#freightertonowhere

I'm happy to! and wow this got long. I hope it's helpful.

so I majored in creative writing in college, and after graduating I was pretty burnt out and didn't write much for a while. I gradually started writing more as the years went by, and kept wanting to make it more of a habit but couldn't figure out how. so finally I made it my resolution to write just 3 sentences a day. I decided it could be for any project, or even just a wisp of an idea that would never become an actual story; the only rule was it had to be at least 3 sentences (of any length) and it had to be original fiction.

at first the only gesture toward routine was that I made a recurring, daily calendar event titled "3+ sentences." I still have this set up and I love it. it's a 15-minute block of time set at 9pm (I'm a night owl) but often I'll move it around in advance if I know I'm going to block off more time on a particular day. or if I do something different unexpectedly I move the event afterwards to reflect when I actually wrote. I'll also put in a location if I'm not writing at home.

this means I can glance at my calendar at the end of any given week and see when I wrote, and where, and for how long. that information helps me decide if I want to do less or more in the coming days, and also helps me identify any patterns (e.g. "wow when I wrote at the library I only did 30 minutes but when I wrote at the coffee shop I did 2.5 hours, I should prioritizing having food and comfy seating" or "I wrote way more at the library than at the coffee shop this week, I guess I'm at a part of the drafting process where I really need quiet").

anyway, to start with I had no routine other than that 15-minute calendar event that didn't even stay at the same time or place each day. I would write in the notes app on my phone, or in a notebook, or in google docs; I would write 60 seconds before bedtime, or during my commute, or at a coffee shop, etc.

at the time I was frustrated I wasn't writing more each day, but in retrospect I think this super casual approach was helpful for the stage I was at: emerging from burnout, toying around with several story ideas, trying to figure out whether and how they fit together and what to pursue.

once I finally did have a cohesive project I was excited about, I levelled up a bit. something about having a story with structure helped me build a routine with structure. I started blocking off longer periods of time to write. I found a cafe I loved to write at and picked a favorite chair. using trial and error I got more strategic about when I scheduled writing time: I found that having a long session right after swimming always works great, writing in the early morning never works at all, and I'm more productive and creative in the days after I have some kind of creative outing like going to a play or a museum. I keep my writing time short on days when I knew work will be really stressful, or when I have other activities I wanted to focus on.

this means I always know roughly in advance which days will be most productive and which days will be 3-sentence days. I try to manage the ebb and flow of my creative energy accordingly. if there's a week where I have a ton of work deadlines and I know I'll be fried, I keep the work days at 15 minutes, try to do something both restful and creative on Saturday to recharge, and schedule a long block on Sunday knowing that I'll have both pent-up writing thoughts to get down and (hopefully) the creative energy to do so.

so I figured all that out and it was great. but where I really levelled up was when I created my beautiful beautiful spreadsheet, my beloved spreadsheet. I did nanowrimo in 2023 and learned that having a set word count goal really works for me. plus I am a big spreadsheet lover!! so YMMV on whether this is helpful for you or just stressful, but I find it INTENSELY motivating.

here's what I do: a couple days before the start of each month, I duplicate the template of my spreadsheet and label it with that month. then I go through my calendar and write down what I'm doing each day that could impact writing time (e.g. family dinner, cleaning apartment, going to a writing group). I try to get at least one day a week that has a whole afternoon or evening dedicated to writing.

then I assign a word count goal to each day, and an overall word count goal for the full month. each day I input how much I actually wrote and I watch the numbers add up and it fills me with a deep sense of satisfaction. if I find myself falling behind, often looking at the spreadsheet gives me the kick in the pants I need to Get Off That Damn Phone and write. or if I realize I have too many other commitments going on that month to hit my goal, I just adjust the numbers accordingly while still trying to keep it ambitious.

(you can get the spreadsheet here if you want)

all of this is to say I don't have a strict routine where I sit down at the same time and place every day, or write the same number of words per day, etc. what works really well for me is to:

set specific daily goals that align with the other varying routines in my life

generally know what settings and contexts and support structures work to sustain my creativity

be ready to adapt and do more or less on any given day, week, or month depending on external factors

remain extremely disciplined about writing every single day no matter what. like, I wrote on my wedding day! only a few words, but it was important to me. I am now a person who Writes Every Day and that alone builds a lot of confidence and steadiness.

some other helpful things:

on days I feel really sluggish and unmotivated and I don't feel like writing, I ask myself "do you only want to write when you feel like it?" and the answer is always no, I want to write no matter what, so I do (even if it's just 3 sentences)

I have a writing buddy who is a dear friend; every few weeks we'll share a chapter with each other and discuss and give feedback. I am otherwise quite secretive about what I'm writing (I've been working on my current project for years and only just started letting my wife read it) but it's helpful to have someone you can bounce ideas off of and think out loud to.

I recently started going to a very chill weekly writers' group where we all sit in silence for 1-2 hours and write, and afterwards you can just leave, or talk to people about your writing, or talk about non-writing things. it's nice to have body doubling and I'm starting to make friends :)