My Writing Routine

I don’t believe in ‘guilty pleasures’ (if something brings you joy, no guilt required) but if I did, I know what one of mine would be. I am one of those people who endlessly watches people’s ‘routines’ on You Tube. Whether it’s ‘my morning routine,’ ‘my skincare routine,’ ‘my make-up routine,’ ‘my evening routine,’ I don’t actually care. I find them fascinating, and often inspiring. I am just inherently nosy about other people’s lives I think, and even though these videos are (of course) highly curated and edited, I still love to get a little peek inside someone else’s day. Given there are so many of these videos to watch, I’m definitely not the only one, so, while I am intense drafting mode (of my second novel), I thought it might be fun to share my writing routine with you, in case anyone else loves this kind of thing too.

I was going to start this with a list of caveats, for example 1) I am definitely not saying this is the best/only way to write, far from it! There are as many ways to write as there are people and I LOVE that. And 2) writing is my full-time job, and I don’t have children, so I am very aware that I have a lot more time to focus on creativity than those who do. Then I remembered this isn’t Twitter, and it’s not necessary to pre-empt anyone’s judgement (!) and this is just a bit of fun. I WILL say however, that I am definitely a person who requires structure, in life as well as writing (which will become obvious) and as I went to a very progressive (my dad used to say ‘hippy’) school, I was denied the chance to ever be a Head Girl, and I therefore bring quite intense Head Girl energy to all projects. With all that being said, here is my daily routine, AKA my perfect day.

1. Morning pages

   I am probably preaching to the converted here, but I am a BIG FAN of the Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. I bought the book in the nineties (when it first came out) but only actually picked it up to read and follow in 2020. Cue life-changing experience. I cannot imagine I would have had the courage to write The List of Suspicious Things without it. I press it onto everyone who wants to unleash their creative self on the world, with the caveat that yes, it’s woo-woo sometimes, but it WORKS. Morning Pages are the lynch pin of this twelve-week programme, and I honestly think they are magic. The act of writing three pages, longhand, as the first thing you do in the morning somehow clears the decks, solves problems, adds insight, you name it.

2. Meditate

   I am actually chuckling as type this. Meditation is NOT something I ever thought I’d say I do daily BUT the discovery of Deepak Chopra’s meditation app has been transformational for me. There is a daily 10–15-minute meditation on it and I find it helps calm the noise and anxious babble that usually goes on in my head and clears the way for more productive thinking. It’s on the practical side of woo-woo which is where I like to be.

3. Admin

   I do all my chores and admin tasks before I write. Most people would say to write first, but I find it helps to do mundane things first (like washing, cleaning, tidying) because they allow my mind to float free and I use this time to visualise the next scene I’m going to write playing out in my head. I will often record this in my notes (written or voice) so I can come back to it when I sit down to write.

   I also catch up on social media here. I use social media a lot, as I have always seen it as part of the job of being a writer these days, but it definitely doesn’t have to be. That’s a choice I’ve made. I post almost every day and find it easier to do it regularly if I see it as something that goes with the territory. Most days I will take a walk in the morning, and sometimes listen to writing podcasts while I do. If I’m stuck, I find other people talking about their writing really helps (I highly recommend In Writing with

   Hattie Crisell
   and Confessions of a Debut Novelist with
   Chloe Timms
   along with Elizabeth Day’s How to Write a Book podcast, which my agent (Nelle Andrew) is on, dispensing endless wisdom.

4. Novel writing

   After all this is done, I finally sit down to write, in the space pictured above, which is my favourite room in the house. My phone goes on ‘do not disturb’ mode until my word count for the day is met. I usually write 750-1000 words a day as I am definitely NOT a word machine. I am an underwriter, and if I write much more than 1500 words I end up deleting most, if not all, of it. Once I’ve finished (and updated my planner, always a hugely satisfying moment) I look at my outline to remind myself of what it coming next/make sure I am on track. This then implants the seed of the next scene which I get to play with and imagine before I come to write it the following day. I’m 20k words into my new novel at the moment, so there is plenty to go.

5. Other writing

   Alongside the novel writing there are short stories, magazine and newspaper articles, promotional stuff and a Substack to write, which I do AFTER the main writing of the day is done. I also plan any social media for the following day/weeks here (for example I’m doing a whole thread of festivals/events I’m appearing at over the autumn, including ticket links, and it’s surprising what a faff these things are to pull together).

6. Read

   This usually comes last in the day, as I tend to read for at least an hour before I go to sleep. I know lots of people who don’t/can’t read while they are drafting, but I find it virtually impossible to sleep without reading. According to my Kindle I have read for 768 days consecutively (which means since I bought it!) and it feels as necessary to me as breathing. There is a week in the above-mentioned Artist’s Way where Cameron asks the reader NOT to read for seven days, and it’s the only bit of the twelve-week programme I failed to do. I have always said that I am a reader first and a writer second, and that perspective has served me well so far. It’s one I share with

   Daisy Buchanan
   - who has a Write like a Reader course coming up, which sounds brilliant.

There are days where all of this comes together brilliantly, of course, and days when it doesn’t. I’d love to hear how everyone else does it, as, like I said there are as many ways of approaching writing as there are people. Maybe we could start a swathe of ‘my writing routine’ posts so I could get my daily You Tube fix on Substack instead.

Till next week.