This fantastic image is entitled "Writer's Block" and comes from Drew Coffman over on Flicker. Click to see more.

Don’t Wait

It’s quite simple really, but I did two things. First, I no longer wait until I have a seat. I write on the train on the way home, and previously I would read or listen to podcasts while I waited for a seat. You can imagine that some days this comes earlier than others, so I did not really have control over when I made a start.

That attitude also gives me a new raft of excuses not to write, by the way. I can wait for a seat I like, rather than just any seat. If I’m over halfway through my journey, I can decide there’s really no point trying to write, as I won’t get enough done (always false of course – any progress is worth it). I can mix it up, too – “Oh, I’ve finally got the seat I wanted, but I’ll just get to the end of this chapter I’m reading. Well, look at that, now I’m too far into my journey! Drat!” That’s a 3 x procrastination multiplier right there!

No more! Now I only wait until there’s space on the filthy floor by the doors. I’m not proud – I can sit on the floor and write in the dirt!

Little Hits

And the other thing? That bloody game (and this is the last time I mention it, I promise) The Binding of Isaac (again, be aware, some people may be offended by this game)that caused me so much distraction before is now being put to good use. I admit, I’m probably better off deleting it off my hard drive altogether, but last week at least it worked as a little reward.

You want something that feels like a tiny perk – a little hit to finish off your day. That’s what that game can deliver, even if it’s only for five minutes, because every level genuinely feels like a fresh challenge. So I made the decision that I would be able to play it, but only if I’d reached a certain word count (a word count that brings me past my average over the course of a week by the way).

That motivates me to start sooner and get on the floor, and also puts a satisfying full-stop on my train journey. You might use something else. If you don’t mind reading in short bursts, you can do that for example. Chocolate might help some people.

It Still Takes Discipline

What the title says. It’s a cliché, but there aren’t any silver bullets for your writing werewolf. Just keep pumping ordinary bullets into it daily and eventually it’ll go down (or something. Some phrases aren’t meant to be taken to their natural conclusion, clearly). So far, so good.

But enough about me and my overpriced train journeys, what about your writing? Do you have any treats you give yourself at the end of a session? Or maybe you have a special way of making sure you just get on with it? You know where the comments section is!

Studies on Habit Forming

Have you ever heard that idea that it takes 21 days to form a habit? I’ve heard that a few times (although I forgot the exact figure before I Googled it), but after a little digging it seems likely that this is a myth. Most articles I found simply stated it as a fact without reference to any sources, or simply said, “experts agree,” which is almost always code for, “I couldn’t be bothered to find out,” or “I’m making this crap up.”

I couldn’t even find a definitive source for the 21 days, although this article has a suggestion. Maybe it’s one of those things that got made up and stuck, like swallowing spiders in your sleep.

So how long does it take to form a habit? I couldn’t find a definitive answer there either, and it seems we don’t really know. Most of the articles I found referred back to the study by Phillippa Lally and colleagues from University College London in 2009 mentioned in the Psyblog article above. Here, the magic number is 66 days, or two months! A lot longer than the supposed answer above. Notice that 66 days is an average though – it depends on what the action is that you have to perform.

Another conclusion of the study was that missing the occasional day did not seem to make a huge amount of difference to the overall results. Those who stuck with it more early on however, stood a better chance of making the habit stick. Obviously, as reassuring as this is, there must be a line where missing another day will have a negative impact on your mission.

Habit Resistance

One thing I’ve never understood about the 21 days theory is that it doesn’t take account of how easy the action is to perform or the desire of an individual to perform it. It seems obvious, but some habits catch hold more readily than others. It’s incredibly easy for me to form a habit of playing The Binding Of Isaac (warning about that link – offence may be caused) on the train home, but a lot more difficult to form (or even continue) one that involves me writing.

Sticking with this example, I guess that’s because playing a game is more immediately rewarding. Don’t get me wrong, I do get a sense of achievement (even after writing only 300 words on the train), knowing that I’ve been disciplined enough to do it and that I’m a little closer to reaching my goals for that week. But that doesn’t stand much of a chance against a game designed to make every minute rewarding.

In fact, with enough data, you could probably come up with a formula for habit forming that takes into account the size and frequency of reward and the difficulty in completing the behaviour. We might call the “Habit Resisitance”. That in turn might even give us a rough picture of how long it might take to form such a habit.

Make it Stick

But for now, it’s good to know that if you aim for 66 days of writing every day, you stand a good chance of getting that behaviooiur to stick and become almost automatic. I certainly know from my own experience that lapses in my routine make it harder to get back into the “habit”, but if regular, writing becomes easier and easier. It’s not truly felt automatic yet, and perhaps this is the reason – too many breaks and not a long enough run. Something I will remedy.

…About Running is, I feel, an absolute must read for aspiring writers. The book itself is a journey through Murakami’s training for the New York marathon, and as the title suggests, it’s partly about how you train yourself to run long distance. However, the parallel’s he draws between training to be a runner and training to be a writer are highly appropriate.

