Daily Routines

[queenoftheskies]

How many of you have daily writing routines?

Do you devote time to your writing every day?

Do you write every day? Or is part of your writing routine devoted to plotting, planning, researching, note-taking, editing, revising, critiquing for critique groups, etc?

What do you consider to be a part of your routine?

Do you consider reading a part of your routine?

Do you have a set time you work on writing? Do you adhere to that time every day?

I don't think I have a "regular" writing routine. I don't have set times I write. I grab whatever opportunity is available.

Those of you who know me know that I make every possible effort to write each and EVERY day. I set goals for myself and I try to adhere to those goals as much as possible.

I consider many things to be part of writing. Plotting, planning, researching, editing, revising, note-taking, critiquing for others, reading. Anything that helps me grow and mature as a writer, I consider part of my writing.

However...NONE of that replaces the fact that I MUST generate actual words EACH and EVERY day.

If I'm not generating words, something is wrong.

I love words. I learn a lot with the other aspects of my writing routine, but the best way for me to learn ANYTHING is by actually DOING it.

So I write. Words. Every day (unless something is wrong). I set lofty goals to push myself. I'm unhappy without goals.

Goals are a part of my routine that help me generate the words necessary to grow.

And, over the course of each novel I've written, I can look back and actually see where I've grown and where I still need to make improvement. That knowledge is invaluable to me.

I couldn't do that without my words.

And, at the same time, I couldn't do without the other aspects of my writing routine as well. Some of them, I am unable to do every day because of time constraints and real life.

But, what I can't do every day, I try to work into the weekends for sure.

Because I think it takes all the pieces to grow as a writer. For ME to grow as a writer.

Everyone else is different and has their own needs.

What are your needs? What's your routine?

Comments

[shawn-scarber.livejournal.com]

My ideal routine: I smoke a clove cigarette and read a short story from one of my collections. Right now I'm reading the Best of Horror and Fantasy of 2003. I then take a few notes on something I can learn about writing from the short story and put it in my writing journal. Then I look over the last night's WIP and take notes on things I might need to repair or remember for that night's writing. Then I start working on the story. I can normally only write about 1200 words a night. On rare occasions I get lucky and get 2k.

I need good techno while I write. Normally the very melodramatic trance type, not the clicky dance type. I need general stillness around the house. I also need a clean room, so sometimes the routine requires cleaning ahead of time.

[cammykitty.livejournal.com]

"How many of you have daily writing routines?" of a sort

"Do you devote time to your writing every day?" I'm always a writer, always thinking critically like a writer, looking for ideas, open to ideas on what I'm working on. I can't really help that. But devote time to my writing every day, no. Mondays I help train dogs after work, so Monday is "off" and usually one other day gets just too busy or I'm too fried from work, & I've finally accepted that that is my rhythm and it's ok, because changing the rhythm eventually makes me stress out and then I have to take a break. And getting back from a break is harder than just knowing some days I won't get to do much. But as I write this, I just had an aha moment. That second day is often a writer's group meeting day, which certainly is devoting time to writing.

"Do you write every day? Or is part of your writing routine devoted to plotting, planning, researching, note-taking, editing, revising, critiquing for critique groups, etc?" Right now, most of my time goes into editing, and I count that as "writing" as well. Researching, critiquing and note taking, I tend to think of as "outside" my writing time, but yes I do research and I critique. Sometimes I research impatiently because the idea is on me and I want to get it down, and I know that for me research can be never ending. Sometimes I figure the research will show up in the editing process & just get writing. The other things you list, plotting, planing, revising I count as writing time.

"What do you consider to be a part of your routine?" Come home from work, say hi to the dogs (dillon & SO, (yes I have a human dog as an SO - loyal, kind, sticks his head out of windows, has a paw tatoo, & born in Chinese year of the dog) & then close myself up in my room, go through critique notes and my "things to look for list" with my WIP and edit. Off & on during the month, I'll start a short story and switch off nights between editing and writing new material. And I basically work until the scene is done, or half of my issues on a chapter have been addressed etc. I can't revise a chapter in one day right now. It takes two at least.

"Do you consider reading a part of your routine?" Alas, no. I don't make enough time to read.

