is] better far write twaddle or anything, anything, than nothing at all."

Image source: Jes D.A.

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Eilish is an in-house editor at Scribendi and a York University graduate with a BA in Professional and Creative Writing. She enjoys reading magical realism, discovering musical theater trivia, and convincing friends to watch obscure Canadian films. When she is not plotting soundtracks for her many unfinished novels, she can be found wandering off the path during hikes in the woods.

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Home / Book Writing / How to Develop a Writing Habit: 15 Tips for Consistent Writing

How to Develop a Writing Habit: 15 Tips for Consistent Writing

The best way to succeed as an author is to be able to write continuously so you can produce a lot of books consistently.

Most of us (and I absolutely lump myself in with this) have probably tried and found ourselves stuck at some point.

And no matter what you do, you just can't seem to develop those juggernaut writing habits that some of the best authors in the world have accomplished. You want to write all those books, because if they can do it, you should be able to do it too, right? Well…

Thankfully, I have good news. People from every industry and spent tons of time and money researching the best techniques and technologies to form good habits, things we can use as authors to become writing machines!

By following the tips I'll introduce in this article, you'll be able to keep your word count steady, which means you'll avoid those burnout-inducing marathons, get more written overall, and ultimately write more books.

Note: There's a tool that will help you do this as you write, but most of these techniques will work regardless of what software you use.

• What a writing habit is
• Why writing habits are important
• How to develop your own writing habit

Table of contents

• What is a Writing Habit?
• Why is a Writing Habit Important?
• Tip #1: Define What Success Looks Like to You
• Tip #2: Have a “Trigger”
• Tip #4: Give Yourself a Reward
• Tip #5: Set Up a Calendar and Schedule Your Time
• Tip #6: Prepare Ahead of Time
• Tip #7: Use Gamification
• Tip #8: Set a Timer
• Tip #9: Have a Dedicated Space
• Tip #10: Start by Journaling
• Tip #11: Set Realistic Word Count Goals
• Tip #12: Find an Accountability Partner
• Tip #13: Ignore Editing (for now)
• Tip #14: Start Small
• Final Thoughts

A writing habit is the act of writing regularly to help you produce content on a consistent basis.

It's not the same as “writing every day”, which some authors (including myself) suggest can burn out an author. A daily writing habit can be good, but needs to be done correctly.

Writing daily will likely lead to more writing overall, but it doesn't necessarily equate to quality work or less stress for the writer- especially if the author is forced to write on days they otherwise would not have.

If you're an extremely busy person, writing daily or for a long time might simply not be possible for you – and that's okay! The important thing with a creative writing routine or habit is consistency.

And if that means you're only writing on weekdays, weekends, or only 1-2 days a week, that's okay as long as you maintain consistency.

A writing habit is important because it leads to writing more words overall.

It's a “Tortoise and the Hare” type of situation.

I've had days when I've written a ton of material, and reached goals of over 10,000 words in a single day.

But usually what happens when I do this is burnout. The next day I don't feel like writing hardly anything. And that may continue for a couple of days.

So which is better? Writing 10,000 words in one day, then skipping five days, or writing 2000 words a day?

Personally, I'd say the latter is better.

Writing habits not only help you write more overall, they also help you avoid burnout, and make the writing process easier once you form the habit. In the above example by writing 10,000 words in one day, you associate writing with a really hard day (because it will be hard). That just means that when you come back to it, even after a five day break, you'll feel more resistance to do it.

How to Develop a Writing Habit

Now that we've established that writing habits are important, what can we do to start a good habit and stay consistent with it?

The next 12 tips are all particularly important if you want to do this, and if you want to know my favorites, I would take a look at the first three.

Tip #1 : Define What Success Looks Like to You

Before you even get started with your habit, I recommend looking very closely at your definition of success.

Is your goal to make a lot of money? Fulfill a lifelong dream? Or simply tell a story to the world?

This will help determine what kind of writing habit you want to form. If you're looking to make money, you may want to set a more aggressive word count goal, but if you're only writing as an emotional release, a smaller goal would be sufficient.

Tip #2 : Have a “Trigger”

Good habits are formed by three components. The first is to have a trigger, the second the actual task, and the third is a reward.

First, let's talk about the trigger. This is an action or event of some kind that you associate with your habit. Think of the bell used by Pavlov to trigger his dog to salivate, which is how all this research started.

You've got to create your own kind of bell, a ritual that you do before you write, to help get you into the right mindset. Or you can use a specific time or place as your trigger.

Personally, I like to attach my writing to the end of my morning routine, so your trigger could be something like brushing your teeth or taking a long walk. Once you finish with those things, immediately start writing, and keep it up for as long as you can. Eventually you will come to associate your writing with that trigger.

Tip #3 : Habit Stack

The concept of “habit stacking” is where you take several habits and line them up one after another.

For example, you probably already have a morning routine of some kind. That routine is a series of small habits strung together. That is habit stacking.

When you're writing, see if you can find another habit that you've already established, then stack your writing habit on top of that.

Here's what I do. My morning routine goes like this:

• Get up and go to the bathroom
• Get a drink of water
• Get dressed and do 10 minutes of meditation
• Go on a morning walk
• Get back and start writing

That is just a series of habits strung together, but it acts as a HUGE trigger for my brain. When I get back from my walk, it takes no effort at all to start writing because it has now become part of a morning ritual.

These stacked habits don't have to be in the morning. You could have a lunch-break routine, an evening routine, etc. There are many ways that you can do it.

Tip #4 : Give Yourself a Reward

After you finish writing, a reward is the other important part of forming a habit (and it's scientifically p roven to do so). Now I'm not talking about any big reward, like taking a vacation, eating ice cream, or spending a lot of money on some new toy. If your reward looks like this every day, you will quickly run out of resources.

Instead, focus on a quick and easy reward, like a brief stroll outside, a quick kiss from a loved one, or just a chance to stretch and take a few deep breaths.

Whatever you do, make sure it's the same every time, so you begin to associate that positive reward with your writing habit. Pretty soon you will be eager to write just to get that reward.

Tip #5 : Set Up a Calendar and Schedule Your Time

One of the most important steps to forming new habits is to schedule the time you will spend on it.

You are not likely to remain consistent if you have not made time in your schedule for a distraction free time to write.

Once you have scheduled your time into your everyday life, whether that's in the morning, afternoon, or evening, make sure to stick to it. Don't let anything interfere with that writing time, especially when you are starting out.

A calendar will help you understand when you are writing and how much. When you're accurately tracking your words, and plugging the results into your calendar, you can see your success (and also your failures) in a way that gamifies your results.

