What a great read, I’m also fascinated by other writers’ habits and processes. Thank you for this insight into yours!
I heard that - I think it was Steven Pressfield - sits at his desk every single day at 9am to write (I wonder if that’s still true!)
Anyhoo, I tried that once, I mean for about 3 or 4 consecutive days, bored the shit out of me to be so punctual and available to my work, so I soon rebelled against it and never looked back.
Also, I think that kind of discipline is so masculine, my body just isn’t into it.
Thank you for sharing such a human post! It’s a breath of fresh air to read a piece that feels both vulnerable and confident. The world needs to hear more stories like this that showcase our humanness and our real reality shared with an unapologetic voice. Well done ❤️❤️❤️
I love this! I do wake early but never use the time to write - I need to have done some movement, had breakfast & several cups of very strong tea before my brain’s ready.
And while I read lots, it’s mostly memoir & non-fiction, & if I want fiction, I usually find film a more satisfying medium.
Like you, I can also easily write all day (& certainly don’t write every day), especially if at a later editing stage.
This is great - I find other people’s writing routines so interesting. Mine is totally slapdash, and sometimes I beat myself up over it but you have to go with what works for you!
And I haven’t had an empty inbox since the day I opened my email account, so that point really resonated with me 😂
Such a refreshing read first thing in the morning! Although I’m very attracted to the romantic notion of a perfect “writing routine/day”, reality has other ideas. Maybe when I can go away on a retreat again … Until then, we just make it work!
I figure it comes when it comes and when I try to force it it just doesn’t flow. Usually when I’m working on something particular (like my memoir) I’m pretty much entirely immersed in it and struggle to tear myself away: I stay up all hours, the house becomes a hovel and I often forget to stop and eat. Basically I descend into temporary insanity for the duration 😜
I developed an excellent habit (!) during lockdown that's stayed! Move car from garage to front of house for daughter (terraced house, back lane), via Morriston Daily at garage where fresh hot croissant and coffee acquired, drive round corner, consume croissant and write one page of journal while drinking coffee, 2 more morning pages squeezed in at home. It's the coffee that does it and 10 mins solitude. Read? Wherever and whenever I can in any format. How's the foot BTW. I can still only walk a mile and not painlessly! 4 months on!
I love this Penny. It’s crazy how you can get in your head the “right way” to do it. I wrote down a writing ritual I wanted to do which included 5.30am mornings! But some mornings I woke up with zero inspiration and then had nothing to show for it but a more tired head.
One of the things I’ve realised worked for me was walking. A friend I made here on substack suggested leaving voice notes to myself as I walked so I didn’t have to stop with pen and paper, that’s been much better for me. So thank you for this it was like a sigh of relief!
What a brilliant post, thank you for sharing this! I’m fascinated by other people’s routines too - when I see people who have a daily morning routine I wonder how they manage it to be honest 😂 love the idea hypothetically but in practice it’s a whole different thing. Sometimes you’ve just got to snatch those 20 minutes here and there, and the beauty is in making it work for you!
Not writing every day here too...sometimes I just need to let things mix about inside my head, get out of the house, restock the words by not being in constant production mode somehow. I loved this Penny xo
I loved reading this Penny, thank you. I very rarely write at a desk. I find the chaos around my desk distracting and start sorting and tidying. I draft things in my head on walks or whilst I'm swimming. I write in cafes, sofas, beds, park benches. I write in so many different notebooks, google docs, substack, word documents, pages documents, notes on my phone, scraps of paper. I used to beat myself up about this - "Pick a location! Pick a medium!" but it just doesn't work for me. It's lovely reading how others are working around what we have assumed is the "right" way.
Reading this really cracked me up, brilliant! I was actually chortling out loud :) I don't have any kind of routine I regularly follow either; I need to do movement in the morning first and am not an early riser or a late night-er, just a 'middle of the day-er'.
I tend to follow my cyclical nature as my brain works so differently in each phase and my ability to focus changes completely. Totally non-linear.
This was such a refreshing read - thank you Penny!
What a great read, I’m also fascinated by other writers’ habits and processes. Thank you for this insight into yours!
