Whew! I’ve just about made it to the end of Smokelong Quarterly’s March Micro Marathon: 24 drafts in 24 days. It’s been intense, but also good! In November, I did a flash-fiction version of NaNoWriMo in which I wrote a flash piece each day, often sharing my drafts with others in a Facebook group for that purpose. I love these kinds of generative workshops/activities for how they stimulate my creativity (since it’s not just about generating drafts but reading others’ work as well). But the pace can be daunting.
The Smokelong workshop prompted me to think about habit as it applies to writing. I know writers who write every day and others who don’t but think they should. The reality is that it comes down to you, the writer. I would never tell a writer that they need to write every day in order to be a writer or to form a writing practice. As I’ve experienced with the Smokelong workshop, it’s intense to write every day and not something that’s sustainable on a long-term basis…for me, at least.
In short, a writing habit does not mean that you have to write every day. It can mean that, but it’s certainly not a prerequisite. So, what does it mean?
Sowing the Seeds of Habit
Like many in 2020, I was in limbo. I had just moved back to Ohio to help care for my terminally ill mother, and I’d also become fully self-employed only a year before. I had no idea how the pandemic would affect my still-tenuous livelihood, and I had no idea what my caregiving responsibilities would look like as the pandemic wore on.
Amid all this change and uncertainty, though, one thing sustained me: writing.
More specifically: a writing habit.
The world had all but stopped, but somehow, for the first time in my writing life, I began to actually get work published on a regular basis. I’d had some work published here and there over the years—even winning a poetry contest in 2008 and earning an honorable mention in another poetry contest in 2009—but my publication record at the start of 2020 was spotty at best. (And if you want to see how things have changed in four years, you can check out my publications list here.)
I was resolute. Most everything else was out of my control in 2020, but writing was not. I had just completed my MFA in 2019 and was determined to get my work out there, which not only meant that I had to submit regularly, but also meant that I had to write more and revise more…and do it regularly.
For me, that was really the first step in creating a sustainable writing habit: having a specific intent as well as conscious determination to do so.
What Is a Writing Habit?
According to merriam-webster.com, a habit is “a settled tendency or usual manner of behavior.”
Another definition of habit is “addiction,” and, negative connotations aside, I actually prefer this definition because of the way it hints at fervor and necessity. Perhaps I thrive a bit on chaos, but it’s this almost obsessive craving that more or less defines my own writing habit. I have to write, and this has been true pretty much from the get-go, as I wrote extensively even at six and seven years old.
But even though I wrote regularly as a kid, I certainly wouldn’t consider myself as having had a writing habit (or writing practice). It was a creative outlet, much like drawing, acting, and piano lessons were.
Running vs. Writing
As I often do, I’m going to compare writing to running for a minute. I enjoy running. I’ve run many 5Ks, some 10Ks, and even a few half-marathons. But I’m not a good runner. I don’t run to win races. It’s simply a hobby for me, a way to maintain my health and wellness. There are other activities I could do. I played on an intramural soccer team until 2015 (when I moved away), and there was also a year when I did roller derby, which I absolutely loved, though when I mentioned this to my orthopedic doctor a few years ago—as he was reviewing an MRI of my spine and inquiring as to whether I’d ever had an injury to my back—he gave me a cautious look and said, “You don’t do that anymore, do you?” And I (honestly) said no. And then it wasn’t a question: “Make sure you don’t do that anymore.” My back, apparently, is too fragile for a rough sport like roller derby. Running, though, he approved of!
I run sporadically. This past winter I hardly ran at all. Even when I do run on a regular basis, I don’t consider it a habit. The reason: I don’t generally have much of a goal. I, of course, like to beat my past times, but I’m not fanatical about it; it’s more about completion. I just run. Similar to when I was a kid: I just wrote.
One Mark of a Habit
Fitness-wise, more toward the other end of the scale is my gym habit. Since February 2022, I’ve been going to the gym and lifting weights under the guidance of a personal trainer. My goal is simply strength training and building/maintaining muscle, and my trainer keeps me progressing, gradually increasing my weights, etc. One of my semi-recent PRs was being able to deadlift 145 pounds—a far cry from what I would have been able to do in 2022.
I see this goal of improvement (to build muscle) to be one mark of a true habit. Similarly, if I would ever want to run a half-marathon again, I would have to train, and I would have to do it systematically.
Writing is like a muscle you have to exercise to maintain. I consider my writing habit to be akin (loosely, perhaps) to training for a run. Plateaus will occur, of course. I have down times, times where I can’t/don’t write. I might even go backwards (or feel like I am), but like working toward a race goal or increasing weights at the gym, there’s still an eye on moving forward. My writing muscle gets strengthened over time. It has to in order to meet my goals. And if I stopped completely, my writing muscle would eventually atrophy.
