How Habits Help You Accomplish Your Goals
Sunset on a late December day.
Happy 2023! What do you want to accomplish with your writing this year?
A couple of months ago, I wrote about setting smart writing goals. I also shared that my goal for my current work-in-progress, a middle grade mystery, is to complete a first draft by March 31, 2023.
That’s now less than 3 months away.
A couple of days ago, I hit 2 significant milestones with my WIP:
I reached 30,000 words AND
I hit the midpoint in my plot, as described on my Inside Outline*.
One of the reasons I’m making steady progress toward this goal is that I’ve been able to make working on my novel a habit.
This. Was. Not. Easy.
I’ve been working on establishing this habit for several months.
My particular habit is to write in the morning for an hour, or 500 words, whichever comes first.
Here’s my typical morning routine:
Do some kind of strength or stretching exercises for about 30 minutes shortly after I get up.
Eat breakfast.
Go to my office and write my morning page (per Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way).
Take a short email/online news break, about 15 minutes’ worth.
Work on my novel.
Go skiing, snowshoeing, walking, or running with Joanie. This doubles as a nature break since I live in Wisconsin’s Northwoods.
Now that my habit is well established, I don’t work on my novel every single day, but I do work on it at least 5 days per week.
Mornings work best for me because that’s when I’m least resistant to sitting down and doing the work. (That’s the same reason I exercise in the mornings too.)
I’ve also learned from previous full-time jobs that my brain is most creative in the mornings.
I absolutely do not rely on inspiration to get my writing done. Inspiration is lovely, but it’s not reliable. Showing up regularly to do the work gets it done.
On the day I hit 30,000 words, I wrote my daily 500 words in about 30 minutes. That was a fun day.
The next day, I struggled to write 200 words in an hour. Some days are just harder. Having the habit in place doesn’t mean it’s fun and games every day.
Writing is not just getting words on a page. Some days require more time staring out the window and thinking through the scene. While I may add only 50 words to the manuscript on a heavy thinking day, it’s still necessary and productive work. That’s why I give myself the leeway of a time goal.
How are you coming with your own writing habits? How are they helping you accomplish your writing goals?
* The Inside Outline is one step in the Blueprint for a Book planning process that I use in coaching writers. For my MG mystery WIP, I worked through the whole Blueprint before I started drafting the novel. It has worked so much better for me than writing by the seat of my pants.