Building a Writing Routine: Strategies for Consistency

It's February 1st, Day 1 of my 30 Days of Writing Challenge and I want to provide as much valuable content to my new blog as possible. Today I'd like to start with the topic of building a routine and how to stick with it!

This is especially crucial if you're working towards a goal of writing a book or have a deadline.

Back in 2011 when I first started my blog, 365 Days to Getting Unstuck, I committed that January 1st to writing every single day. I was at a serious crossroads in my life and it was something I hadn't thought much about prior to the beginning of a new year, so when I prayed that frigid New Years Day, I felt God leading me to write a blog and commit to posting every single day for an entire year. I didn't know how, where, what to write about, and on and on, but He did. Once I made the commitment to myself and God, I got to work.

Here are a few of my most valuable lessons I learned that year and how I remained consistent for 365 days and how you can achieve your own writing goals.

• Commit - I committed; to me, to God, to my readers and future fans. You must commit with your whole heart to complete your goal because no one else will do it for you!

• Get Creative - Some days were so hard I thought I'd die, but since I committed and could not back out, I had to get very creative. That meant that on days I had raging PMS, I created a chocolate recipe and wrote about it! Or on days I was so busy with work that I couldn't think straight, I resorted to writing a quick poem about my dogs and posted along with a photo of them.

• Pray/Meditate - Each morning that I set aside time to pray and/or meditate, I found my writing and the creative ideas for a new post came much easier. In Julia Cameron's book, The Artist's Way, she talks about "morning pages" where you write the very first thing in the morning. It didn't take long for me to notice that when I took the time to meditate in the quietness of the morning, I'd journal and write some amazing ideas. It would give me a deep feeling of peace that I carried throughout the day.

• Walk Away - This might seem counterintuitive, but I noticed if I was having a really bad day or had writer's block, I would take a quick walk outside. Nature is so good at refreshing the mind, body and soul! After a while, I'd come back and if I didn't have a fresh insight as to what to write, I would just sit down and power through anyway.

I hope these tips help you today with your writing and as always, I am sending you love and well wishes on your own writing journey.

xo, Kathleen