Why Do You Write?
We all write for different reasons, none of them right or wrong. But why we write also informs what our writing habit (or practice) will look like (as well as what kind of support we need—a trainer, peers, etc.).
Except for some brief pockets of time here and there, I’ve essentially been involved in some kind of weekly writing group since about 1996, when I attended weekly poetry readings at a quirky coffeehouse in downtown Lancaster, Pennsylvania. It wasn’t a critique group, and you didn’t even have to read your own poetry; but not only did I get to hang out with cool people, I was also motivated to write weekly just so I would have something to share. I was actually a very prolific poet at that time!
But looking back, I’d say my goal—my why—was specifically to have something to share at each Wednesday night’s reading. I wasn’t submitting my work anywhere. I wasn’t even really revising it. I was just writing. I didn’t really have an eye on improvement and, in fact, had very little clue as to how to go about improving as a creative writer—and very little inkling, actually, that I even needed to! (Ah, youth.)
It wasn’t until about 2004 or so that I started to learn a bit about the craft of writing, and then I started to write (and revise) more with the purpose of publication. This was one of the first shifts to occur in preparation for my eventual writing habit.
Building a Writing Community
The biggest shift, though, came in April 2020, when I started Together Apart: A Virtual Write Night. I started the group partly for pandemic-era socialization, but also because I was floundering amid the uncertainty in my life at that time. My stress level was such that I couldn’t even focus long enough to read a short story, let alone write one. But at 7 p.m. (EST) each Monday night, I’d start the Zoom and we’d all chat briefly and then turn off our cameras and mics and write—together, apart. At 9 p.m., we’d meet back up and chat about what we worked on.
It was this Monday night routine that secured my current writing habit in place. By May of 2020, I’d developed something of a submission routine that only became stronger over time. Monday nights then became (and have continued to be) a dedicated time to work on writing-related tasks such as revision and submission. Others found this dedicated time equally beneficial, and the group has continued, and will mark its four-year anniversary soon. (Together Apart: A Virtual Write Night is free and open to anyone, so feel free to check out the event on Facebook or contact me for more information.)
Some Tips for a Strong Writing Habit
None of this may be new or novel information to you, and/or you may have your own understanding of a writing habit, different from mine. All perfectly fine.
But I’ve presented this information here because I’m often asked how I do it (referencing my submitting/publishing routine); I’ve also fielded inquiries of how one might put a writing habit into place.
First, remember that you do not need to write every day. I think enthusiasm (fervor!) about your craft is essential, but forcing yourself to do something can become tedious. Writing is hard work, and we all need breaks.
Also remember that reading is just as important a part of a writing habit as the writing itself is.
While it can be structured, a writing habit does not have to be all-encompassing. In fact, there are some weeks when the only time I work on my own writing is on Monday night. But in the meantime, I try to stay actively involved with those in my writing communities—exchanging work, emailing, reading others’ published stories, interacting in workshops/FB groups, learning from other writers. It all informs my habit, igniting that spark that I need to feed my creative spirit and keep my writing (and my writing habit) fresh.
In sum, if you’re looking to create (or feed) a writing habit, I suggest the following:
Make a conscious decision to create a habit/practice/routine. (It helps to know why you want to write and what your overall goal is, but this can certainly be flexible.)
Consider your goals and work toward them. Make a plan and work toward your goal(s) incrementally, keeping in mind that goals can change; adjust as needed. Also recognize that writing (and publishing) can be a very slow process. Accept that it may take a while to realize your goals.
Be active in a writing community or (preferably) more than one! Attend readings (either virtually or in person), follow writerly Substacks, check in regularly with your writer friends. One of the most important ways that the pandemic fostered my writing habit was through the sudden plethora of virtual events (many of which were/are free). While I was staying at home, my writing world ironically opened wider than it ever had been before, and I was able to learn a lot from skilled writers in a relatively short amount of time. I don’t think this would have happened—at least not as quickly—if not for the pandemic.
Participate in workshops (online or in person). (This is related to the above bullet point but can be separate as well.) Some places to check out for online workshops: Cleaver Magazine, Bending Genres, Smokelong Quarterly, and Crow Collective Workshops. Many writers also offer workshops, so check out your favorite writers’ websites.
Write, but also read—and read widely!
I’d love to hear from you and learn about your writing habit. Please comment below!
Jessica, another great post! I notice that everything you offer here and during the Monday Zooms lowers the barriers to writing, and to nourishing the writing habit. And there are so many ways of keeping it up, including journaling, from which come opportunities to expand on themes, or find stories and poems, in pencil on paper, with a goose-quill and ink, or electronically. Having you as part of my personal team in this arena is a gift. Thank you!
I love the together/apart idea!