The habit tracker in Atticus.io with a calendar view.

Tip #6 : Prepare Ahead of Time

If I don't know what I'm going to write ahead of time, I have a hard time getting into it. That's why I recommend having your outline, your notes, and a general idea of what you're going to do prepared ahead of time.

Personally, I like to run through what I'm going to do and write the next day as I'm brushing my teeth and winding down in the evening.

Tip #7 : Use Gamification

When FitBit first came on the scene, no one was talking about tracking your steps. Now “getting my steps in” has become a household phrase.

Furthermore, emerging research proves that using a FitBit actually improves your chances of forming healthy habits that lead to increased activity and more weight loss than those that didn't use a health tracker.

What did FitBit do that authors can apply to our writing? In a word: Gamification.

I love to gamify my writing, especially when I'm starting a new writing habit.

Not only does gamification help to keep me on track, it also helps to develop my skills as an author and writer through practice and experience points.

You can use any kind of gamification you like, whether that's rewarding yourself after every 50 pages or so, or simply breaking it all down into manageable chunks that you can check off as you go.

You'd be surprised at the power of simply checking things off.

Some great gamification tools for authors include:

• Atticus : a great software that will actually use gamification while you are writing. You can set goals and habits to track, and it rewards you when you complete them, as seen here:

Goal and Habit Tracker in Atticus.io

• Habitica  – This tool turns writing into a role-playing game. You defeat dragons and unlock new levels as you meet your goals. If you fall behind, your health suffers.
• 4theWords – A program similar to Habitica that turns your writing into a quest, complete with monster slaying and teambuilding. The more you write, the more you get rewarded.
• Write or Die  – Choose from three modes: Consequence, reward, or stimulus. Each mode has different ways to keep you writing. Try them all out to see which one works best for you.
• Written? Kitten  – Love pictures of cuddly little kittens? This tool rewards you with adorable felines when you hit a certain word count. Adjust the word count from 100 up to 500 or 1000 words per kitten!

Tip #8 : Set a Timer

Few things get me to start writing better than a timer.

It helps me to know that I have a limited amount of time to write, and the ticking clock always gets my adrenaline going as I race against it.

I've found five minutes is usually enough for a sprint, and I like to use the Pomodoro technique for longer writing sessions. You can set your own limit if you prefer more or less time.

Atticus also has a timer that will help you focus on your writing. You can set the specific time for your sprint as well as your break time.

The Sprint Timer from Atticus.io

Tip #9 : Have a Dedicated Space

I recommend having a dedicated space where you do your writing. If you can, have a separate room for it. But if that's not possible, a dedicated desk will do.

What this does is condition your mind to associate writing with that specific spot in your house.

Additionally, you should avoid playing video games on your computer or using it for other entertainment purposes. This could easily distract you.

Tip #10 : Start by Journaling

Sometimes it's hard to get the words to flow. One way to get around this is to journal before you start actually writing.

What this does is get your mind into a mindset of writing, and helps to get you into that state of flow, where the words and thoughts are just coming freely.

A little freewriting will do the same thing. Just sit down and start writing whatever comes to mind, and you'll be surprised at how soon you're ready to start writing your book.

Tip #11 : Set Realistic Word Count Goals

I, along with a lot of other authors, have fallen into the trap of setting highly ambitious goals to start.

It's fun to set challenging goals , especially when you think of how much writing you can get done, but you must be realistic.

Setting too high of a word count goal will make daily writing habit a challenge as you struggle to find time.

Tip #12 : Find an Accountability Partner

One tactic that can make a huge difference is finding an accountability partner, something proven to be 95% effective at helping you achieve your goal. This is someone with whom you share your writing goals and check in with them regularly so they can help you stay on track.

Even better if your partner is also working towards their own goals as well! But even just having someone there for support will help tremendously when you want to give up or procrastinate.

An accountability partner can be a family member, a close friend, or a fellow author who was also working toward similar goals. Masterminds are another great way to do this.

Tip #13 : Ignore Editing (for now)

We all know that editing is a huge part of the writing process, but when it comes to doing the actual writing, it will slow you down. Spending too much time thinking and worrying over the editing will get in the way of your writing habit.

Practice writing and don't stop to edit anything. Don't even stop to fix that typo or extra comma. Doing this will train your mind to write when it's time to write, and edit when it's time to edit.

Tip #14 : Start Small

This tip is one of the most important: start small.

In the landmark book, Atomic Habits, James Clear talks about how starting with small habits and slowly growing them is the best way to form new habits.

So I definitely do not recommend you try to start a writing habit by writing for four hours a day, or even one hour a day. Doing so will only put unneeded barriers in front of you.

I would start simply with 15 minutes. This may not seem like much, but for some people the hurdle is just sitting down to write. 15 minutes of writing lowers this barrier considerably, making it easier for you to just get started.

Over time, that 15 minutes will become easy, and you can increase it to 30 minutes, 60 minutes, two hours, and so forth. This habit could also be word-count-based, such as a goal of 500 words.

For example, Stephen King has a writing habit of 2000 words every single day, and he almost never misses it.

The point is to remove as many barriers as possible when you're just starting out, and once the habit is formed, then you can increase how much work you do.

Tip #15 : Let a Tool Save You Time

If all of the tips above were overwhelming, don't worry. There are tools out there to help you form habits.

As writers, we could use a tool like Habitica to help, but who wants yet another tool to keep track of in addition to all the writing processors, formatters, outlining software, and everything else we need to keep track of when writing a book?

Atticus is a writing software that is built to be the all-in-one writing processor that you will ever need. In addition to its incredible writing features and the ability to format books for ebook and print , it also comes with project-based goal tracking, habit tracking and a timer.

Specific to habit trackers, Atticus has a gamified solution to help you form good writing habits. You can input how many words you want to write, and on which days, and it will show you your progress, a calendar that tracks your words, and your “longest streak” of days when you actually hit your goal.

It's an all-in-one solution for authors who want to gamify their goals.

I hope these tips help you to develop a writing habit that's sustainable for your goals. If so, consider sharing this article with your friends.

Remember, there are many ways to form new habits, so don't be afraid to experiment with different tactics and techniques until you find what works best for you!

You certainly don't have to try all of these tactics at once. In fact, I would recommend picking only two or three, and really running with them to get the best results. I recommend starting with tips 2, 3, and 13 for best results.

Jason Hamilton

When I’m not sipping tea with princesses or lightsaber dueling with little Jedi, I’m a book marketing nut. Having consulted multiple publishing companies and NYT best-selling authors, I created Kindlepreneur to help authors sell more books. I’ve even been called “The Kindlepreneur” by Amazon publicly, and I’m here to help you with your author journey.

