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How to Build a Writing Habit in 2024 · The Daily Writer

• 0:06
  SPEAKER_00: Hey friends, welcome back to the Profitable Writer Podcast.
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_00: If you're new here, my name is Kent Sanders.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_00: I'm an author and ghostwriter, and this is the show that helps you grow your impact and your income as a writer.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_00: Well, first things first, happy 2024.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_00: I'm actually recording this on Wednesday, December the 27th.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_00: Christmas was a couple days ago, but I'm taking some time here this week to record some podcast episodes.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_00: So when January the 2nd rolls around, which is the release day for this episode, I hope that you've had a great Christmas and New Year's celebration, and I hope that your New Year is off to a great start.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_00: You know, a lot of people, I think, the past few years have kind of been shrinking back from doing things that are important to them.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_00: They have that book they want to write, they have that business they want to build, they have different things they want to do in their lives, and a lot of people have just sort of put their lives on pause because there's been so much change and so many things that have been sort of chaotic in the world and in culture the last few years.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_00: But I want to let you know there's no better time to build a writing business.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: There's no better time to chase after your dreams and to take action and to do the things that you just really want to do in life.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_00: Things are never going to get easier, they're never going to get less complicated or less chaotic in the world.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_00: There's always been chaos and wars and political uh you know, political fighting and all kinds of uh things happening in the world.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_00: Those things have been going on since the dawn of time, and things are not gonna get any easier.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_00: So I say, why not go for it?
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_00: Why not make 2024 your year to write that book or write those books that you have been thinking about to start creating more income, to start having more success in your life, in your writing, and your business.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_00: This is your year.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_00: I'm really, really excited about some things I've got in store for you here on the podcast this year, as well as my Profitable Rider membership community.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_00: You'll be hearing more about that over the next few weeks.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: We've been ramping up a lot of things there and implementing some really, really cool changes that you'll be hearing about.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_00: And I've also got a really cool free book download coming for you called the Profitable Rider Pathway.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: I talked about this a few weeks ago here on the podcast, uh, but I haven't quite yet got that book finished.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_00: Uh it's just going to be a short book.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_00: This is going to be a free, what they call a free lead magnet, which means it'll be completely free to you.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm super, super excited to get this out to you.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_00: This will be coming very soon, and you'll hear more about it here in the next couple of weeks.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: Well, let's dive into today's episode, which is all about how to build a writing habit in 2024.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: So here's the deal.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_00: As a writer, you want to make a difference in the world.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_00: You want to use your creative gifts, and you might even want to build a part-time or a full-time business this year with your writing.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_00: And we know that a writing habit is the bridge to all the things that we want as a writer.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: Now, there are a lot of important things in our businesses that we need to do, like building relationships and doing marketing and handling our money wisely and dealing with technology and all those kinds of things.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_00: They're all very important.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_00: But none of those things matter if you're not actually producing the work, right?
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: You know, as creatives, we naturally resist routines and habits, even though that we know that they're important.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_00: But the way that I want you to think about writing is not as some sort of esoteric creative magic that's floating around in the air out there that we just have to, you know, hope that we somehow get.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_00: Creativity and being productive is not like a virus that you catch occasionally.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_00: It's not something that floats around in the air magically and uh might land on our shoulders every once in a while for us to be inspired.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_00: That's not how people actually build a writing business.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_00: That's not how books get written.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_00: That's not how anything gets created.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_00: You have to look at writing as a blue-collar job, just like being a carpenter, being a plumber, or anything else that requires regular, sustained labor.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_00: And without a writing habit, you're never going to get that blog built.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_00: You're never going to finish that book that you've been thinking about all these years, and you'll certainly never be able to build a successful writing business if you don't have a good writing habit in place.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_00: So, in other words, a great writing habit is the pathway to everything that you've ever dreamed about as a writer.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_00: And here in this episode, I want to make the analogy that if your writing habit is like a car that's going to take you wherever you want to go as a writer, these are the four wheels that keep it moving.
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_00: So, here in this episode today, I want to talk about the four wheels or the four essential parts of a key writing habit that is going to be the cornerstone of your writing career.
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_00: So let's dive in.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_00: Wheel number one is a meaningful goal.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_00: You've got to have a meaningful goal in your writing.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_00: It's really hard to feel motivated to write if you don't have something specific that you're working on or some kind of goal that you're working toward.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_00: One of the best books ever written for creative types, including writers, is Stephen Pressfield's seminal book called The War of Art.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_00: This is a really, really fantastic book.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_00: If you don't have it yet, I highly encourage you to grab it.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_00: It's a quick, fun, very inspiring read.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_00: The full title is actually called The War of Art, Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_00: And that's actually a really great subtitle because that truly is what the book will help you do.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_00: So Stephen Pressfield said this in The War of Art.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_00: He said, This is the other secret that real artists know and wannabe writers don't.
