Forming good writing habits

Forming good writing habits is vital, not only in helping you reach your writing goals but also in the honing of your craft. Writers are fundamentally artist’s and like a painter or musician you need to practise as much as you can to reach your full potential.   So be it novel writing, short stories, articles or poetry without forming good writing habits you may find the road to writing success longer than you might expect

Experts say it takes 21 days to form a habit, but once the habit of writing every day has developed your creativity will flow at lot faster than you may be used to.

1.  Choose your writing goals

Know what it is that you want to achieve before you sit down and write

 Are you setting out to create a novel, short stories, poetry or series of articles?   Write down a rough idea on how long you think this should take you, and the steps that you will need to complete to reach your writing goal.

2.  Time

A lot of writers use the wonderful excuse of never having the time to write (I myself have been one of them) But until you make time to write you will never find the time to write.

So set a time every day where you know you can dedicate at least half an hour that you can focus solely on your writing, be it in the morning before work, or on your lunch break or even in the late hours of the night when everyone is sleeping,

A great bonus to sticking to this time for your writing,  be it novel writing or another form of writing  you will soon notice an improvement in not only your writing but how quickly your brain will be ready to be creative as this becomes  an everyday habit is established.

3. Daily word count

 Setting a daily word count for yourself is important for so many reasons, the first and most obvious of these is in achieving those writing goals that you choose in step one, the second is by forcing yourself to write a set about of words every day you are training your brain to be creative aiding in overcoming writers block. Third by treating your word count as a set minimum of words per day not maximum you may surprise yourself as your creativity may flow beyond this set about more times than not.

When focusing on a novel, my minimum word count is two thousand words per day; I found this amount although low in some circles is perfect for my lifestyle of being a stay at home mums who writes late at night. A 2000 a day word count also translates well to writing short stories, and articles. (At least for me)

So choose what works for you and your lifestyle be it 100 words a day to 5000, be realistic with yourself and don’t be afraid to adjust this as your lifestyle changes or writing goals become different. It is after all your creative journey.

5. Notebooks

The use of note books can be invaluable to a writer, keep one by your computer for notes as you go, or other future writing projects ideas that you get as you write. Keep one in your car or handbag for those writing ideas that strike while you’re out. Some writers even keep one by their beds so that they can jot down their dreams in the morning.

It’s a great way to never forget an idea, a great line that you want to use, or even to get a start on that article or short story in unexpected moments of time.

Creating good writing habits is the first step to turning your dream of being a writer into a reality,