• Tip #2: Have a "Trigger"

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Good Habits Essay

Good habits are the most important in our life . They are mostly instilled in us in childhood and stay with us until the end. There are several benefits of adopting healthy habits. Here are a few sample essays on good habits.

100 Words Essay On Good Habits

You become the person you want to be with good habits . Good habits facilitate successful behaviour. Good habits are appreciated around the world. Everyone loves and respects you when you have good habits. Establishing good habits in your routine can help you learn self-control. It is crucial for developing a positive social reputation, and adopting good habits helps in that. Healthy routines can raise your standard of living, and good habits are important for adopting healthy routines and behaviours that put you in good shape—both mentally and physically. The secret to happiness is a healthy habit. A positive habit attracts a positive environment and a positive companion.

200 Words Essay On Good Habits

It's crucial to have good habits if you want to succeed in life. A person with good habits advances steadily in all areas of their life— studying, working, and personal . On the other hand, a person with terrible habits will eventually lose their triumphs in life, regardless of how talented they are. Success in life depends on having good habits. They are advantageous to both the owner and others in addition to themselves. The following are the good habits that are necessary for a successful existence—

Rising and going to bed early.

Always be considerate and polite to others.

Showing courtesy to friends, instructors, and elders.

Being with a good group of people.

Being consistent studying and reading.

Exercising discipline during studying.

Benefits Of Adopting Good Habits

These are some advantages of having healthy daily habits:.

Assist you in achieving your goals and aspirations.

Make lifelong, dependable friends.

You gain more respect from your loved ones, your peers, and society as a whole.

Your life will be better if you develop good habits.

You increase your output and achieve success.

You win the respect of those willing to assist you in times of need.

For both success and advancement in daily life, good habits are necessary. You won't have much to stress and worry about if you develop excellent habits and adhere to them consistently.

500 words essay on good habits

In many respects, having good habits is important in life. Regardless of age, everyone should care about it. Good habits are just as important for children as they are for adults. Your social life and your accomplishments are built on good habits.

Good habits typically refer to your moral behaviour and way of life. It is how you interact with and treat other people. Being thoughtful and courteous to others is regarded as a positive habit. You have good social habits if you greet people with a smile and treat them respectfully. In addition to having good social habits, it's important to take care of your environment and yourself. Always keeping your surroundings tidy is regarded as a positive habit.

Similarly to this, it is a good practice to keep your room neat and organised. Some beneficial habits include not littering, trimming your nails occasionally, and brushing your teeth twice a day.

Significance Of Adopting Good Habits

Due to their many benefits, adopting good habits are crucial in life. They have some influence on our social and personal life as well as the lives of others. Some of the significance of healthy habits are described below, along with an explanation of how they help us.

Guarantees good health | Personal hygiene practices that are good for you are essential to maintaining your health and protecting you from illnesses. Regular hand washing, tooth brushing, and wearing clean clothes are a few beneficial practices that will protect you from illnesses and infections.

More favourable Social Recognition | Everyone respects and loves someone with good habits. You will make new acquaintances if you are well-groomed and courteous. Such a person is revered in society at all times and remembered or contacted on any given occasion. If you have good habits, people will associate with you without hesitation.

It makes life worth living | Good habits improve your life and increase its value. You will get more well-known, acknowledged, and promoted in many circles, which is valuable. You will succeed to the fullest extent in anything you pursue. Your life will be valuable to you and those around you, including your family, friends, relatives, and coworkers.

Enables productivity | Your life is more productive when you have good routines. This impacts your health and sense of self-worth. If you have healthy habits, you'll not only feel good about yourself, but you'll also give your all at work. Additionally, you will receive assistance from outside sources.

Ensures Your Success | There are multiple ways that good habits may help you thrive in life. If you have good manners, people are more than willing to assist you, including coworkers, friends, and family. Your boss will support you and respect you as you overcome obstacles. Over time, all the wonderful things in your life contribute to your success.

Good habits are crucial to advance in life and leave a positive legacy. They are the most priceless possession a person can have. Money and material goods might be lost, but if your habits are good, you can get them back with work and the help of friends and family.

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11 Things Good Writers Do: The Writing Habits of Successful Authors

by Tom Corson-Knowles | 2 comments

Recently, TCK Publishing posted a job opening for a new Blog Manager . Within a few weeks, we had hundreds of writers apply for the position. Most just didn’t make the cut.

So, what separates a great writer from an average one? Employers, publishers, and editors are all looking for good writers—and they’re harder to find than you might think. It takes serious dedication and commitment to go from an average writer to a good (or even great) one.

Whether you want to be an author, blogger, content creator, copywriter, or poet, becoming a successful writer takes hard work and a lot of practice.

That’s why the best writers all have a certain set of habits that ensure they are constantly writing, learning, and improving.

What Do Good Writers Do?

Here are the things good writers do that set them apart from the competition.

1. Write Every Day

Writing is a lot like exercising. It’s better to do it regularly than to try to cram it all in at once.

Good writers write consistently every day ; great artists work the same way. One of the biggest challenges a writer faces is avoiding getting stuck in a rut. If you take one day off, that can easily turn into two days off…then a week, then a month, and so on.

Maintaining a consistent writing habit is one of the most important things you can do to separate yourself from the competition. Once you get in the habit of writing regularly, everything else will fall into place more easily.

2. Establish a Writing Routine

The most prolific and successful writers often have regular writing routines. Some writers have a special writing nook where they do all their best work. Others find writing in a public café does the trick. Some write in the morning, while others write late at night.

But it doesn’t really matter what your writing routine is—what matters is that you have one that works for you.

Successful writing boils down to having strong habits, so a routine is crucial for your long-term success because your routine burns good habits into your brain.

Good habits lead to spectacular results over time.

Imagine a day when you’re not in the mood to write. You’re feeling down, and you don’t want to put in the effort that day. If you have a routine already established, once you begin your routine your mood will likely change immediately , and you’ll probably still have a pretty good writing session.

Without an established routine, your productivity will change based on your mood. And that can lead to long periods of inactivity where you’re not writing (and not getting paid).

Figure out what time of day you tend to enjoy writing the most, as well as what environment you like to write in best, and use this self-knowledge to create a writing routine for yourself that will ensure you’re able to be productive even on the days you wake up on the wrong side of the bed.

3. Call Yourself a Writer

How do you introduce yourself when you meet someone new? How do you respond when people ask, “What do you do?”

