Four Ideas for Revitalizing Your Writing Life
We’ve reached the time of year when momentum and energy for writing projects can begin to dissipate. Because you’ve been working for months and months, right? And maybe the chilly, gloomy weather makes you more tired. Maybe the writing routine feels less like productive structure and more like you’ve got yourself stuck in a rut.
I can’t promise you I have answers for how to perfectly fix that, but I do have some suggestions for what might help bring renewed life and creativity to a writing session.
Let’s get into them!
Begin with a warm-up of a different genre
Thee John Steinbeck deserves credit for this idea because it’s what he did, when writing East of Eden. He wrote letters to his editor and then got into his novel, thinking of it as his warm-up to the actual work he needed to do for the day.
I adore this idea because it makes so much sense. Think of all the activities that need warm-ups. Athletes, before a game or practice, stretch and make sure their muscles aren’t cold. Running a car, on a brisk day, first requires the engine getting warm, for best outcomes. When you’re baking, you may need to take ingredients out of the fridge so they can sit out and reach room temperature. You’re definitely, at some point, waiting for your oven to pre-heat. You get the idea.
With this idea for writing, it’s important to choose a different genre or means, by which you warm-up. That could be a few lines of poetry, a letter (that you’re under no obligation to actually send), or journaling.
When I used to write essays more regularly, I found that what I really wanted to say and the words that would best convey my ideas didn’t start to appear until the second or third paragraph. So, I treated my introductory, first paragraph as a brain dump of sorts. I knew it wasn’t that serious because I’d just go back and delete it, once I’d written a little more and gotten around to the real stuff.
Your warm-up can be like that. You’re just getting words out of your head with no obligation to make them coherent or polished or even related to your story. It’s like your warm up is also a time to clear out your mind. Put stray thoughts or jumbled sentences somewhere else, and then, five, ten minutes later you’re more freed up to dive into the clarity of where you left off with your plot and characters.
I made a Prompt Jar last year, so I could have ideas on-hand for what to write about during a warm-up. It was the simplest thing to make, very low-stakes. All I needed was a small, glass jar (duh), paper, and a pen. I didn’t even make myself come up with all the prompts on my own. I went to Pinterest and browsed there. The point wasn’t to challenge myself to come up with clever prompts but to make it easy on myself, when I’m having a rough creative week or a slow start to the day’s session.
Maybe you, too, need to adopt the Prompt Jar or the warm-up practice to make it a little easier on yourself, as you revitalize your writing routine.
Write within a timed parameter (but not Pomodoro method)
The Pomodoro method is widely known, especially for students as a study method. What you do is set a timer—specifically, a tomato timer is used in the original concept of this technique, hence where it gets its name—for twenty-five minutes, work on your task for that time, take a five-minute break, and then work for another twenty-five minutes. You’re providing defined structure for yourself and helping your brain focus.
When I worked with students, this was a way of studying I’d always recommend, and I would run evening, virtual study sessions that sort of mirrored it. I say “sort of” because my study sessions would require them to work for forty minutes then take a break before coming back for another forty minutes. It was still effective because “bites” of productivity are better than long slogs of working for hours on end. Your brain needs the breaks. Whether it’s studying biology or writing your next chapter, it won’t be the most effective to think, I’m gonna sit down and do this one activity for three hours straight.
What am I talking about, though, for writers, if I’m telling you to work within a timeframe but not go Pomodoro? I’ll give you an example from my own life.
Usually, I make a cup of coffee in the morning, and I actually prefer not enjoying it with my breakfast. It’s kind of a new development, in this current season of life. Instead, I prefer fixing it up after I’ve eaten and am ready to begin the day’s writing. Then I’ll descend to the basement with it where I’ll either plop down in front of a Google Doc or with physical pages I take a pen to. On days when I’m not feeling especially motivated, I’ll tell myself this: Just see how much you can write in the time it takes to finish this coffee.
There’s something about this that is both low-stakes and defining. Because, in a way, I’m applying some pressure to myself and want to see progress made, by the time the cup is empty, but it’s not that serious, if I don’t reach my daily word goal in that timeframe. It’s more about giving myself momentum, finding a way to get started, when I’m not very energized.