"Do you have a set time you work on writing? Do you adhere to that time every day?" Usually after work, or in the mornings on the weekends, but it's flexible. Knowing I want to do something during a day works for me, but setting a specific time makes me feel like I've got a boss over my shoulder. It changes "I want to" and makes it "I have to." And hey, why write if you don't "want to." Very few of us will get filthy rich writing, so you have to "want" to most of the time.

[reannon.livejournal.com]

Well, there's two answers to each of your questions. There's the plan, and there's reality.

"Do you devote time to your writing every day? Or is part of your writing routine devoted to plotting, planning, researching, note-taking, editing, revising, critiquing for critique groups, etc?"

The Plan: Yes. Every day. I'll allow myself one night off a week but no more.
Reality: "Writing" time also must include promotion, marketing, editing, planning, research, etc. While that happens every day, actually putting words on paper... not so much.

"What do you consider to be a part of your routine?"

The Plan: Half a beer (or soda if I'm dieting) while the soundtrack I develop for this particular project is playing. Sitting in my chair or my bed with the laptop.
Reality: Wherever and whenever I can manage it. That means twenty minutes at McDonald's while the boy plays on the playground, fifteen minutes in the conference room on my lunch break, sneaking a little at work when I can get away with it.

"Do you consider reading a part of your routine?"

The Plan: Absolutely. If you don't read, you're not feeding the beast in your brain, and you'll get that my-work-is-all myopia that leads to bad fiction.
Reality: I try to read a little before I go to sleep, but I rarely get past a couple of pages before I conk out. Single mom + ridiculously stressful job + writing career + messy apartment = sleeeeep.

"Do you have a set time you work on writing? Do you adhere to that time every day?"

The Plan: 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. every night on deadline, half an hour less if not. Plus Saturday and Sunday afternoons and Monday mornings before my night shift. Mondays I get my best work, sitting in an internet-less coffee shop.
Reality: I need a better plan.

[lookingland.livejournal.com]

How many of you have daily writing routines?

no ~ i just make sure i don't let a day get away from me without writing or thinking about writing.

Do you devote time to your writing every day?

not a specific time ~ it's just habitually part of my day.

Do you write every day? Or is part of your writing routine devoted to plotting, planning, researching, note-taking, editing, revising, critiquing for critique groups, etc?

all of the above. some days i only commit words in my head.

What do you consider to be a part of your routine?

pacing ~ hahahaha ~

Do you consider reading a part of your routine?

not generally. i read apart from my writing (intellectually, i don't think of the two as necessarily fitting together)

Do you have a set time you work on writing? Do you adhere to that time every day?

no ~ i'm too will o'the wisp for that ~

What are your needs? What's your routine?

noise, distractions ~ music is good for that (so are my dogs)

[peartreealley.livejournal.com]

I wrote a big post about this last week, but here is the cliffnotes:

On a Day I Also Have the Money Job
8:30am - Out of bed.
8:30-9:00 - Check LJ and e-mail, respond accordingly.
9:00-11:00 - Writing, editing, whatever main thing I'm working on at the time. This is no Internet time, excluding short breaks.
11:00-12:00 Shower, groom, dress, etc. Yeah, I'm girlie.
12:00pm-12:30 - Make lunch/dinner.
12:30-1:30 - Eat. Relax, read, play video games, watch a DVD, mindlessly surf the web, etc.
1:30-11:15pm - Running out the door for work, driving to work, at work, working, driving home.*
11:15-12:00ish - More downtime, catch up on LJ/e-mail, then go to bed

There are somedays, like today, that I'm not running quite to schedule. It happens. So I'm about an hour behind, and I'll probably cut into "fun" time to make up for it.

The "writing" period encompasses all things writing--actual writing, editing, planning, outlining, brainstorming, etc. Reading falls into "fun" time, which is probably why it doesn't get done as much lately (I may have to revise my schedule).

*At work, I sometimes have free moments, and I always have my breaks. These are unplanned and can be as little as 3 minutes, or as much as 3 hours. During these times, I may brainstorm or read or do something else writing related, but doesn't involve immersion (like writing or editing to me). Yesterday I was researching a publishing line and thinking about ideas I have for them in my free moments. But these are unplanned, and it doesn't always work out the way I hope. So they don't really go on the schedule.

