How To Build Your Writing Routine - with Megan Bradbury
Dec 7, 2022
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Novelist and NCW tutor Megan Bradbury shares strategies for building a writing routine, including dealing with avoidance excuses and using noise-canceling headphones. She discusses the importance of balancing creativity and structure in writing, finding one's own writing style, and creating a writing routine while balancing domestic life. The chapter explores practical tips for setting boundaries, maintaining inspiration, and embracing organic ideas.
Creating a dedicated writing routine involves removing mental, physical, and temporal blocks to prioritize writing and make progress.
Finding inspiration in topics that truly excite and ignite passion helps sustain a writing routine.
Overcoming the fear of imperfection and embracing the writing process with perseverance and dedication are crucial for becoming a better writer.
Deep dives
Importance of Building a Writing Routine
Building a writing routine is crucial for any writer. It involves removing mental, physical, and temporal blocks that hinder writing. This routine helps in overcoming avoidance excuses and distractions through effective time management. By scheduling dedicated writing time and setting boundaries, writers can prioritize their work and make progress. Creating a writing routine is a personal process, and different writers may have different approaches. Some writers may benefit from word count goals, while others may focus on specific tasks or themes. The key is finding what works best for each individual and making writing a regular and enjoyable habit.
Passion and Inspiration in Writing
Finding a subject that ignites passion and inspiration is crucial for sustaining a writing routine. It is important to identify what truly interests and excites you as a writer. This could be a theme, an idea, or even a particular word. By pursuing topics that genuinely captivate you, writing becomes an enjoyable and meaningful experience. Writers should embrace the fun and excitement of their writing projects, treating them as illicit affairs that stimulate their imagination. Discovering the joy in writing helps overcome excuses and fuels the drive to sit down and write, even during busy or challenging times.
Embracing Imperfection and Persistence
Overcoming the fear of writing something imperfect is crucial for maintaining a writing routine. Understanding that early drafts are often messy and far from perfect allows writers to focus on the process rather than constantly judging their work. Perseverance and dedication are key aspects of becoming a better writer. It is essential to remember that writing improves with persistence and multiple drafts. Trusting the creative process and being kind to oneself during the journey are important factors in developing writing skills and producing high-quality work.
Tackling Excuses and Mental Blocks
Excuses and mental blocks can significantly hinder writing progress. It is important to address and overcome these obstacles to establish a consistent writing routine. This can involve finding strategies and techniques that work for the individual, such as noise-canceling headphones, creating a dedicated writing space, or setting clear boundaries with family and friends. Additionally, avoiding self-imposed restrictions and allowing for flexibility in writing habits can be helpful. Breaking down writing tasks into manageable chunks and focusing on the pleasure of the writing process rather than perfection can help overcome excuses and enhance productivity.
Balancing Writing and Daily Responsibilities
Finding a balance between writing and daily responsibilities is essential for maintaining a writing routine. Writers with family, work, and other obligations need to communicate the importance of their writing time and set boundaries with their loved ones. Establishing a supportive environment where interruptions are minimized can greatly aid in effective writing sessions. It is also crucial to be kind to oneself and prioritize self-care, allowing time for relaxation, reading, and other activities that inspire creativity. Accepting that the house may not always be tidy is important in order to allocate time and energy to writing.
In this episode, we speak to novelist and NCW tutor Megan Bradbury, who gives us a wealth of great advice to help you build your writing routine. We cover a lot of ground in this discussion, the focus of which is removing mental, physical and even temporal blocks to get you writing - from tackling your own avoidance excuses to noise-cancelling headphones.
Many of you will already know Megan from the podcast, and it was a pleasure to welcome her back. Megan is a long-time friend of the writing centre having won a place on Escalator - our talent development programme. Megan also won a ‘Grant for the Arts’ to help fund the completion of her first novel, Everyone is Watching.
Megan is also one of our online course tutors. What online courses, I hear you say? Well, the National Centre for Writing has a variety of online learning activities from courses to mentorship sessions. Head to our website to browse free short courses, in-person classes and workshops, and our much-loved 12 and 18-week tutored online courses. These courses have been designed specifically to get you writing.