Because this is what I feel I need to do. Of course, some people just have the talent to write, and can do so easily. But as Murakami notes, there is a difference between natural talent and developing the skill. You need not have a vast amount of talent to write as long as you develop the necessary skills. You can train yourself to focus, to concentrate, and to build your endurance. In essence, it’s a lot about what this site is about. I myself feel I have some degree of talent when it comes to – not necessarily writing per se – but in generating interesting material. Of course, its fine being able to generate the material, but it’s pointless if I can’t get it down on paper (or more rather, in my hard drive)

This is where the training comes in. Dedicating a set period of time each day to writing, to focusing solely on the act of getting things written down is essential. Especially for longer works. Writing a longer fiction is a lot like running a marathon. It can take months, perhaps a year to get through a complete draft, and when you look at it in terms of that, it can be daunting, a lot like a runner standing at the starting line and looking to the finish 26 miles away. How can I do this?

It’s all about the training.

I won’t even pretend that I can explain it as well as this book does, but a few major points I took away from what I’ve read thus far concern techniques that Murakami utilises, that were also utilised by Hemmingway and Raymond Chandler.

Firstly is dedicating the time to writing, sitting down at your desk (or in your private writing space) and focusing. Even if you don’t write anything, just dedicating the time, building up your stamina and concentration for writing will serve you well, especially for those longer projects.

And secondly, once you’ve developed this focus and concentration, and you do write, and then always leave your writing at a place where you feel you can continue on. In other words, stop writing before you run out of steam. That way, the next day, when you set out to write, you’ll be itching to continue where you left off; you’ll develop a flow and a rhythm to your writing which will make it much easier.

As someone who used to train extensively at the gym, and get into a set routine which improved my fitness, built my energy and shed the surplus weight, I can’t believe that I never thought of writing in the same way before. I guess it was an unconscious thing, I just wrote, and did so daily, or if not daily, then at least once every few days, but I managed to get through it. But like my training at the gym, my writing regimen slipped, so it feels tough for me to get through a few pages, just like I can slide off a treadmill sweating and panting, because I’ve let it all slip.

Anyway, I highly recommend this book; I can honestly say it has inspired me to concentrate more on my writing…

If I can find the time…

I had begun to get used to my routine. What i try to do is write on the train on my way home, just as in the grand plan I had when I  started this blog. My other writing time would be early Saturday morning.

Although I managed to get up regularly every Saturday and sit in front of my computer, the writing part would often come slow or not at all. As I have mentioned before, I would often end up fiddling with the website, or checking my emails and Twitter. Although that was my greatest opportunity of the week for getting my writing done, it was actually my train writing that was becoming most productive. I suspect  it was because this was a more regular event anyway, and I was much more inclined to work on my writing when I was fully awake! But whatever the reason, I was finding it easier and easier to slip into a writing frame of mind every work day. I had got to the stage when 80% of the time I could simply find a seat (and not be too picky about it either), open my laptop, and just go at it. No pondering. No time wasting.

The Problem

Then something happened. I had a week off work. Great, you may think, that’s more opportunity for writing, you can get more done! Well, yes it is. But no I didn’t. My routine was centered around my journey home from work. Without that time to myself and the “mental hook” I’d programmed my brain to hang it’s writing hat on, I was doomed.

What’s worse, since I’ve been back at work I seem to have taken several steps back in terms of the effectiveness of my routine. Now I’m back to pondering, putting off, or just not doing. I have to start all over again!

Lessons

I’m sure there are lessons to be had here. Here are what I think are correct assumptions to be made:

1. Routines do work – I was getting better at writing in my allotted time.
2. Don’t break them unless you really have to. Taking a holiday from work should not have meant taking a holiday from writing!
3. It’s good to have a bit of variety in your routine as long as you’re disciplined. I’ll use an example to explain. Part of my writing routine is supposed to include writing on a Saturday morning. At home, for two hours, rather than on the train for one hour or less. If I stuck to that i would have got more writing done during my holiday (or when trains are cancelled and I have to write at home). But I have not been disciplined enough with that part of my routine, so that particular bit of brain programming was not available to me.

These are the rules as they appear to me, but some people will disagree with some if them. For example, a lot of people advocate having one place, and one place only, where they write. That’s too difficult for me though I’m afraid. I’m out if the house from 8 until 8 most days, so the train is appropriate (though hardly ideal), but not enough.

Still others might take that rule further and abolish a set routine altogether. The idea here is that if you learn to write whenever the opportunity arises rather than boxing yourself into a set routine, you are in a better position to keep on writing when the unexpected happens. I don’t really buy that either. I see the reasoning but I’m sure that would lead to no writing at all for Matt. Plus I think that habit can be a very powerful tool when used for good! And I need all the help I can get!

And right now I need your opinions! What do you think about keeping a writing routine? Is it a help or hindrance? Do you have one that works for you, and what is it? What’s the weirdest writing routine you’ve heard of?