Six tips for creating a writing routine 

If I had a penny for every person who has said to me, “I’d love to write a book, but I don’t have the time.” I’d have at least £1.50. So many writers struggle to establish a routine in their busy lives and then get frustrated when their project begins to falter. They lose their momentum, struggle to pick up the threads of what they were working on and then succumb to The Fear… that terrible droning voice that tells you to give up, because who cares? Why keep going? It’s pointless anyway.  

I’ve written thirteen novels, eleven of which I wrote while working fulltime. I have a family, friends and hobbies, so I am here to tell you it can be done. Here are my six tips to establish a workable writing routine.  

1. Write every day

I have been told off for giving this advice before, but I will stand by it. I firmly believe that the best way to drive a project forward is to open your notebook or your document every single day and add to it. It doesn’t have to be a lot… a few sentences a paragraph, a word count you set yourself, but it is the single best way to stay immersed in your project and keep hold of the threads. And besides, you can’t hear the nasty whispers of The Fear over the clatter of typing keys.  

2. Call yourself a writer

No, not “Call yourself a writer?!” Call yourself a writer. Name it. You are not an aspirant writer. Not hoping to be a writer one day. You’re writing, so you’re a writer. Naming it makes it real and gives your project weight and significance. It becomes something worth prioritising in your life. Say it with me. 

“I am a writer, and I am writing… [INSERT PROJECT HERE]”  

Now… 

3. Make it a priority 

Yes, you have a job, you have a partner, children, pets, responsibilities, health concerns. Every writer does. According to 2022 research conducted by ALCSⁱ, only 19% of primary occupation authors earn their total individual income from writing alone. So 81% of your favourite authors are fitting their writing in around other work.  

If you are choosing to write and you’re serious about wanting to complete something, realise that you need to make space for it in your life. Tell the people around you that you will be setting time aside for writing. Is there a way you can open up a little time in your day? Can you meal-plan and batch-cook meals?  Forego your evening doomscroll? Watch one less episode of Grey’s Anatomy (or is that just me?).  

4. Find a time when you’re productive 

 See tip #3 above. Even if you can carve out time, it’s important to try and find time when you are not absolutely shattered, or feeling the pressure of other responsibilities. You will know when that is. Is it in the quiet of the evening, once everyone else has gone to bed? Are you better in the early morning? Do you need privacy and absolute silence? Or do you quite like writing in a busy, buzzy space like a coffee shop or canteen? If it helps to get up half an hour earlier, put your work emails off for a bit and write then, then do it.  

5. How do you eat an elephant? 

One bite at a time, as we say in my home country of South Africa. Every sentence you write, every paragraph, every page adds to your story. And it really doesn’t matter if it isn’t a lot. It’s not a race to get thousands of words a day down, and there’s no prize for writing really fast. What you’ll find as you go though, is everything you write is another brushstroke on the canvas. The characters stop being theoretical outlines. They sit up, breathe and talk. The plot begins to lay itself out in front of you, and all of a sudden, you can’t type fast enough to get it all down. Don’t get me wrong, there will still be days when it’s like wading through treacle and the words won’t come, but there will still be a smaller portion of elephant on your plate. 

6. Celebrate the wins

My lucky, lucky family gets to witness the 10,000-word dance, a magnificent piece of choreography I perform every time I hit 10K, 20K, 30K (etc) words in a first draft. I call on you to celebrate all your milestones, no matter how small. We can get caught up in thinking about how far we still have to go. Remember to stop on the road and look back. You’ve written every day for a week? Brilliant. I am so proud of you. You’ve passed 10,000 words in your story? Have a biscuit. Hell, have two! You finally solved that thorny problem in Chapter Seventeen? Kitchen Karaoke Party!  

Remember, you are engaged in doing the most amazing thing. Your incredible human brain is making something out of nothing… conjuring a new story out of thin air, energy and magic.  You are bringing a precious thing into the world that has never existed before. Every step of that is worth celebrating.  

And a final, final tip… you actually have to write

Auntie Rosie is watching over your shoulder, and I know what you’re doing. Don’t procrastinate. No, you don’t need the perfect notebook and sharpened pencil and that scented candle. Looking at Pinterest posts of beautiful bookshops and imagining your book in them is not writing. Get your head down; this time is precious. Butt in the seat, words on the page. 

Go.

Rosie Fiore is a tutor on the Ultimate Novel Writing Programme. To find out more about the course, visit the web page or fill in this form and we’ll send the brochure straight to your inbox.