A true professional writer identifies themself as a writer . They don’t hide it or cover it up. By gladly sharing the fact that you are a professional writer, you’ll start to act more like a professional writer because you’re now “bought in” psychologically to that identity. You’ll also get more introductions and leads for business if people in your network know that write for a living.

Writing is a noble profession—and you should be proud to call yourself a writer.

If you keep on hiding your writing from other people, you’ll probably end up hiding from your work too.

Be bold. Call yourself a writer no matter what other people may think or say about it.

4. Set Deadlines

You have to finish your work for it to make an impact in your career. That’s why great writers set deadlines.

Deadlines can be tough to bear emotionally because they put a lot of pressure on you to perform. Writing is challenging work, and it takes serious emotional fortitude to become a great writer. Successful writers learn to use that pressure from deadlines to ensure they don’t let their standards slip. If you want to become a better writer, you have to raise your standards —that means setting tight deadlines and hitting them consistently.

One of the most valuable assets you have in life is your reputation. Being known as a consistent, dependable writer who always meets your deadlines is one of the most valuable (and easiest) ways to improve your rep.

Like it or not, most publishers, newspapers, magazines, and blogs still work on tight schedules. If you want to “fit in” as a successful member of the industry, you have to be able to work within that business model. If you can’t do that, they probably won’t want to work with you.

Any writer can complete a project someday. It takes a professional to complete a project on a deadline—every time.

5. Revise Your Work

The best writing comes from re writing. You can’t produce truly great work without serious revisions, edits, and effort after you write the first draft.

Even pros with forty years of experience under their belts still need to revise. So if you’re a new writer and want to improve your craft, you’ll need to focus a lot of time and energy on revisions before you even think about publication.

6. Work with a Great Editor

No matter how good you are at rewrites and revisions, there will still be issues with your writing that you just can’t see by yourself. Great writers know they always have room for improvement. That’s why they work with a great editor ( or multiple editors ).

Published authors, journalists, and freelance writers all create their best work when they work with an editor. If you’re not in a position to work with or hire a great editor right now, then find a local writer’s group or online writer’s group to help critique your work.

Your writing will improve much faster if you can get valuable feedback and input from other people who understand the craft of writing.

7. Cope with Rejection

Good writers know how to cope with rejection , because rejection is a part of every writer’s life. If you’re going to pitch your work to a publisher, literary agent, or media company, chances are you’re going to get rejected—or even ignored.

That’s just how life works.

But it doesn’t matter if how many times you get rejected. What matters is what you do after you get rejected . Will you give up—or will you keep writing?

There are writers who have been rejected and there are great writers, but there are no great writers who have never been rejected.

8. Study and Read

If you want to improve your writing skills , you have to study. There are many ways to study the art of writing, including reading great books and studying the teachings or advice of other successful writers.

Because writing is more art than science , there’s a lot of room for interpretation and improvisation. Work to find your own voice and create a writing style that works for you. But you can’t create a writing style that works well without studying first.

Don’t just read your favorite books: study them. Find writers you admire and check out their blogs, interviews, or books about writing. Listen to the advice of those who have come before you if you want to make it to the top a little faster.

9. Pitch Your Writing

Great writers know that writing is most valuable when someone is actually interested in it. You can write the best story ever written—but if no one reads it, who cares? Who are you serving by writing something without telling anyone about it? Who benefits from all your hard work if no one knows about it?

These questions aren’t meant to discourage you. They’re meant to encourage you to finish your writing project—and then get to work selling it so that your work can make a difference to your readers.

When they aren’t actively writing or revising their work, the best writers constantly pitch their work to publishers, literary agents, magazines, newspapers, blogs, and other media outlets.

If you want your writing to make an impact, you need to learn some basic sales and marketing skills. If you don’t have any marketing skills right now, that’s okay. You can study some of our blog posts on marketing and start pitching your work .

Just because you don’t have certain skills today doesn’t mean you’re doomed to failure. Everyone has to start somewhere, so don’t let a lack of marketing experience hold you back from achieving your writing dreams.

10. Build Your Base

One of the best things you can do as a writer to improve your career is to build a fan base . There are all kinds of brilliant marketing strategies you can implement to attract more fans, but the first step is always to write something worth talking about .

Once you’ve written a book or blog post or magazine article that’s truly valuable and worth talking about, it’ll be a whole lot easier to start building a fan base. Lots of writers think they have to have fans before they ever publish a book or article, but that’s backwards!

Until you create and publish a remarkable piece of writing, all the marketing strategies in the world won’t do you much good.

So, focus on writing and publishing something great first—and work on building up your fan base once that’s been accomplished. You might want to start by building an email list so you can stay in touch with your fans.

11. Learn From Your Mistakes

One thing all successful writers have in common is that they never give up.

No matter how many rejection letters you get or how many mistakes you make, you have to keep going if you want to win. But you can’t just keep going without taking breaks to stop, reflect, and learn from your errors. Making the same writing mistakes over and over again won’t get you where you want to go.

When you get a rejection letter, ask yourself, “What could I have done better here?” You have to be willing to learn and change when what you’re doing isn’t working.

Whenever you get feedback on your writing, pay attention . Don’t get defensive or dismiss the feedback without really considering it . It may be painful, but if someone tells you—or, better yet, shows you—where you’ve messed up, that’s actually good news because once you know you’ve made a mistake, you can go back and fix it and avoid making that mistake in the future.

It takes consistent growth and learning to become a great writer, and that means you’ll make lots of mistakes along the way. The key is to learn as you go so that you don’t repeat the same mistakes over and over.

Keep on Writing

If you want to become a better writer, I encourage you to keep at it. Don’t give up on your dreams. Writing is tough. It’s challenging. It can be lonely. It can be filled with rejection.

But it can also be incredibly rewarding.

If you have the courage to keep going when things get tough…

If you have the wisdom to learn from your mistakes and keep improving…

If you have the discipline to create good writing habits…

Then you have all you need to become a great writer.

It’s just a matter of putting in the work and effort.

Tom Corson-Knowles is the founder of TCK Publishing, and the bestselling author of 27 books including Secrets of the Six-Figure author. He is also the host of the Publishing Profits Podcast show where we interview successful authors and publishing industry experts to share their tips for creating a successful writing career.

Thanks for those tips, it was helpful.. You’re loved

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Academic Writing

25 Good Writing Habits

Many of the tips for overcoming writing anxiety discussed in the previous section are also just plain good tips for getting the job done. Here are a few more good writing habits.