I heard that - I think it was Steven Pressfield - sits at his desk every single day at 9am to write (I wonder if that’s still true!)
Anyhoo, I tried that once, I mean for about 3 or 4 consecutive days, bored the shit out of me to be so punctual and available to my work, so I soon rebelled against it and never looked back.
Also, I think that kind of discipline is so masculine, my body just isn’t into it.
Thank you for sharing such a human post! It’s a breath of fresh air to read a piece that feels both vulnerable and confident. The world needs to hear more stories like this that showcase our humanness and our real reality shared with an unapologetic voice. Well done ❤️❤️❤️
Love this, as someone with 140,000 emails in my inbox and counting!
I love this! I do wake early but never use the time to write - I need to have done some movement, had breakfast & several cups of very strong tea before my brain’s ready.
And while I read lots, it’s mostly memoir & non-fiction, & if I want fiction, I usually find film a more satisfying medium.
Like you, I can also easily write all day (& certainly don’t write every day), especially if at a later editing stage.
I absolutely loved this Penny! xx
This is great - I find other people’s writing routines so interesting. Mine is totally slapdash, and sometimes I beat myself up over it but you have to go with what works for you!
And I haven’t had an empty inbox since the day I opened my email account, so that point really resonated with me 😂
Such a refreshing read first thing in the morning! Although I’m very attracted to the romantic notion of a perfect “writing routine/day”, reality has other ideas. Maybe when I can go away on a retreat again … Until then, we just make it work!
Sometimes I don’t write for months at a time 🙊
I figure it comes when it comes and when I try to force it it just doesn’t flow. Usually when I’m working on something particular (like my memoir) I’m pretty much entirely immersed in it and struggle to tear myself away: I stay up all hours, the house becomes a hovel and I often forget to stop and eat. Basically I descend into temporary insanity for the duration 😜
Loved every single bit of this! Thanks for sharing. x
I developed an excellent habit (!) during lockdown that's stayed! Move car from garage to front of house for daughter (terraced house, back lane), via Morriston Daily at garage where fresh hot croissant and coffee acquired, drive round corner, consume croissant and write one page of journal while drinking coffee, 2 more morning pages squeezed in at home. It's the coffee that does it and 10 mins solitude. Read? Wherever and whenever I can in any format. How's the foot BTW. I can still only walk a mile and not painlessly! 4 months on!
I love this Penny. It’s crazy how you can get in your head the “right way” to do it. I wrote down a writing ritual I wanted to do which included 5.30am mornings! But some mornings I woke up with zero inspiration and then had nothing to show for it but a more tired head.
One of the things I’ve realised worked for me was walking. A friend I made here on substack suggested leaving voice notes to myself as I walked so I didn’t have to stop with pen and paper, that’s been much better for me. So thank you for this it was like a sigh of relief!
What a brilliant post, thank you for sharing this! I’m fascinated by other people’s routines too - when I see people who have a daily morning routine I wonder how they manage it to be honest 😂 love the idea hypothetically but in practice it’s a whole different thing. Sometimes you’ve just got to snatch those 20 minutes here and there, and the beauty is in making it work for you!
Not writing every day here too...sometimes I just need to let things mix about inside my head, get out of the house, restock the words by not being in constant production mode somehow. I loved this Penny xo
LOVE how you are always breaking supposed rules x
I loved reading this Penny, thank you. I very rarely write at a desk. I find the chaos around my desk distracting and start sorting and tidying. I draft things in my head on walks or whilst I'm swimming. I write in cafes, sofas, beds, park benches. I write in so many different notebooks, google docs, substack, word documents, pages documents, notes on my phone, scraps of paper. I used to beat myself up about this - "Pick a location! Pick a medium!" but it just doesn't work for me. It's lovely reading how others are working around what we have assumed is the "right" way.
Reading this really cracked me up, brilliant! I was actually chortling out loud :) I don't have any kind of routine I regularly follow either; I need to do movement in the morning first and am not an early riser or a late night-er, just a 'middle of the day-er'.
I tend to follow my cyclical nature as my brain works so differently in each phase and my ability to focus changes completely. Totally non-linear.
This was such a refreshing read - thank you Penny!