I still don’t feel like I’ve totally found “my method” of writing. Sometimes I like to write in the morning, sometimes I liked to write in small bursts throughout the day, sometimes I like to take a break from writing all week only to return to my keyboard and type furiously for hours and hours. And I while I think this lack of routine is okay sometimes, when the writing isn’t going so good I think a routine is really important. To be honest, the jitters of being in my second year at New School’s MFA program are hitting me hard. I’m loving my classes (even experimental poetry from 60s and 70s). I’m still feeling totally supported my my classmates and the wonderful community of writers that I’ve found here in NY. But the idea of not knowing how near or far I am to getting to a final(ish) version of my current manuscript and anxieties about what I should be planning to do after graduation are invading my headspace and messing up my writing non-routine. And that’s hard.
It’s crazy to hold the truths of so many good things (going to The Brooklyn Book Festival, my amazing summer internship, being back in school with good friends, etc.) at the same time as I hold onto my doubts (wondering if I will get published, if my books mean what I want them to mean, remembering that writing though fun is also hard … it’s supposed to be). Feeling incredibly lucky, but also dealing with the stress of writing that I think (hope!) all writers deal with from time to time.
In the meantime, putting myself into some strict routines has been really helpful. Writing in the same place at the same time, setting limits on Internet time, getting lots of long walks and journal time in the park. I’m hoping this routines will see me through my tough time writing. Or that maybe I will learn to love routine so much that I won’t go back to my wayward ways. We’ll see.
If you are a writer, do you have routine? Also, here are the routines of some famous writers that I enjoyed reading about. If it worked for them, who knows, maybe it will work for me too! Have a great weekend everyone!
Alison Doherty 
I hear you on this. I TRY to have a routine, but life keeps getting in the way, you know?
Totally relate. Trying to stick to one now, but we’ll see how long it lasts.
I can’t stick to a routine either! It’s definitely important, but as soon as I promise to do it, I find something else that distracts me… Good luck 🙂
Thank you!
I write at different times during the day. But I get a lot more done early in the morning. And limiting internet and TV have been a huge help. Sometimes I wake up at 3 a.m. with an idea. Instead of going back to sleep immediately, I write down the idea. Keeping a pen and a notebook by my bed has been a huge help.