We are all looking for the perfect writing routine that will make writing and editing poems inevitable. Not easy or effortless, but a reliable practice with some guarantee that if we do the work, the poems will come.
I first came across the work of Bec Evans and Chris Smith through Oliver Burkeman. In a recent article, Evans and Smith say that writing is so personal, there isn’t a single proven system for creating a writing practice. We must create our own structures of support if we are going to have a sustainable practice.
This reminds me of a chapter in Better Than Before by Gretchen Rubin. She offers a few simple questions to help you know yourself and craft routines that are a real help.
Are you an introvert or extrovert?
Are you a lark or an owl?
Do you crave a sense of simplicity or abundance?
Do you thrive with familiarity or novelty?
Are you a finisher or an opener?
Are you a marathoner or sprinter?
Can you see how these preferences could change your writing practice? Everyone swears by early morning writing sessions, but if you are a night owl, you’ll always be pulling yourself out of bed and forcing yourself to the desk. What if you wrote at night instead? What might become possible?
How did you come to your current writing practice? How has it shifted over time?
I have really struggled this past year to develop a routine with my writing habits--almost all of my writing has been squeezed into the spare moments of my day--but I'm working toward re-establishing a quiet-reading-hour for all of the kids in the afternoon, so I can have some better time to really concentrate!
My writing habit is currently a weekly appointment with a stack of journals and books and my computer at the local coffee shop the very minute it opens. I hope to eventually have a daily habit. I have yet to figure out where in my little house will be my tiny writing sanctuary.