Practice Recursive Writing

Use a variety of writing strategies (many of which you can gather from this text) and avoid the tendency to view writing as a linear process. If you acknowledge that the process of writing is recursive—meaning that you will come back to different parts of the process again and again—you are most likely to keep moving forward toward your final writing goal, and your writing is also likely to reveal your full potential as a writer.

When you return to a previously written section of a draft to generate new material, collaborate with others, or take a break from your writing and come back to it again, you’re practicing recursive writing. Most successful writers will tell you that they practice recursive writing in some way. Good writing doesn’t happen in a single late night cram session the day before the deadline. Good writing takes time. This includes time away from the writing itself to allow for distance and reflection, and good writing requires multiple drafts. That said, everyone finds themselves in a time crunch sometimes. If that’s where you’re at, check out “How to Fix Procrastination,” found under the topic of “ Procrastination ,” later in this section of the text.

Revise, Revise, Revise

As we’ve just explained, one linear trip through the writing process is not enough to achieve your best writing. In addition to strategies for generating material, you will also find revision strategies in this text. Try some different approaches to revision, and see which ones work best for you. Understand the difference between revision and proofreading, and make sure you allow ample time for each. Revision is the act of seeing something anew. This means considering higher level concerns in your essay, for example, the overall organization or how well you’re addressing the audience or purpose for the piece. Proofreading is what you do at the end to make sure that your final draft is free from errors. For specific revision strategies, see the “ Revising ” section of this text.

If you play it too safe, there’s probably not going to be anything original or imaginative about your essay. Good writing involves risk. Too often, inexperienced writers will begin writing from a position of considering only what they think their readers expect to read on the subject. What a boring world it would be if we only ever read or experienced what we expected!  Begin by exploring your own thoughts and what most interests you about the topic. Open yourself to all the possibilities. Of course, this does not mean that you can forget about the parameters of the assignment or about the audience or purpose for your writing. But allow yourself to be creative first, and then think about how you can best tailor your own ideas to the audience and purpose dictated by your writing assignment.

Be Patient and Be Willing to Learn

Good writing takes patience. As with all good things, it takes time to create something good. And good writers also understand that a big part of writing is learning. You’re selling yourself—and your readers—short if you begin the writing process with the idea that you already know everything you have to tell your readers about the subject. Even experts in a subject area continue to learn new things and expand the boundaries of their chosen fields (that’s how they become experts!).

Neil deGrasse Tyson, a prominent American astrophysicist, writes about the importance of the quest for knowledge in his 2005 article for Natural History Magazine , “ The Perimeter of Ignorance .” He explains that great scientific thinkers like Newton and Galileo were successful in expanding the boundaries of human understanding (the perimeters of ignorance, as Tyson calls them), precisely because they did not conform the reports of their findings to what society—and especially some of the most powerful institutions in society—expected them to report. I hope that you will also allow the creative and inquisitive potential of your mind to search beyond what you expect to say and what your readers might expect to hear about this topic.

Consider Environmental Factors

Finally, not all aspects of writing are about process or about the inner workings of your mind as a writer. Some factors are external or environmental. Consider what time of day is best for you to write. Write every day, or as often as you can, and establish a schedule (as suggested in the section on overcoming writing anxiety , earlier in this text).

Don’t multitask. Recent studies have proven that the human brain does not operate at its best while multitasking. Switching between tasks has been shown to cause each of the tasks to take longer to complete than if they were handled independently (“Multitasking”). So put away your phone and turn off other distractions (like social media or the television). Find a quiet place to work where you are less likely to be disturbed. And don’t try to work on more than one subject or project at the same time. Make sure you have everything you need as you get started: pens, pencils, notebooks, textbooks, computer, snacks, or whatever you need to be productive and feel comfortable. Allot a set period of time to each task, and attend to each one separately.

Hopefully, these tips will help you to get started, help you gain some momentum, and help you to make the best use of that one precious resource that is limited for us all: time. As with any strategies, try different ones, and if something doesn’t work for you, move on and try something else. Select the strategies that work best for you, and modify them to suit your needs.

Take two or three minutes to list some examples of a time when writing was difficult for you and you found it hard to get started. Note that that your list does not need to be constrained to times when you were writing for school, although you should consider those times too. But also consider other writing situations, such as applications, letters, or requests. Then, choose one of those times and take a couple more minutes to consider what barriers or obstacles may have made it difficult for you to write in that situation:

• Inexperience with the type of writing
• A previous negative experience with writing
• An immediate deadline
• A distant deadline
• A lack of interest in the topic
• Personal problems or challenges

Collaboration:

Discuss your list of writing obstacles with some classmates in a small group. Then, as a group, try to identify some strategies or good writing practices discussed in this chapter that might have helped you overcome those obstacles. If class time allows for it, your small group might share some conclusions with the whole class about which strategies and practices would best suit the difficult writing situations that you discussed.

Text Attributions

• This chapter was adapted from “ Good Writing Habits ” in The Word on College Reading and Writing by Carol Burnell, Jaime Wood, Monique Babin, Susan Pesznecker, and Nicole Rosevear, which is licensed under a CC BY-NC 4.0 Licence . Adapted by Allison Kilgannon.

Advanced English Copyright © 2021 by Allison Kilgannon is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Five Grammar Habits Every Writer Should Adopt

by Melissa Donovan | Jul 1, 2021 | Better Writing | 43 comments

Do you have good grammar habits?

Can you imagine a nutritionist who eats exclusively at fast food restaurants? A personal trainer who never exercises? A writer who can’t be bothered with grammar, spelling, and punctuation?

In most professions, best practices and tools of the trade are mandatory. If you want to be a lawyer, you must pass the Bar exam. If you want to land a job in accounting, you need math skills. But writers can easily finagle around best writing practices, especially with the increasing accessibility of self-publishing.

Basic grammar skills used to be mandatory — not just for writers but for all high school graduates. These days, you can get out of college with a degree but no clue how to properly structure a sentence or differentiate between they’re, their, and there.

I’ve lamented the fact that grammar is absent from education. But I’m even more saddened by the absence of good grammar among self-proclaimed writers.

Good Grammar Habits for Writers

I’m not going to rehash all the reasons writers should practice good grammar. It all boils down to being a professional and showing respect for the craft of writing and for your readers.

Learning grammar — mastering grammar — requires a long-term commitment. You don’t have to spend hours every day poring over grammar guides and dissecting sentences, but you do need to develop a few basic grammar-related writing habits.

These are the habits I’ve adopted in my own writing practices. Through experimentation, trial and error, and sheer willpower, I’ve managed to turn these practices into ingrained habits.

This is by no means an exhaustive list; it’s based solely on my own experiences, so if you have any tips or best practices to add, please share by leaving a comment. Keep practicing those good grammar habits, and most importantly, keep writing!