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_00: When we sit down each day and do our work, power concentrates around us.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_00: The muse takes note of our dedication.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_00: She approves.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_00: We have earned favor in her sight.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_00: When we sit down and work, we become like a magnetized rod that attracts iron filings.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_00: Ideas come, insights accrete.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_00: Wow, what a powerful quote from the War of Art.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_00: And Stephen Pressfield is totally right because there is real power in simply doing the work.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_00: So my question for you is what are you working toward?
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: What's the goal that is really important to you right now in your writing?
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_00: Is it a book?
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_00: Is it a weekly blog post?
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_00: Is it some podcast episodes?
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_00: Is it freelance work or ghostwriting work?
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_00: Well, no matter what it is, it's really important to have a tangible, specific goal in place that's meaningful to you.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_00: I do want to say this before we move on to the next point, which is if you hang out with other writers, which I hope that you do, you're going to hear about all kinds of writing goals.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_00: People are working toward this and they're working toward that, and they have all kinds of things that are that they're working on.
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_00: Remember, though, that when you're hearing those goals that other writers have, that those are other people's goals, not yours.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_00: I want you to focus on the goals that are important to you.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_00: So if a book is your thing right now, then work toward that book.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_00: If blog posts are that thing, or if maybe you're ghostwriting a book for somebody or you're producing a podcast or whatever it is, focus on what is important to you and don't get distracted by the goals that other people have.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_00: You can learn from them, but you've got to focus on the goals that are advancing what's important to you.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_00: So wheel number one on the car of your writing habit of this analogy is you've got to have a meaningful goal.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_00: Wheel number two is that you've got to have a place to write.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_00: Have you ever tried writing in a space that you use for other things like eating or entertainment or playing computer games?
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_00: Well, it might seem convenient at the time, but you're really signaling to your brain that you should be doing all those things at once.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_00: The environment where you write has a really powerful effect on your ability and your motivation to get the work done.
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_00: And that's why it's important, if you can, to try writing in a space that you only use for writing.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_00: So it doesn't got to be anything fancy.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_00: Even a simple table will do, or a broom closet, or whatever it is that you have on hand.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_00: You don't really need anything fancy as a writer.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_00: And that's one of the cool things about being a writer is that it's not like we've got to have all this special equipment or these tools or this special place we've got to go.
• 8:05
  SPEAKER_00: We can literally do it anywhere.
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_00: So in fact, I would argue that the simpler the better.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_00: Because if you're if you're too distracted by all these things around you, that actually has a negative effect on your writing.
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_00: Now, whenever you have that space set up and you are working in that space, here's what happens.
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_00: The environment tells your brain that it's time to write.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_00: It's not time to eat or play computer games or watch movies or go to sleep or be entertained or whatever else it is that you do in the space where sometimes we write.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes we'll have this, maybe a desk where we eat or we watch movies, or we put together Lego sets or we do whatever else.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_00: And when you sit down to write in that space, your brain is telling you you've got to be doing all these other things at once because that's what you've wired your brain to do.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_00: But whenever you have a dedicated writing space and you sit down in that place, your brain says, hey, it's time to write.
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_00: So this can be a really, really helpful thing for you in terms of your writing habit.
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I would also encourage you to set up a writing space that is free from distractions and clutter if at all possible.
• 9:08
  SPEAKER_00: Nothing is more conducive to writing than sitting down in a clean, neat, organized space that doesn't have the clutter of everyday life all around it.
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_00: In addition, it's also helpful to shut off as many distractions as possible from our digital devices.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_00: If your phone's constantly going off with notifications and texts and all kinds of different things, it's got to be really hard to concentrate.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_00: So the first wheel you've got to have in place is a meaningful goal.
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_00: The second wheel is a place to write.
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_00: Let's talk about the third wheel, which is having a time to write.
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_00: You know, a lot of entrepreneurs and leaders will tell you that you've got to be a morning person in order to be effective.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_00: And I don't think that's true.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_00: I think you have to do what works for you in terms of your schedule.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_00: I don't think that writing in the morning is the only way to go.
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_00: Now a lot of people swear by this, but it really depends on your biology and your schedule.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_00: Ernest Hemingway did write in the morning, and here's what he said.
• 10:06
  SPEAKER_00: He said when I'm working on a book or a story, I write every morning as soon after first light as possible.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_00: There's no one to disturb you, and it is cool or cold, and you come to your work and warm as you write.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_00: You read what you have written, and as you always stop when you know what is going to happen next, you go on from there.
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_00: Now that's Ernest Hemingway, that doesn't necessarily have to be you.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_00: That's what worked for him, but your life situation might be different.
• 10:32
  SPEAKER_00: You know, many creative types and artists like to work late into the night.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_00: My son's wired that way.
• 10:37
  SPEAKER_00: He's not a morning person, he's a night person.
• 10:40
  SPEAKER_00: And in fact, I've got another good friend who's really a night person.
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_00: They're up till two or three in the morning, and they do that every day.
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_00: They get up, I think, around nine or ten in the morning.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_00: They're self-employed, and they're very successful in what they do.
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_00: So don't let anybody tell you that you have to do it a certain way.
