Writing Routine and Ideas

I wake up, have my breakfast and watch a little YouTube. I know, bad start. I should be using YouTube as a reward.

I sit myself down at the desk and research whatever topic it is that I'm writing about that day.

After research, I write for at least half an hour, take a 5-minute break and then back to writing and researching for another 30-minutes. I do this for around two-hours and then have a 30-minute break.

Having a writing routine has helped me so much more than anything I've tried in the past. I use to force myself to sit at the computer and type for hours. I set unrealistic goals, trying to write thousands of words a day to the point of burning out on creativity and ideas. My writing would go from enthusiastic to boring, so it's important to take breaks.

Don't get me wrong, having a goal is great but don't burn yourself out, it will show in your writing.

So to put it simply: 30-minutes of writing. A 5-minute break. I do this four times over, so it equals around 2 hours.

That's a big statement, it's probably not 100% true but the writers I know all struggle with it. And I don't know about you but I am a huge procrastinator myself. I procrastinated for over six months and it drove me crazy. Writing is my creative outlet and at the time I didn't realise that not being creative could actually cause your mental health to worsen. But I lived and I learned.

It bugs me if I can't stop procrastinating now, especially when I know I need to write. Pushing yourself to write is tough but I find that when I finally sit myself down and begin to type I feel so much better. But that's what we all say.

Also, procrastinating sometimes tends to be linked to having low confidence in your writing ability. But if you don't write how are you ever going to get better at it?

1. Rewarding yourself: If you need to sit and write then make sure you have something to reward yourself with after. For example, I won't let myself watch T.V. until I have written at least one article or blog post. Same goes with food, or just doing anything that is fun. Work first, reward later.

2. Breaking it up: This is the routine I use. If you have a big writing project you need to do then write for 20-30 minutes and have a 5-minute break. Do this four times, so that will be about 2 hours of writing done. After that give yourself about a 30-minute break, and then start again after rewarding yourself.

3. Set some time aside to write: If you make writing a daily routine then you'll feel off if you miss a day of writing. Humans need routine, it helps us to function and stay organised.

Some easy ways to get around this problem is to literally write anything down, even if it's the most boring sentence. It will get the ball rolling. Seriously try it. You can start with your name, how old you are, how your day has been, what you did that day or yesterday. Think of a funny story from your past, maybe even write down a silly dream you had. It works, so give it a try. If you can't do that then google story ideas, or blog ideas, whatever it is that you need to write about. The internet is a goldmine for ideas.

I usually daydream and get ideas from that for a story. If I want to write an article or blog post I use my own problems, figure out how to solve them and then write about it. Or if I have a question I typed into google I use that as an idea.

Coming up with ideas is never ending if you use your brain power.

Here's a simple exercise that might help, finish the sentences below, try to create a story for each one.

Her name was Elaine and most nights she would...

Garret held his breath and opened the...

The weirdest thing I find about carrots is...

Okay, maybe you are right. Maybe I do care about...