43 Comments

Thanks for the interesting post! I have been working on ridding my speech (and my writing) of some of my “favorite” bad grammar. Although I follow several blogs who occasionally blog on this topic, and I have several books on grammar and style, I still find myself using my bad habits, from time-to-time. I welcome any help I can get! Thanks!

We have a lot of expressions and slang that violate the strict rules of proper grammar. Don’t be too hard on yourself when you use such phrases as they are part of what makes language rich and interesting. Over time, language evolves, not because the grammar police update it but because of how the general public uses it. I think the best practice is to speak and write appropriately for your audience, but to also embrace quirky constructions when it makes sense to do so. However, (and here’s the clincher) the trick is to know how and why various expressions break the rules 🙂

These are great habits to adopt! As an editor, I have adopted them, and as the same, I recommend writers do too!

Thanks, Lauren.

Thank you for the great advice.

As an emerging writer, grammar is certainly one of my shortcomings. What I didn’t realise, is that most writers frequently refer to texts for correct grammar, spelling and punctuation.

I always thought they just knew those things…

I’m sure some writers, especially the more experienced ones, have memorized most of the rules. But I think most (professional) writers rely on their reference books. I’m pretty sure nobody “just knows these things,” although if you read a lot (and read well written work), you’ll certainly absorb a lot of the rules organically.

I am so happy to see someone address this issue. As a LinkedIn writing group member, I am amazed at the ‘writers’ who post with zillions of grammatical errors. Do they never reread? Sadly I have to hurry through my social media stuff and when I see so many grammar errors I just move on. We expect mechanics to know our cars. Shouldn’t we insist on writers using the language correctly?

I believe that grammar, in general, is lacking online and in self-publishing. My sense is that many people, including writers, have this idea that the rules for texting and social media are different, that there’s more leeway for shoddy writing. I guess that’s their prerogative. I think that everything we write and publish (or share) is a reflection of our commitment to the craft and to our professionalism. I also think it’s kind of disrespectful to readers (and fans/followers) to be careless. Typos always slip through occasionally–but I do wish more writers would study grammar and engage in careful proofreading and editing.

While I accept that people who should aim to achieve the pinnacles of writing excellence may desire a break from the rigours of accuracy at some points, I feel that too often one can forget where it’s appropriate. Personal texts and emails? Fine. However, all professional communication (and I include blogs and social media presence here) should always be polished, even if only with a quick dust-over. After all, we are selling our skills as a writer. I’d not ask my car be mended by a mechanic whose garage is littered with wrecks.

People cite increased speed of communication in utilising text speak. I stick to true grammar in my texts (I do teach English, it’s a consequence), but I would argue that the fastest communication is free from ambiguity. Rules create consistency, and from this rises meaning.

One of the reasons I advocate for using proper grammar and editing texts and social media updates is for that same reason: because it promotes consistency and good habits. Texts to friends don’t necessarily need to be polished to perfection, but polishing them is good practice.

One tip for the pesky apostrophe (‘) used to indicate possession or contractions is to read each word as if it isn’t a contraction. Ex. The error is obvious here. The dog wagged it’s tail. Read.ing the last sentence first and working backward helps you concentrate on that sentence itself

Thanks, Debbie.

I appreciate these tips, as well as your ideology concerning writing as a profession. I do want to point out a typo in the text.

“Learning grammar — mastering grammar — requires making a long-term commitment. You don’t have spend hours every day poring over grammar guides and dissecting sentences, but you do need to develop a few basic grammar-related writing habits.”

In the first line of the paragraph, I believe the text is supposed to read, “You don’t have to spend hours…,” whereas the word “to” is missing.

Again, I appreciate the topic and the specific points throughout.

Andrew Stein

Thanks, Andrew. All fixed now!

This wuz reely good; their don’t seam to be peeple who pay attenshun too this thees days.

It is amazing how much you see out there where people just don’t know how to spell or use good grammar. I will confess, English was not a favorite subject, but then again didn’t have many favorites and paid dearly when I finally made it to college.

The one thing I do like and that is to read and consider myself pretty well read. I think it makes a big difference in my ability to construct an intelligent sentence. It is also a direct reflection of me on whatever I’m putting out there for the world to see.

Thanks for sharing these tips.

I think reading (or lack thereof) is probably the biggest factor that influences a person’s writing. You can actually tell which writers are well-read from their prose (or at least, you can make a good guess). I’ve found that people who don’t read much tend to generate writing that is jarring and unclear. It’s usually got a lot of mechanical mistakes, but there’s more to it–actually, I would compare it to baby talk (the way kids talk when they’re still learning how to form sentences). There is disorder. Anyway, just thinking out loud here. Reading is fundamental, that’s for sure!

Your tip #4 is brilliant. Just as art students are taught to paint by studying the masters, writers should read a wide variety of well-written books.

Bank tellers are taught how to recognize counterfeit bills by immersing themselves in the real thing. Only if we are thoroughly familiar with what is “correct” can we easily identify what is not.

For writers, that means reading many, many pieces by writers who use good grammar. The 20th century British authors are particularly good to read in both content and style.

It is ironic that one of the best ways to identify someone trying to phish your account is that their bad grammar and word choices gives them away. That explains why so many people are scammed — perhaps they do not recognize the errors?

I do believe many people online don’t recognize bad grammar and other writing mistakes. Yes, it may contribute to their being scammed, but it also propagates bad writing (like a virus).

Since creating my blog the more articles I have been asked to write and to my surprise I’ve actually enjoyed the process. However, the “grammar” problem remains a sticking point with me and the more I agonised over different issues the more I seem to go round in circles. Living in Portugal, I am unable to enrol in college to revisit grammar basics. I can read books but books don’t offer feedback or answer questions to clarify different points.

I have subscribed to your blog and look forward to reading more of your tips!

If you get a copy of The Chicago Manual of Style , (which is a style and grammar guide), you should easily be able to look up specific questions and get answers. There are tons of great books on grammar that include comprehensive indexes. You can, of course, also use the web and search engines, but I advise doing so with caution. Anyone can write about grammar, so make sure your source is an authority (check out Grammar Girl) or is using a reputable resource. And if you want one-on-one feedback, work with an editor or writing coach. Good luck to you!

I think the 4th point that you have discussed is the most vital of all. Most of us DO NOT read well while learning the core concepts of English grammar. Therefore this tip is really useful for us. We should devote some time to the matter that we are reading and we should read it slowly, understanding the meaning of each and every word written. I think, this would definitely help in improving the grammar.

