Each new year is an opportunity to begin again. It’s a fresh start. A renewal. Whether you make resolutions or not, I encourage you to take stock and recommit to your writing by embracing these 14 habits:
Write Daily
I can already hear your protests and excuses. Every day? What about weekends? Yes, daily. Whether you take off weekends is up to you, but starting out, I suggest writing daily if you want to hone your craft. It takes time to find your voice as a writer and that only comes with practice and time at the keyboard. So pick up a pen or start tapping away. The more you write, the better you will be.
Stop Talking About It
Stop telling everyone about your novel and write it. The more you share your story idea, the less motivation you will have to put it on the page. Use that desire to share your characters to put more words on the page. Don’t waste them chatting with every random person you meet. Write it instead.
Study Craft
No matter how long you have been writing, a bit of education never hurts. I still read writing and grammar books despite doing this as a living for more years than I care to admit. Most of it is review by now, but I always manage to learn something or be reminded of something that I have been ignoring. It always helps. Look to my reference shelf for some recommendations. Your writing will only be as good as your mechanics and technique. Study up.
Read, Read, Read
I can’t say this enough. Good writers are good readers. Don’t be afraid to fall in love with the written word. Squeal a bit about beautiful writing. Share gorgeous phrases. Recommend good books and share favorite authors with your friends and anyone else who will listen. I admit to making suggestions in the stacks of my local bookstore.
Support Each Other
This one is difficult for many writers. Not because they are not supportive, but because they are introverts. Some have even called me a hermit and it is a label I accept. I live in my head and in the pages of books. Relating in the real world is harder. In fact, sometimes I think that spending so much time alone has robbed me of the ability to carry on rational conversations. My fiends assure me that is not the case, but it does not remove the awkwardness I feel. Still, supporting other writers is important. I mentor a couple of writers and am always happy to talk about writing and share advice or just listen to mini rants about how hard it is, because sometimes it is. We need to be there for each other, even when it’s not easy for us. That’s why I blog.
Stop Procrastinating
Set aside the laundry until later. Refuse a few invitations from friends. Accept that your house might get messy and you may eat too much takeout. Most of all, turn off the television and your internet router. Figure out what your favorite excuse is for not writing and devise a way to thwart it. Procrastination is a trap that prevents writers from finishing their work. Don’t let it stop you. Be strong. Just say no.
Write What You Love
Don’t follow the trends. Don’t think about markets and sales. Write the story that lives within you. The one that keeps you up at night and that plagues your drives and showers. I don’t know about you, but my best ideas always come when it is inconvenient to write them down. Those are the ideas to pursue. Capture them and then put them on the page.
Feed Your Imagination
Get out into the world. Explore. Have adventures. Feel the wonder of the world. Do new things. Be bold. Stretch. Do things that make you uncomfortable. Meet interesting people (and some who are not). Listen to people and the world around you. Go on a walk. Seek culture. Do whatever you can to feed your imagination so you have something to say. Meditate to allow those experiences and sights turn into ideas.
Seek Quiet
Our world is noisy. If we are not distracted by traffic, people, then we’re filling our worlds with music or television or the Internet. Ideas need quiet. They need time to form. Try unplugging each day so you can hear the whispers of new ideas.
Sleep
Dreams are stories that want to be told. Pay attention. If you have a difficult scene and aren’t sure where to go with it, sleep on it. You may wake with the answer. Our subconscious mind is powerful and loves a good puzzle. Feed it too. It will pay you with ideas.
Stick to One Story
You’re going to get ideas all the time. The key is to pick one to write and stick to that one until you are finished. Trap the other ideas in an idea journal for a later date. Don’t get distracted. I swear this is a devious trap of the muses to keep us from completing a story. Don’t let them win. Stay focused until the end.
Revise, Revise, Revise
Good writing really is in the rewriting. No one writes a perfect first draft. Don’t be afraid to dive into that rough copy and whip it into shape. It’s not easy or pretty, but it can be with some work. Jus keep at it. Revise until it reads the way you want. Persevere. It’s worth it in the end.
Fight Your Demons
Embrace your inner Buffy, Sam or Dean and fight those demons inside that whisper lies that you are not good enough. Everyone has doubts along the way. It is part of the process. We all feel that way at some point. I can’t tell you why this is, just that it is. The trick is to ignore those whispers and keep writing and rewriting. Do what you have to do. Surround your work area with salt if you must, but keep writing.
Love the Process
Love writing, not just the idea of having written. It is not about the final book. The goal is to love how you build that novel, line by line, paragraph by paragraph, chapter by chapter. Fall in love with the words and ideas. Enjoy the challenges. Embrace the doubts. Celebrate those days when the words flow. Laugh when nothing comes and keep trying. Challenge your muses to do better. Be strong. This is not an easy task you are trying to accomplish. Think how much better it will be if you enjoy the journey instead of flail against it. So smile and keep writing, even when it seems impossible.