The Power of a Writing Routine: 9 Habits for Writing Success

March 10, 2023 | 4 min read
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By Jessica Majewski

Writing is a challenging task, especially when you're trying to do it consistently. However, establishing a writing routine can have a significant impact on your writing success.

In this article, we'll explore the power of a writing routine and how to establish habits for writing success.

1. Understanding the Power of a Writing Routine

A writing routine is a set of habits that you adopt to make writing a consistent part of your life. It can be as simple as setting aside a specific time each day to write, or it can be a more complex set of habits that includes research, planning, and editing.

The benefits of a writing routine are numerous, but the most significant is consistency. Consistency is key to making progress in anything you do, and writing is no exception. When you consistently write, you're able to create a body of work that you can be proud of.

2. Establishing a Writing Routine

Creating a writing routine is relatively simple, but sticking to it can be challenging. To establish a writing routine, start by setting aside a specific time each day to write.

It's important to make this time non-negotiable, meaning you don't let anything else get in the way of it.

Next, create a list of tasks that you need to complete before you start writing, such as research or planning. Finally, make sure to be flexible. Your writing routine should be adaptable to your life, not the other way around.

3. The Importance of Self-Care

Self-care is an essential part of being a writer. Writing can be a demanding task, both physically and mentally.

When you're not taking care of yourself, it can be difficult to focus on your writing. Taking care of yourself is not only important for your physical and mental well-being, but it also helps you to produce better writing.

Make sure to schedule time for yourself, whether it's going for a walk, practicing yoga or meditation, or just taking a few minutes to relax.

It's essential to take care of yourself so that you can take care of your writing.

4. The Importance of Learning

Learning is an ongoing process and is essential for writing success. As a writer, you should be constantly learning new things to improve your writing skills. This can be learning about the craft of writing, such as grammar, structure, and style, or learning about the world around you so that you can write about it.

There are many ways to continue learning and improving as a writer. Some good options include taking a class, joining a writing group, or reading books on the craft of writing.

Additionally, you should also be reading widely, whether it's fiction, non-fiction, or poetry. Reading is a great way to improve your vocabulary, understand structure, and learn about style.

5. Overcoming Common Challenges

Maintaining a writing routine can be challenging, but there are strategies to overcome common obstacles. Writer's block and procrastination are two of the most common challenges that writers face.

  • To overcome writer's block, try brainstorming or freewriting to generate new ideas.
  • To overcome procrastination, try breaking your writing task into smaller, more manageable chunks.

Writing tools like those from Freewrite can help you get started and stay in the zone with distraction-free writing. No emails, Facebook, or Youtube, just the bliss of writing.

Staying motivated and focused is essential to maintaining your writing routine. Set goals, reward yourself for meeting them, and surround yourself with supportive people.

6. Measuring Writing Success

Measuring writing success can be difficult, but it's essential to know if you're making progress. There are many ways to measure writing success, such as word count, finished pieces, or even just the feeling of accomplishment.

A writing routine can lead to measurable progress, such as an increase in word count or the number of finished pieces. To set and achieve writing goals, break them down into smaller, more manageable tasks and reward yourself for meeting them.

7. Building a Support System

Establishing connections with other writers can be a great way to stay motivated and improve your writing.

Joining a writing group or workshop can be a great way to get feedback on your work, learn from other writers, and establish a sense of community.

8. Staying Organized

Writing can be overwhelming, especially when you're dealing with research, notes, and ideas. Staying organized is essential to making progress in writing.

Many tools and software, such as Evernote or Scrivener, can help you keep track of your research, notes, and ideas.

9. The Importance of Reading

Reading is an essential part of being a writer. Reading helps you improve your vocabulary, understand structure, and learn about style. It's also a great way to stay inspired and motivated.

When you're reading, you're exposed to new ideas, perspectives, and ways of telling stories.

Conclusion

In conclusion, a writing routine is a powerful tool for achieving writing success. It provides consistency, which is key to making progress in anything you do. By establishing a writing routine, overcoming common challenges, and measuring writing success, you'll be well on your way to achieving your writing goals.

Remember, writing is a challenging task, but with a little discipline and perseverance, you can make it a consistent part of your life and achieve success as a writer.

 

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Author Jessica Majewski

Jessica Majewski is the editor-in-chief at whenyouwrite.com. Her journey began as an avid book reader, but after reading one too many romance novels, she decided to jump to the other side and started writing her own stories.

With her passion for literature and storytelling, she quickly realized her true calling was in creating her own content.

