What's the best writing routine?

Forever on the hunt on ways to improve our productivity, what can we learn from other writers' routines? Written by Hayley King

Yes, I know. The best writing routine is the one that works for you. As someone who despairs at the thought of getting up at 5am and thinks the early morning writing crew are champions, I identified my peak writing hours long ago. They are 9am to noon. When I’m fully awake and not yet worn out by the demands of life. Even more important is location. I’m someone who loves a writing sprint in a café. Trying to write at home is like trying to get dressed in the rain. There are dishes to do, floors to hoover. I’ve identified my working preferences, but what if these hard-set beliefs are incorrect? What if there’s a golden hour I’m missing out on?

In a quest to challenge my productivity, and as a parent who’s had her children at home and asking for snacks for the last four weeks, I am going on a deep dive into other writers’ routines in the hope of discovering something new.

The early bird catches the worm:

Ernest Hemmingway, Haruki Murakami and Salman Rushdie all start early. Perhaps their routines are not hampered by a school drop-off or children demanding breakfast, but, these thoughts aside, let’s see what rising early offers. Murakami wakes at 4am and writers for 5-6 hours, swimming in the afternoon. He repeats this for months and calls it a form of ‘mesmerism’ to reach a deeper creative state. When waking early, your brain is in a different state. The internet tells me we are operating using theta and alpha brain waves, which provide access to the subconscious and can help achieve a dream-like state. Of the few early morning writing sessions I’ve done, I recall a flexibility of thought and a lack of restraint. These hours must be great for ploughing through a first draft.

 ‘The 5am Club’ by Robin Sharma is a bestselling self-help book first published in 2018. It explores the benefits of habit and breaks the first hour of the day into three segments or the 20/20/20 formula: 20 minutes of movement; 20 minutes' reflection; and 20 minutes of learning. Early mornings offer a period of quiet that is difficult for many to achieve. But this book also highlights how living with purpose and long-term discipline is essential. A concept I particularly liked was how the ‘high excellent cycle’ is followed by the ‘deep recovery cycle’. As a writer, there is a sense I should add to my word count daily. I feel guilty when my children are not in school and I struggle to get to my desk. In my quest to find more hours to write, I may need to accept the school holidays as a period of rest and reflection.  

The night owl:

 Franz Kafka – who I haven’t read since uni – was a night writer, working from 10:30pm to 3am. He stated: ‘I write differently at night. It’s quieter, and the world feels more distant.’ I can’t help but be struck by how the 5am crew and these night owls seek the same solitude. Branden Sanderson writes through the night as ‘there’s something about the quiet and lack of distractions that helps me focus.’ Although I’m not a night writer, I can identify with this group the most. There is a stillness that falls upon my house when everyone’s asleep that’s both eerie and intoxicating. It’s this calm that often leads me to read or write ‘just one more page’.

The ‘write when I can’:

 I fall into this category, as do many parents. When I had my first child, I wrote into the note’s app on my phone. Toni Morrison wrote before work and around parenting, stating that: ‘I never had sustained time to write…I would always write under conditions that are probably unbearable.’ Although she could also be placed in our ‘Early bird’ group, as she often wrote before sunrise, calling it ‘the time when my mind is clearest.’

Gillian McAllister, who’s very active on Instagram, bought a MacBook so it would turn on instantly and she could use her 10-minute commute to get down words. Snatching time from here, there and everywhere can work. And although I long to have all day, every day to write, I know that when my children leave home and I retire and have all the time in the world, I won’t fill it with writing. Writing is what happens around the rhythm of my life. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to place it in the centre, because that’s not where it belongs.

The 'write when I want’:

Elizabeth Gilbert speaks of creativity as a mystical force. I adore her book ‘Big Magic’ and she believes ‘that inspiration will always try to work with you – but it is not obligated to.’ Many writers embrace spontaneity and the raw emotion that can come from writing when the moment strikes. When I moved to my tiny Lancashire village in the North of England, I was shocked when Louis de Bernieres, author of ‘Captain Corelli’s Mandolin’, rocked up to speak in the village hall. He said he only writes when he feels like it which, to my early author ears, seemed scandalous. Zadie Smith also doesn’t write every day. She finds it hard to write ‘unless I have something pressing to express.’ If I only wrote when I felt like it, I wonder how many words I would get down each week. Perhaps I would write more!

The nine to fivers:

Now that Gillian McAllister is a full-time writer, she has moved into this category, viewing her work like any other job. Highly disciplined, she also meets a set word count. John Grisham is another famously disciplined writer (interestingly, both come from corporate backgrounds). He starts working at 7am and does this five days a week, writing in a refurbished cabin. Outlining every chapter before he writes keeps him on track to achieve his daily word count goal of between one and two thousand words. His advice: ‘Keep your routine consistent. No exceptions, no excuses.’

What can we learn from these routines other than time is precious and writing is hard?

Firstly, I’m impressed by the no-nonsense approach. The words need to be stacked one by one, and there’s no shortcut. Many writers don’t wait for the muse or for inspiration to strike. But also, a lot can name the hours they devote to writing, meaning they protect hours for rest.

It was impossible to research the routines of writers without learning about their daily goals. Stephen King aims for 2,000 words a day, though some writers monitor time only. If you’re a writer who sets goals using time, the Pomodoro method may increase your productivity by writing in 25 minutes sprints with 5 minutes breaks. If you have any more productivity hacks, please let me know!

Whatever your approach, analysing your writing routine may help preserve your creative energy. I hadn’t thought about the importance of scheduling in rest but wanted to write more in the limited time I had. What if, in my quest to improve productivity, the answer lies in how I enjoy the hours away from my desk? Whatever the answer, I believe that any forward momentum should be celebrated. In this age of distraction, great discipline is required in getting to the end of a novel. Huge congratulations to those of you who have reached that goal, and to those in the midst of your creation, keep going. The hours accumulate themselves in the end, and the micro-goals someday become life-changing achievements.