The hardest part of being a productive writer seems to be consistency. I typically would get an urge to write something, go all out for an hour or  a couple days and then stop. That stop could last a week or months before I would try again. I have found that I am not alone in this. Thank God I am not alone in this! Really! So often the writers we hear about are those who “write every day or I’ll just die” writers. They not only walk around with a notebook at all times (I’ve tried that) but actually write in it all the time.

Reading books about writing by successful writers has helped. One of the more practical things I have done was to have a set routine. Steven Pressfield in his The War of Art  goes in great detail on how to overcome all sorts of barriers to being a creative and productive writer. One of the most proven is having a routine. He taught me that if you work at being in the same place doing the same thing at the same time every day, your body and mind adapt. When they adapt then there is less time wasted “getting in the mood” the mood was already waiting there for you, because it is was you do every day at the same time.

His book is great and one of my favorites. I go back to it again and again. It is both inspiring and helpful, whereas most books for writers are normally mostly one or the other. Can’t recommend The War of Art enough,

Right now my habit is Monday thru Friday I wright from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. it isn’t a long stretch, but I knew I would be home by then and should have time with the family, if not before my writing then after. So far it is working well for us. My writing average is around 400 words a day. On a bad day it may be a little over 200. Yesterday was a great day and pounded out over 700 words. Sorry. Let me try that again. 700 WORDS!! Like I said, it was a good day.