i have a writing routine, and other myths

consistency vs chaos vs a secret third thing

I’ve stumbled upon many a writing routine-themed YouTube video at 2am, and they never fail to intrigue me. I love watching writers around the world commit to the writing rituals of Hemingway, Virginia Woolf, Stephen King, and other prolific wordsmiths for a month or sometimes longer.

Haruki Murakami gets up at 4am and writes for 5 to 6 hours, then runs a 10k, then writes some more. I’m obsessed with how fucking dramatic that is!! Maya Angelou would rent a hotel room, where she could work free from distractions. Many famous writers cast their wordspells by light of the moon, or commit to a certain number of pages per day. Or they’ll push themselves to the absolute brink (physically, mentally, spiritually) in order to uncover the sought-after golden nuggets within.

There is such poetry in the discipline. Creativity breathing not only in the work itself, but in the way we show up for it, too.

So, what’s my writing routine? If forced to give it a name, I’d call it paint splatter on the walls of a kindergarten classroom. Chaos and whimsy. Pacing around the living room like a captive panther followed by laying motionless on the couch. At times crippling impostor syndrome. Unsupervised over-snacking. Thinking about writing but tracing patterns with my eyes in the ceiling stucco instead, and/or studying the dents in my nailbeds like it’s my PhD dissertation.

I pant and ache, waiting for the moment where it feels just right and the poem suddenly arrives. Alternatively I’ll coax it out, enticing the words with candles and pinot noir in the bubble bath. Sometimes they still don’t come.

Being a writer means putting pen to paper (or fingertips to keyboard) when all you want to do is disassociate with some reality tv, or sleep. It also means experiencing everything you do through the lens of writing - every touch taste and smell to be logged and mined for future poems and prose. It also means rest.

It means being ready to lasso and leap atop the horse of inspiration when she arrives, bucking and frantic. And most importantly, it means you must always always always simply show up.

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Do you have a writing routine that you show up for? Have you heard of a tried-and-true writing ritual that you’d like to give a whirl? I’d love to hear about it in the comments!

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this! <3 You can also find me in these other portals:

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