5 steps to a writing habit: Lessons learned from a wannabe writer

After reading about the importance of establishing a writing habit to becoming a better writer, I went on a mission to figure out my personal writing routine. Here are five key takeaways I’ve learned along the way:

1. Set a writing time. I write first thing in the morning. My morning routine: wake up, get ready, coffee, sit down with laptop and open Word. I have a full-time job, so writing before work allows me to cultivate and expend some of my creative energy before I get drowned in the minutia of email and an endless to-do list. Writing first thing makes me feel like I have power over my day-I set the tone by giving credence to my mind, whatever comes through it. I know that even if I don’t feel accomplished from the workday, I at least know I produced something and something tangible at that! Setting a writing time will help you establish a habit.
2. Make writing time writing time. When you sit down to write, give yourself permission and authority to be absent from the world outside your head. Open a blank page and do not open anything else-no email, no news of any kind, nothing (except maybe a dictionary). This can be difficult if you have writer’s block. Sometimes I wake up knowing what I’ll write about that day, but most often I don’t know, and I’ll be looking around my living room for inspiration or simply…