Jessica shares her experiences in hopes of inspiring more up-and-coming wordsmiths to take the leap and share their own stories with the world. As a writer, publisher, and editor, she is dedicated to providing a platform for new and established voices in the literary world.

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I’ve spent years writing while secretly fearing that a single misplaced word would expose me — not just as a bad writer, but as a fraud.

My background is originally in photography, and I see it there, too. A photographer I know recently posted a before-and-after comparison of their editing from 2018 versus now, asking if we also saw changes in our own work over the years.

Naturally, we should. If our work is the same, years apart, have we really grown as artists?

So why is that the growing, the process of it, the daily grind of it, is so painful?

So why is that the growing, the process of it, the daily grind of it, is so painful?

The Haunting

Hitting “publish” on an essay or a blog always stirs up insecurity — the overthinking, the over-editing. The fear that someone will call me out for not being a real writer.

I initially hesitated to make writing part of my freelance work. My background is in photography and design. Writing was something I gravitated toward, but I had no degree to validate it. No official stamp of approval.

Like many writers, I started with zero confidence in my voice — agonizing over edits, drowning in research, second-guessing every word.

I even created a shield for myself: ghostwriting.

I even created a shield for myself: ghostwriting.

If my words weren’t my own, they couldn’t be wrong. Ghostwriting meant safety — no risk, no vulnerability, just words without ownership.

I still remember the feeling of scrolling to the bottom of an article I had written and seeing someone else’s name, their face beside words that had once been mine.

The truth is, I always wanted to write. As a kid, I imagined it. Yet, I found myself handing over my work, letting someone else own it.

I told myself it didn’t matter. It was work. Getting paid to write should be enough.

But here’s the thing: I wasn’t just playing it safe — I was slowly erasing myself. Word by word. Edit by edit. And finally, in the by-line.

I wasn’t just playing it safe — I was slowly erasing myself. Word by word. Edit by edit. And finally, in the by-line.

The Disappearing Act

This was true when I was writing under my own name, too. The more I worried about getting it right, the less I sounded like me.

I worried. I worried about how long an essay was (“people will be bored”), finding endless examples as proof of my research (“no way my own opinion is valid on its own”), the title I gave a piece (“it has to be a hook”), or editing out personal touches (“better to be safe than be seen”).

I built a guardrail around my writing, adjusting, tweaking, over-correcting. Advice meant to help only locked me in. It created a sentence rewritten to sound smarter, an opinion softened to sound safer, a paragraph reshaped to sound acceptable.

I built a guardrail around my writing, adjusting, tweaking, over-correcting.

But playing it safe makes the work dull. Writing loses its edge.

It took deliberate effort to break this habit. I’m not perfect, but here’s what I know after a year of intentionally letting my writing sound like me:

My work is clearer. It moves with my own rhythm. It’s less shaped by external influence, by fear, by the constant need to smooth it into something more polished, more likable.

But playing it safe makes the work dull. Writing loses its edge.

The Resurrection

The drive for acceptance is a slippery slope — one we don’t always realize we’re sliding down. It’s present in the small choices that pull us away from artistic integrity: checking how others did it first, tweaking our work to fit a mold, hesitating before saying what we actually mean.

And let’s be honest — this isn’t just about writing. It bleeds into everything.

It’s there when we stay silent in the face of wrongdoing, when we hold back our true way of being, when we choose work that feels “respectable,” whatever that means. It’s in every “yes” we say when we really want to say “no.”

If your self-expression is rooted in a need for acceptance, are you creating for yourself — or for others? Does your work help you explore your thoughts, your life? Does it add depth, energy, and meaning?

My work is clearer. It moves with my own rhythm. It’s less shaped by external influence, by fear, by the constant need to smooth it into something more polished, more likable.

I get it. We’re social creatures. Isolation isn’t the answer. Ignoring societal norms won’t make us better writers. Often, the most meaningful work is born from responding to or resisting those norms.

But knowing yourself well enough to recognize when acceptance is shaping your work brings clarity.

Am I doing this to be part of a community, to build connections, to learn and grow?

Or am I doing this to meet someone else’s expectations, dulling my voice just to fit in?

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Here’s what I know as I look back at my writing: I’m grateful for the years spent learning, for the times I sought acceptance with curiosity. But I’m in a different phase now.

I know who I am, and those who connect with my work reflect that back at me — in the messages they send, in the conversations we share.

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It’s our differences that drive growth. I want to nurture these connections, to be challenged by difference, to keep writing in a way that feels like me. The me who isn’t afraid to show what I think and care about.

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If no one was watching, if no one could judge, what would you write?

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