It bears repeating: reading truly is fundamental.

I hate articles like this one! Some of the world’s greatest writers. Nay! The majority of them flout the rules of grammar ubiquitously! Rules are made to fit usage. NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND.

Writing is art! Write well and punctuation falls into its place. That of a guide for beginners!

Well Paul, I hate when people come to my blog and spill their bad manners all over the floor. Writing is both a skill and an art, and if you can’t be bothered to learn the rules and develop the skills necessary to good writing, then you will look like an amateur when you break those rules unwittingly. Studying grammar equips beginning writers for the many dilemmas that arise when trying to structure complex sentences. Yes, the greatest writers learn to write beyond grammar, to make smart choices, and rely on their intuition. For example, a writer who had studied grammar would know “That of a guide for beginners” is not a sentence and doesn’t make sense because it’s grammatically flawed. Now, I appreciate your sentiments on the matter and I welcome a civil discussion on this and any other writing issues, but I have to ask that you refrain from making vitriolic and/or offensive comments here on my website. Thank you.

The world’s greatest writers may well break the rules of grammar often, but they know the rules they’re breaking, in my opinion. Before one breaks the rules to make one’s writing better, one should learn the rules.

I agree 100%, although it’s usually editors who make the final call.

Hi Melissa,

You have taught me why to take grammar so seriously.With all due respect to you I would like to bring a small correction (i.e if i’m not wrong) in your blog posted above.In the beginning of the last sentence you have written “Keep practicing”.Shouldn’t it be “practising” instead of “practicing”.As per the very little grammar knowledge I possess I suppose practise is the verb form and practice the noun,therefore ” Keep Practising” should be the correct usage.

Hi Peter. In America, we spell it practicing whereas in Britain, it would be spelled practising .

Thanks for the clarification Melissa.

I am a “writer” whose first language is not English, and who only started writing with hopes of becoming a real writer less than a year ago; therefore, I am very happy to have come across this website of yours–it is a great place to learn both organically and theoretically.

I truly believe in tip #4, where you emphasize (I just look this word up) the importance of reading well-written works. I just would like to add one more: practice makes perfect.

I will become one of your most loyal readers. Thank you for a great website!

P.S. Could you please give me some feedback on this comment I just wrote. Please pinpoint to me any of my mistakes. I will greatly appreciate it 🙂

Unfortunately, this isn’t a critique forum, so we do not edit, proofread, or critique for mistakes in comments. I suggest connecting with a teacher or professor, finding a writing coach, or getting into a writing group if you’d like to work with people who can help you correct mistakes in your writing.

Practice makes perfect! At the very least, it gets you as close to perfect as possible. That’s why so many experienced writers advise young and new writers to write every day.

Thanks for this! Although I completed three years towards a degree in English and have pored over books on grammar, I ‘m still not sure I know all the rules of grammar. (I never got around to taking the required grammar courses since I preferred the courses on literature and writing.) For this reason your statement “know what you don”t know” rings true to me. I also agree with the statement, “build your arsenal” which is exactly why I am following this blog, lol!

Thanks, Patti. My college didn’t offer any courses on grammar, which was a huge disappointment. Their stance was that students should know grammar by the time they get to college, which I agree with, but unfortunately, it’s just not the case.

This is a phenomenal article, and I agree with your points—particularly the advice to read good writing. I’m an English teacher and a writer, and I feel that I’m pretty familiar with prescriptive grammar conventions (and I always look them up when needed). However, Picasso’s advice, which has been so prevalent on the internet lately, comes to mind for me: “Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.” I believe this applies to writing as well. Some successful and respected contemporary writers, such as Cormac McCarthy and—one of my recent favorites—Peter Heller, purposefully subvert and bend grammar rules (fragments, minimal punctuation) for the sake of voice and style. There are many writers of “literary fiction” who do this, and it has influenced my own writing. When I break a rule, I know I’m breaking it. I’d love to hear your thoughts on the purposeful deviation from grammar rules, as far as fiction writing is concerned.

Thank you, Ben

I’m all for bending and breaking the rules (and that can include making a stylistic choice) as long as there’s a good reason to do so.

Thank you for this post. Reminds me of the most boring hump to get over when it comes to writing. I really hate studying grammar and even more so getting grammatical critiques at a writing workshop, but it’s essential. I wish I could just write to my heart’s content and make it coherent the first time, but we’re all prone to tiny mistakes.

A good book on syntax and grammar is Keys to Great Writing by Stephen Wilbers. It was the closest there is (from what I found) for a book to tackle grammar in a remotely entertaining way. It compares writing to music, wherein concision and rhythm are much more important than wordiness and technique itself.

And yes Ben that’s a great Picasso quote!

Thanks for the book recommendation, Marlon! I think there are ways to make grammar fun. Grammar Girl does a pretty good job; she has a book and a blog on grammar. I don’t mind studying grammar or editing. There are other parts of the writing process that I find boring or tedious, but it all pays off in the end.

I certainly agree with you about the importance of good grammar. I personally became something of a specialist in English grammar as a result of the more than 4O years during which I taught the language in France. How many Anglophones can explain the difference between ‘I did’ and ‘I’ve done’? There is, however, a strong case to be made out for knowing bad grammar. At the moment I’m reading George Eliot’s ‘The Mill on the Floss’ where bad grammar along with colloquialisms and mispronunciations are used in the lengthy dialogues to reflect the social class of the speakers. A good example of ‘show but not say’?

Ah, using bad grammar in dialogue to show the speakers’ station, class, or level of education is interesting. I haven’t read the book, but I could definitely see how that would work. It borders on writing in dialect, which is extremely difficult. I think it could be done effectively.

Dear Melissa,

If you haven’t read ‘The Mill on the Floss’ I hope you’ve heard of the author, George Eliot – in my opinion (and that of many others), one of the greatest of 19th century English novelists. I strongly recommend her masterpiece ‘Middlemarch’ where her handling of dialogue is absolutely superb. A lesson for myself and, I would take the liberty of adding, any budding writer!

Yes, I’ve heard of George Eliot (English major here). Thanks for the suggestion. I love good dialogue!

I just want to thank you for posting this. When I am reading a book and come across grammar errors it makes me mad and turns me off entirely from wanting to read the rest of the book or that author. just saying

I have come across a couple of books where there were so many errors, I couldn’t continue reading. I don’t get mad–authors are people and they make mistakes. In the grand scheme of things, it’s not that big of a deal. I do like to check the reviews and “Look Inside” before I buy certain titles to see if the book has been properly edited. Maybe that would work for you.

