So You Want to Write a Book: What Every New Writer Needs to Know First [EPISODE FOUR]

Building Your Writing Routine – Showing Up When It’s Hard

🔥 Recap: Where We’ve Been

Let’s pause and see how far you’ve come:

• Episode One: You dug deep into why you want to write. Not the surface answer (“I’ve always loved stories”) but the real heartbeat of your project. You started facing down fear and impostor syndrome.
• Episode Two: You tested your idea, shaped it into something with a pulse, and even wrote a one-page pitch to keep you grounded in what your book is really about.
• Episode Three: You gave your book a spine. You learned how to sketch a flexible structure so your draft won’t collapse into chaos halfway through.

Now comes the phase where most people stall out. The excitement fades, the doubts creep in, and life starts crowding out your writing time. Episode Four is about survival — not in a scary way, but in the sense of keeping your creative momentum alive for the long haul.

If Episodes 1–3 prepared the ground, Episode Four is about planting the seeds every day until something grows.

⏰ Why Routine Beats Motivation

Writers often imagine inspiration as a lightning strike: you wait around, then zap — brilliance hits, and you write 10,000 words in a fever. But if you wait for that? Your book may never exist.

Here’s what working writers know:

• Motivation is fickle.
• Discipline is uneven.
• Routine is what carries you across the finish line.

Think about exercise. Nobody wakes up every day thrilled to do pushups. But once you commit, your body adapts. Writing is the same. Show up often enough, and your brain learns to enter “writing mode” more easily.

“I write only when inspiration strikes. Fortunately it strikes every morning at nine o’clock sharp.” – W. Somerset Maugham

The truth is: routine is not the enemy of creativity. It’s the soil it grows from.

🧭 Finding Your Writing Rhythm

The first thing you need to know: your writing routine doesn’t have to look like anyone else’s.

Some writers swear by waking at 5 a.m. Others do their best work at midnight. Some sprint in short bursts, others write marathon sessions.

Key Questions to Ask Yourself:

1. Energy Patterns: When am I naturally sharpest? Morning? Evening? After exercise?
2. Attention Span: Can I focus best in 25-minute sprints (Pomodoro) or in deep 2-hour dives?
3. Life Logistics: When can I realistically protect time? (Kids in bed? Lunch break? Commute?)
4. Motivation Style: Do I thrive on small daily wins, or does batching into fewer, longer sessions feel better?

Try This: “Rhythm Testing” Week

For one week, test three different writing slots:

• Morning Session (before life intrudes) — try 30 minutes.
• Afternoon/Work Break Session — short burst between tasks.
• Evening Session (after everything else) — your “night shift.”

Track how you feel after each. Notice when the words flow and when you’re dragging. At the end of the week, commit to the rhythm that felt most natural.

✍️ The Power of Rituals

A writing routine is easier to stick with when you ritualize it. Rituals are tiny cues that tell your brain: “It’s writing time.”

Why it works: humans are creatures of pattern. When you repeat the same cue before a task, your mind learns to associate it with a state of focus.

Examples of Writing Rituals:

• Brewing a cup of tea or coffee.
• Lighting a candle at your desk.
• Listening to the same playlist (instrumentals work best).
• Opening your laptop in the same physical spot every time.
• Writing by hand for five minutes to “warm up.”

Over time, these little habits build a mental bridge. The ritual becomes a doorway into the writing mindset.

📊 Tracking Progress Without Killing Joy

Now, let’s talk progress.

Some writers thrive on numbers; others rebel against them. The trick is to track in a way that fuels you, not shames you.

Three Useful Tracking Methods:

1. Word Count Goals: Example — 500 words a day. Simple, measurable, but beware of obsessing over numbers at the expense of quality.
2. Time Goals: Example — write for 30 minutes daily, regardless of words produced. Great for perfectionists who freeze over word counts.
3. Streak Goals (“Don’t Break the Chain”): Mark an X on your calendar every day you write. The growing chain itself becomes motivation.

Avoid Toxic Tracking:

• Comparing yourself to other writers (“She wrote 2,000 words today, I suck”).
• Beating yourself up when life derails you.
• Forgetting that progress is cumulative — small daily pages stack up into books.

