OK, so I love going onto the Infinity Publishing blog to find great author tips and advice. Recently I stumbled across an article called ‘To New Habits Writers Need to Cultivate in the New Year’ and it was awesome!
The main focus of the article is to talk about the fact that habits, for authors, can be good. Of course, because we are getting so close to the start of 2016, the introduction focuses on how New Years resolutions typically focus on getting rid of bad habits, but then it explains how HABITS CAN BE PRODUCTIVE!!!
“The key is to develop the right habits and turn them into a normal part of your day.”
Want to know what the 10 habits that every writer needs to cultivate are?
- Writing on schedule
- Communicate with other authors
- Continuing education
- Take scheduled days off
- Start people watching
- Start outlining
- Keep your website updated
- Create rituals for celebration
- Get up for 5 minutes every hour you work
- Get dressed for work
Anyone who knows me or reads my blog can tell you what two of these habits I have the most problem with.
#6 – Outlining
It isn’t that I don’t like knowing where my story is going, it’s that I love letting my characters guide me. I love sitting at the computer, not sure what will happen, and then just following the story like I’m watching a movie unfold in front of me.
#7 – Keeping my website (blog) updated
No, I don’t blog as often as I should and I definitely don’t do once a week like the article suggests. I go through spurts where I blog a lot and then spurts where I have to step away for a while. When I’m really focused on my books, I find that I blog less. I’d rather put that writing time into the book then into finding something interesting to say. Is that bad? Probably, but I can say I will try to be better (I’ve said it before) and it works for a few weeks maybe a couple of months and then… back to the same old routine.
Nina Soden 