There are other ways this can look. Maybe you commute to work on the train, so you tell yourself to see what you can come up with in the span of the first five stops the train makes. Maybe you put a load of laundry in and see how many words are produced during the wash cycle. Maybe you’ve got fifteen minutes while waiting in your car in the after-school pick-up line.
I recommend, when doing this, to physically write, not type. Work with your brain and know that there is a distinct difference in what it looks like to mentally tap into creativity, when writing by hand versus typing on a keyboard. There’s more of a connection, it’s more effective, when you first jot things out on an actual piece of paper, so try carrying around a notebook with you and see how it helps you more effectively get the ball rolling on your ideas.
Cosplay as the writer you want to be
This may sound silly, but have you tried putting on a real outfit and dressing the part? I tell you what, getting out of pajamas, choosing something other than loungewear, is a mindset shift.
It is too easy, especially if we’re at home, to default to cozy, in regards to outfits. Reaching for a favorite hoodie and slipping into it is a simple pleasure, yet, when we change into relaxation clothes, we’re telling our brains that’s what we’re about to be doing. Instead of productivity, the result is rest.
And that’s not to say you can’t ever have a writing session where you’re in leggings and a plain t-shirt. What I’m saying helps me have just a little more energy for my writing day is piecing together an outfit of things I already own that I know may not be sweatpants but that are cute and still comfortable. I’m giving my brain a cue that it’s time to work.
Now, I enjoy thrifting and figuring out my style, having fun making outfits that suit my everyday taste, but you might not be in that same boat. The good news is you don’t have to be, to still give this technique a go. You just have to look at what’s in your closet and ask, If I was a writer out working in public, how would I present myself?
Would you wear jeans and sweaters? Bright colors and bold accessories? Would you apply a little lip gloss or mascara? Are you a writer of chic minimalism?
It could even mean you have a specific writing outfit. You could have a writing hat. A writing poncho. A pair of pants you feel like a million bucks in, so you put them on and just know, man, you’re gonna get words written today.
Mindset is so important, and we can help put it in the right direction with the things we put on.
Never underestimate gamifying the habits you wish to build
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Turning a goal into a game is a great way to hack your brain.
Think about what you want to achieve with your writing life right now. Is it that you want to sit down for twenty minutes every day? Is it that you want to write a certain number of words a day? Are you trying to finish a specific project by the end of the year?
Whatever your objective is, choose a frequency by which to accrue points each time you do it. Then come up with a list of prize items that you can cash in accrued points for. The examples of the twenty minutes a day or a certain word count goal are easy to adapt to a point system because it’s a one-for-one. You did your twenty minutes of writing today? Great, add a point! For the example of finishing a specific project, that may look like breaking down how much of it you have left and giving yourself deadlines of when you want to be 75% done or 80%, etc.
You’ll just have to figure out a way of tracking that. I highly suggest having a tangible method because that usually means your tracker is set out somewhere in your house where you look at it and are reminded about it. If it’s on your phone or computer, it’s easy to lose sight of and lose steam.
It doesn’t have to be fancy, either. When I gamified my life last summer to work on being on my phone less, I used wooden beads and two small containers that sat on my desk. All things I already owned. One bead equaled one point, and I’d transfer the beads from one container to the other, if I’d done something toward my goal that day. Simple as that.
Giving this a go may make you feel like an elementary school kid again where you’re collecting gold stars for good behavior or doing well on a math quiz, but do you know what? It can be dang effective. It’s only silly, if you let yourself feel silly about it.
And, if you give it an honest try, it will matter less that maybe it’s a little childish and more that it’s helping you stay on track.
As I was writing this post, I realized that three of my suggestions are related to getting started, which is, oftentimes, the trickiest piece of the puzzle. If you can do something to just get the ball rolling, to get the momentum piling up again, you’ve eliminated a pesky obstacle.
And the thing is that, once we writers get started, we are so grateful that we did. We are so glad we took the time we had to spend it with our ideas, characters, and words. I think it’s a universal truth that a writer never regrets the time they dedicated to their craft.
So, do yourself a favor and give one of these ideas a try. Remind yourself that re-energizing your writing routine is a gift to you now and the future. Get yourself going and enjoy the process that follows.