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5 Good Writing Habits You Need to Learn Now

Tips from james clear’s atomic habits.

As writers, we can be our own worst enemies. We may have dozens of reasons why we are not writing.  Sometimes, these barriers may feel insurmountable, but James Clear argues in Atomic Habits that those barriers can be breached through a series of one percent changes to our habits. “The most practical way to change who you are is to change what you do,” he says, and he offers a series of small steps to developing a writing habit.

Clear provides methods that help pinpoint those habits that are ineffective, and a large variety of tactics to create effective habits that will change what we do. His book contains clear instructions on how to develop writing as a habit, one that will feel as automatic as brushing your teeth or that first cup of coffee in the morning.

Here are five effective habits.

Habit #1: In order to encourage inspiration to strike, set up a time to meet with it.

James Clear cites a British study that showed that those who write down specific times when they will practice their new habit have the highest success rate. For writers, creating such an “implementation intention” would involve writing down a sentence that looks like this: “I will write for (period of time) at (time of day) at (location).” So, for example, “I will write for 30 minutes at 3 p.m. at the kitchen table.” By sitting down each day at 3, you accustom your brain to this new habit. Once your brain can count on you to keep your new habit, you may find that new ideas and inspiration are waiting for you.

Habit #2: If writing is important to you, create an environment that encourages you to write.

Our environment can create barriers to practicing our new habits. If your habit is to sit on the sofa to watch TV, and you had intended to write while sitting on the sofa, then the TV may prove to be too big a temptation. Instead, choose a place to write that isn’t associated with another habit. If you live in a tiny space with few options, then designate a specific place to write. It doesn’t have to be a different room. In a studio apartment, you may decide to use a different chair or to set up a small writing corner. You will attach writing to that particular place, so if you’re in that space, your brain will expect you to write. Environmental clues can be used to help reinforce your new habit.

Habit #3: Create temptations that reward you for your new habit of writing.

Habits are developed because our brain has a dopamine-driven feedback loop. It is the anticipation of the reward that causes the release of dopamine that makes us feel good. In fact, anticipation releases more dopamine than actually doing the thing we craved or wanted. You can use a habit you already have (getting up early, taking the dogs for a walk, drinking coffee in the morning) to attach the habit you are trying to develop to a reward that your brain anticipates. In this way, the habit you are developing is sandwiched between a daily habit you do anyway, and is followed by something you want. Clear provides readers with methods for identifying both the already established habits and also the things that individuals consider to be rewards. His system might look something like this:

• After (current habit), I will (habit I need to develop).
• After (habit I need to develop), I will (habit I want).

So, if you walk your dog every day after breakfast, and you need to write, but you also want to spend time on social media, you could do this:

• After I walk the dog, I will write for 30 minutes.
• After I write for 30 minutes, I will go on social media.

If going on social media has kept you from writing, this creates a system where social media is the reward you use to encourage yourself to write.

Clear argues that two minutes is usually enough to get past any initial resistance.

Habit #4: Make it easy to practice the habit of writing.

Wasting time is easy: we carry distractions in our pocket or give it pride of place in our living rooms. If we want to develop the practice of writing, we have to remove barriers to our practice. One way is to prime your environment with cues to your habit. So, if your intention is to write in the morning at the kitchen table, before you go to bed at night, lay out your writing implements —laptop or pen and paper. I take it further by making writing easier all the time: I carry a small notebook in my purse, have one in my car’s glove box, and leave several throughout my house. This way, it’s as easy to write as it is to pick up the phone.

Habit #5: Start with the Two-Minute Rule for new habits and continue from there.

Maybe you’re afraid that you’ll fail in some way because your committed writing time is too long. Clear suggests creating a ritual and following the Two Minute Rule as a way to prime yourself for your new habit. If your goal is to write at night, you can help to cement the habit into your head by attaching it to a ritual of your choosing, whether that’s a cup of herbal tea or changing into comfy clothes.  Each evening, as you engage in the ritual, your brain will anticipate that you are about to sit down and write. Your ritual primes your habit. Next, write for two minutes. If you feel done, stop. Clear argues that two minutes is usually enough to get past any initial resistance.

Clear has filled Atomic Habits with hints like these that enable us to change the habits we dislike and replace them with habits that show who we are. In order to be a writer, you must develop the habit of writing, even if it’s one word at a time. As Margaret Atwood reminds us, “A word after a word after a word is power.”

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Want to write a college essay that sets you apart? Three tips to give you a head start

1. Keep it real. It’s normal to want to make a good impression on the school of your choice, but it’s also important to show who you really are. So just be yourself! Compelling stories might not be perfectly linear or have a happy ending, and that’s OK. It’s best to be authentic instead of telling schools what you think they want to hear.

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3. Look to the future. Consider your reasons for attending college. What do you hope to gain from your education? What about college excites you the most, and what would you like to do after you graduate? Answering these questions will not only give colleges insight into the kind of student you’ll be, but it will also give you the personal insight you’ll need to choose the school that’s right for you.

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Guest Essay

The Christian Case Against Trump

By Eliza Griswold

Ms. Griswold is the author of “ Circle of Hope: A Reckoning With Love, Power, and Justice in an American Church .”

In the aftermath of the attempted assassination of Donald Trump on July 13, a video with images of Jesus crowned with thorns, blood running down his face, followed by photos of the former president circulated on social media. Days later, at the Republican National Convention, the evangelist Franklin Graham endorsed Mr. Trump from the stage, saying that “God spared his life.”

But the idea of Mr. Trump as chosen by God has infuriated those evangelicals who believe that he stands in direct opposition to their faith. Their existence highlights an often-overlooked fact about the American religious landscape: Evangelicals are not a monolith.

The troubling ascendancy of white Christian nationalism has galvanized evangelicals for whom following Jesus demands speaking truth to power, as well as building the kingdom of heaven on earth in actionable ways. In 2024, this includes mobilizing voters against the former president.

Although this broader evangelical movement is often referred to as the evangelical left, it adheres to no party. “This isn’t about being a Democrat or a Republican,” Jim Wallis, an evangelical Christian pastor, author and justice activist, told me. Instead believers like him say they refuse worldly labels and division.

They also believe that they can sway enough of their fellow evangelicals, along with other people of faith, and low-income Americans, who historically have had much lower voting rates than other groups, to swing this presidential election against Mr. Trump.

“The so-called evangelicals who support Trump have a Jesus problem,” Bishop William Barber II told me. Jesus advocated tirelessly for the poor and warned that nations would be judged “by how we treat the hungry, the sick, the incarcerated and the immigrant,” Bishop Barber said.

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