At 500 words/day, you’ll hit 30,000 words in 2 months. Keep going and you’ve got a book draft in less than 6.

🌊 When Resistance Hits (and It Will)

Here’s the thing: even with routines, resistance always shows up. You’ll have days where writing feels like dragging a sack of bricks uphill.

Common Resistance Voices:

• “I don’t have time today.”
• “This is terrible, why bother?”
• “I’ll write tomorrow, when I feel more ready.”

The solution isn’t to eliminate resistance. It’s to outsmart it.

Tools for Beating Resistance:

1. Lower the Bar: Instead of “2,000 words,” try “One messy page.” Often you’ll overshoot.
2. Set Timers: Promise yourself 15 minutes. Usually, momentum carries you past it.
3. Change Location: Stuck at your desk? Try a café, library, or even your car.
4. Accountability Buddy: Tell someone when you’re writing. The small social pressure keeps you honest.
5. Revisit Your Why: Keep your Episode One “why” taped near your desk. When resistance whispers, remind yourself why this book matters.

🚧 Pitfall Alert: The Perfection Trap

Nothing slows down a draft faster than trying to perfect every sentence as you go.

Drafting is exploration. Editing is architecture. Don’t confuse the two.

When drafting, give yourself permission to be messy. To repeat words. To contradict yourself. To write “TK” in spots you need to fill later.

Later, in editing (Episode Five), you’ll fix it. For now: keep the train moving forward.

🛠️ Your Action Step: Design Your Writing Routine

Take out a notebook and build your Writing Routine Blueprint.

1. When will you write? (Days, times, frequency)
2. Where will you write? (Desk, café, bed — doesn’t matter)
3. How long will you write? (Time block, word count, or page goal)
4. What’s your ritual? (Playlist, candle, coffee)
5. How will you track progress? (Calendar, log, app, journal)

Example:

• When: Monday–Friday, 6:30–7:30 a.m.
• Where: Dining table, headphones in.
• How long: 1 hour OR 750 words.
• Ritual: Coffee, lo-fi beats, candlelit.
• Tracking: Cross off the day on the wall calendar.

Write it down. Post it somewhere visible. Treat it like a contract.

🧰 Bonus Tool: The “Writer’s Fuel” Menu

Create a personal menu of quick pick-me-ups to help you when you hit the wall.

Sample Menu:

• Re-read a favorite book passage for 3 minutes.
• Take a 10-minute walk.
• Listen to an energizing song.
• Freewrite nonsense for 5 minutes.
• Flip through your one-page pitch (Episode 2).
• Remind yourself: Done is better than perfect.

The key: instead of doom-scrolling when stuck, you’ll have a positive reset button.

📅 Sample Writing Schedules (Pick What Fits You)

Here are three tested approaches you can adapt:

1. The Daily Habit Writer (slow & steady)

• Write 500 words every day, no exceptions.
• Small progress adds up to 180,000 words/year.
• Best for people who thrive on routine.

2. The Block Writer (deep focus, fewer sessions)

• Write 2,000 words, three times per week.
• Treat sessions like appointments: immovable.
• Best for people with unpredictable schedules.

3. The Hybrid Writer (flexible combo)

• Aim for 3–4 small sessions during weekdays (300–500 words).
• Add one weekend “deep dive” session (2–3 hours).
• Best for people balancing day jobs or families.

Test each approach. Adapt, don’t force.

🎤 Final Pep Talk: Show Up for Your Future Self

Think about your future reader. They’re sitting somewhere, maybe a year from now, holding your book in their hands. They don’t care how messy your first draft was. They don’t care about the days you doubted yourself. They only care that you finished.

Every writing session is a brick. Some days, you’ll lay a solid one. Other days, a crooked one. Doesn’t matter. The house only gets built if you keep laying bricks.

So stop waiting for the perfect mood. Stop worrying about perfection. Show up. Lay your bricks. Trust the process.

🚀 Coming Up Next…

Episode Five: Editing Without Losing Heart
You’ll learn how to shape your messy draft into something strong — without crushing your confidence.

💬 Question for You:

What’s your biggest struggle with actually sitting down to write — time, energy, or motivation? Drop it below and let’s tackle it together.

✍️ Keep writing. Your book wants you to finish it.

— Victoria