• 10:55
  SPEAKER_00: You've got to do what works for you.
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_00: Now, the flip side of that though is that you can always develop better habits.
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of successful people do keep an early morning routine.
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_00: So I think it is worth considering, but it doesn't mean that you have to be an early morning person to be a successful writer.
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_00: So, really what I'm saying here is that do what works for you, but do keep in mind, I think it's worth noting, you know, put a little asterisk next to this idea that a lot of really successful people do get up early in the morning and they do their writing then.
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_00: So it's worth considering, but I don't think you need to be beholden to that like iron chains or anything like that.
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_00: So wheel number three is having a specific time to write.
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_00: Let's talk about wheel number four, which is what I would call an anchor ritual.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_00: Now, what is an anchor ritual?
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_00: It's just what it sounds like.
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_00: An anchor ritual is something that helps signal to your heart, your mind, and your body that it's time to write.
• 11:50
  SPEAKER_00: An anchor ritual is a simple act that helps you stay grounded and locked into production mode.
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_00: Now, your ritual might look very different than other friends who are also writers, and that's totally okay.
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_00: Again, you don't need to copy anybody else.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_00: You can learn from others, but don't just copy what they're doing wholesale because they have reasons for what they're doing.
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_00: And when we just sort of blindly copy other people, we're not really integrating those reasons into our life.
• 12:15
  SPEAKER_00: We're just sort of doing what they do.
• 12:17
  SPEAKER_00: Again, it's good to learn from, but you've got it it's good to learn from others, but you've got to develop your own system.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_00: So pick a meaningful writing anchor that works for you.
• 12:26
  SPEAKER_00: Now it might be making coffee or making a certain kind of coffee, maybe it's playing specific music, or maybe it's doing something else that signals to your brain that it's time to write.
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_00: Here's what Stephen King once said.
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_00: He said, There are certain things that I do if I sit down to write.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_00: I have a glass of water or a cup of tea.
• 12:45
  SPEAKER_00: There's a certain time I sit down from eight to eight thirty, somewhere within that half hour every morning.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_00: I have my vitamin pill and my music set in the same seat and the papers are all arranged in the same places.
• 12:57
  SPEAKER_00: The cumulative purpose of doing these things the same way every day seems to be a way of saying to the mind, You're going to be dreaming soon.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_00: It's not any different than a bedtime routine.
• 13:07
  SPEAKER_00: Do you go to bed a different way every night?
• 13:11
  SPEAKER_00: Well, those are wise words from one of the most successful writers of all time, obviously, Mr.
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_00: Stephen King.
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_00: So that's worth considering having a routine that you go through that signals to your brain, hey, it's time to sit down and write.
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_00: Now currently I have two main anchor rituals that I follow.
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_00: It's a music playlist and something specific to drink.
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_00: Usually a diet soda with ice and a big container of water to keep me hydrated.
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_00: Now, with a music playlist, I alternate between a Spotify playlist that I have that's called Lo-Fi Beats and another one that's called it's just movie scores.
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_00: It's tons and tons of movie scores that I've just dumped into a playlist over the past probably five or six years.
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_00: And again, both of those are on Spotify, and I really enjoy listening to those because I have a hard time listening to other kinds of music if I'm trying to concentrate when I write.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_00: So I need music that is not necessarily overly melodic like pop or rock music or jazz, but I need something that's a little bit more kind of in the background, like film scores tend to be, or just sort of like generic lo-fi beats or those kinds of things.
• 14:15
  SPEAKER_00: I find it distracting if there's a really strong melody playing in the music that I'm listening to as I'm trying to write.
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_00: Now, again, that may not be what you use, and that's totally great.
• 14:25
  SPEAKER_00: You've got to do what works for you.
• 14:27
  SPEAKER_00: And I would encourage you to experiment, but not overcomplicate things.
• 14:32
  SPEAKER_00: So again, let me review these four wheels that we've talked about that are these are the four wheels that keep your writing habit moving in the right direction.
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_00: Number one is a meaningful goal, number two is a place to write, number three is a time to write, and number four is an anchor ritual.
• 14:49
  SPEAKER_00: And I hope that these are helpful to you.
• 14:51
  SPEAKER_00: I would really urge you to consider these as you think about what kind of writing habit that you want to build in the new year and how this writing habit is going to help you reach these amazing goals that you have for 2024.
• 15:03
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, before I go, I want to give a big thanks to today's sponsor, which is Vellum.
• 15:07
  SPEAKER_00: Now you've heard me talk about Vellum here on the podcast before, and that's because they've been a sponsor for the last year.
• 15:12
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• 15:14
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• 15:17
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• 15:23
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• 15:24
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• 15:28
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• 15:37
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• 15:45
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• 15:54
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• 15:59
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• 16:00
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• 16:04
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• 16:06
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• 16:08
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• 16:12
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• 16:16
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• 16:22
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• 16:25
  SPEAKER_00: As always, thanks for listening, and I'll see you next time.