If a routine helps, I think taking some time out to make a routine is important, as well as experimenting. If it helps, then the bit of time it tooks should pay for itself 1000-fold.

[nycshelly.livejournal.com]

I just reread what I last wrote, do some revision of it, then move to the next scene to draft. No set writing time, though usually at night when I'm home, or sometimes on a day off, including Sunday. Music or TV on, but sometimes not.

[calene.livejournal.com]

How many of you have daily writing routines?

Sorta.

Do you devote time to your writing every day?

Nope. I try to take days off here and there to let my brain rest and refill my well with reading, watching shows or movies that inspire emotion, etc... Sometimes it's one day a week. Sometimes it's 2-3 depending on the book and how good my progress on the writing days are.

Do you write every day? Or is part of your writing routine devoted to plotting, planning, researching, note-taking, editing, revising, critiquing for critique groups, etc?

I usually try to work on one project at a time. So when I'm plotting or editing, I'm usually not "getting the words down", but I still consider it part of "writing work."

What do you consider to be a part of your routine?

Sit down and review what I did the day before for about 15 minutes, whether it's outlining, a new chapter, or a chunk of edited chapters. Plan out the goal for the day, about 15 minutes or so. Get to work until I have met or passed my goal.

Do you consider reading a part of your routine?

Nope. Reading is for pleasue, but I always try to get some in before bed, whether it's a page or a hundred pages.

Do you have a set time you work on writing? Do you adhere to that time every day?

Not really. I start my days with writing work and tend to just run through until the daily goal is met. Could be 4 hours, could be 10. I write around the daily demands of the kinda-sorta-a-job thing, so sometimes that (or my own issues with the writing) makes the work session stretch out through the whole day.

[kuroshii.livejournal.com]

i think you're actually speaking about two things at once, here: routines, and rituals.

in regards to the first, yes i write every day. i do "morning pages," and i've just (a month ago) put my foot down to write at least a page of fiction every day. previously, i was a "fits-and-starts" sort of writer: three pages one day then nothing for a week. everything everyone has told me says that "every day" is healthier. i'm starting small, with a one page (~275word) minimum. we'll see how it goes.

in regards to the second, i have different rituals that work for me at different times. i usually need music when working on fiction, and when i do it must not have lyrics. sometimes i need a mug of something warm (tea or coffee, without caffiene). sometimes i need to sit at a desk or table, and when i do i completely clear it off first. sometimes i sit cross-legged with a lapdesk in my old La-Z-Boy instead.

[cicadabug.livejournal.com]

Daily Writing Routines: I guess it depends on how strictly you define "routine". I try to work on my writing every day (which can include a lot of ancillary stuff beyond actual writing, such as making diagrams or pictures or doing research or just sitting around thinking about how I can make 2+2=5 without handwaving too obviously), but how and when and what (and if) varies with a lot of other factors, and I try hard not to be stressed if I have a couple of days where writing just isn't going to happen. Sometimes I'm just not in the right frame of mind, and frustrating myself trying to force something usually ends up severely delaying getting back *into* the right mindspace.

When I do sit down to write, the only really regular thing I do is I have a great big mug that I fill with water and take down to my computer room (which is in my basement), because if I have to come upstairs to get anything the dogs want to play and the dishes start calling out "clean me!" and I tend to get very distracted. I tend to write at night after my daughter has gone to bed, say from about 9pm on. On the weekends I'll often wander back and forth between the computer and other household chores throughout the day, as I feel compelled particularly towards one or the other.

I do set goals, but I am more flexible about them when I'm revising. First drafts I tend to be more focused on getting the words down, but later I'm more interested in having it feel right, which isn't as easily measured in numbers of words or in cumulative time spent.

The one thing I need other than something to drink is music. I just plain can't write without it. I get distracted much more easily and am far more likely to start playing solitaire or get online and read newsgroups (and when I find myself doing that, I usually discover that my cd ended when I wasn't paying attention). I got an iPod recently and that's made my life a lot easier, except when I forget to charge it (-: