Create Writing Rituals to Power Your Writing
No, you’re not a professional writer, but that doesn’t mean you can’t use the same tricks and techniques professional writers use. One of the dirty little secrets effective writers don’t tell you is that they aren’t good writers because of innate talent; they’re good writers because they practice writing rituals.
Writing rituals are nothing more than personal habits. They might have to do with how long you write, where you write or when you write. In some cases, there are behavior-based writing rituals that use a repeated action – such as sipping a drink or sharpening a pencil – that you do before, during or after writing.
Many rituals don’t have any practical impact on your writing, per se. Instead, they have a practical impact on you, which then impacts your writing on more levels than you can imagine.
Here is what writing rituals do for you:
- They decrease your stress: The stress of writing quality content day in and day out can lead to procrastination. By using writing rituals, you put yourself in a familiar situation that reduces procrastination and peels away some of your stress.
- They boost your confidence: It’s easy to feel like a slave to your blog, having to publish updates on a daily basis. Using writing rituals gives you the ability to regain a sense of your own self control.
- They make the writing process easier: Nothing will cut through a little writer’s block like using your writing rituals. They make it easier to start writing and power you through the writing process.
Now, just because most writing rituals don’t have a practical impact on your writing doesn’t mean that they can’t. For example, here are some rituals that writers use in order to get their juices flowing every time they sit down to write:
- Outline before you write: If you jot down just three or four main points that you want to get across in your blog post, you’ll be surprised how fast the writing goes from there.
- Close your other applications: When you’re 500 words into a blog post and an email comes in, you’ll be tempted to read it. If and when you get back to the blog post, you are essentially starting over. Close everything out during the writing process.
- Set parameters: Know how long you’re going to write for or, better yet, know how many words or blog posts you want to write. Don’t stop or even get up until you’re done.
So, what about you? Do you have any blog post writing rituals you’d like to share?
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Some great tips there cow
i think being a blogger who writes at least a post daily, i need to learn these things for sure. Thanks
Great tips. I am doing some freelance writing and making some good money so this is useful for me. Also very useful for my blog. Thankyou
Hii Cow,
Having started a personal blog in the recent past, I have already unconsciously use some of these writing rituals. I also realize it would be great to cultivate some more good ones.
Thanks.
ehm, i agree with that. Its good tips and i also earn some money by doing some articles. Its good.
These tips are nice and it really helps. i just want to add one thought, for me before I make the outline of my blog, I think first what will be my theme, the main thought or my claim in my blog post. In this, I will be able to direct the formation of my outline more easier and more direct.
Coffee and music. As soon as I take that first sip of hot coffee and put my headphones on, then not only will I not get up until I finish my writing, but you will have to make me. I guess you can call that a ritual.
Ooooo, checking email is my big problem. I can’t tell you how many I get in a day, and I am obsessive about it. Learning to turn it off, or shut it out of my mind during the day would probably make my work so much better quality, not just in blogging, but in a lot of things that I do.
These are actually really good tips to follow.
Yea Great tips. I need to make my writing skill’s better
You give some great advice here. Many people in the industry complain about their aversion to writing. The thing is, with any other practice, the more you keep at it, the easier it gets. Not only is it a good form of stress relief, but it does make you into a stronger writer. Thanks for sharing your wisdom!
hi Mr. Cow,
Great suggestions for “writing rituals” here. I find I do much better if I create a simple outline (like you recommend) and then just fill it in. My biggest problem is getting started.
~ Steve, aka Mr Guru, aka the Trade Show Guru, aka Mr Major Writing Procrastinator
I agree with you about reducing distractions. I would suggest also to just write. Waiting for the perfect time to write will never come. Even when you are not inspired, just the process of writing will produce more.
Turning off the email is good. Turning off the Internet connection is better. That sure can help from being distracted. I also do writing sprints. If I write for 15 minutes then I can take a short break. My daughter and I also challenge each other via IM’s. We set a time and then type like crazy to see who can write the most words. Nothing better for getting a post out than a good word war!
Hi - I liked this post. What struck a chord was when you said “writing rituals that use a repeated action – such as sipping a drink or sharpening a pencil – that you do before, during or after writing.”
The concept that came to mind for me was slightly different but along those lines.
I’ve been “a good writer” since I was a kid. In fact, originally it was “when I grow up I want to be a writer.” But as an Internet Marketer, guess what I just “never seem to have enough time for.” Writing! I mean, I do do it. But it has become a bit of a “sigh, I have to make some time to write some new content.”
When I read this post I realized I could establish some kind of a ritual which would make me set more time aside for writing. For example, I’m going to be in my home country soon, and there is a little cafe near the beach with really bad coffee. But I love to sit there and work online. You can see the sea and a big beautiful rock from there and its great to sit there for hours. Maybe I will bring my own coffee and ask them to make it!
Anyway when I read this I thought, why not establish cafe time as writing time? And whenever I go to that cafe, that’s when I sit and do my writing. It makes it feel a lot more fun, something to look forward to, and even a bit more romantic! I think I might get a lot more original content cranked out that way.
Thank you Cow.
One of the things I try to do is weekly sit down and plan the posts for the week. After creating the list to mindmap the basic idea out then I already have my daily post idea ready.
If I am on a roll writing then I may do the whole week at one sitting but usually only get 2 or 3 at a time.
This way I can stay ahead and not have the proverbial writers block and one tends to lead to another.
They have a software that converts you voice to text..I need to check into that as well. Good Tips.
This is the key to being a successful writer. If you don’t have a plan then you’re sunk.
I was introduced to the “Power of the Chicken” by my wife who is a prolific writer. What this involves is using a kitchen timer (in my case it’s a chicken) and setting it for 1 hour. During that 1 hour I don’t let a single thing distract me. Only writing is allowed. No email, no games, no Stumbling… nothing but writing.
I usually aim for 4 articles completed to first draft stage and approx 500 words. All the keyword research and idea are mind mapped on Sundays for the week ahead. I don’t even have to think, I just write.
Do yourself a favour, wake up tomorrow and commit to 1 or 2 or 3 hours of concentrated writing like this for one week. You’ll be amazed at the level of productivity you’ll reach.
Just my 2c, but it’s really helped me get my act together. I now just write for a living, have a 2 second commute on “shank’s ponies” to my office and work when I want to. I rally should have done this 10 years ago
A writing ritual I always find helpful is to clean up the area I’m going to write in first. I tend to collect massive amounts of notebooks and hobby related stuff wherever I’m sitting. Put away any irrelevant notebooks, put away my spinning stuff, knitting stuff, pick up the coffeecups and pastry dishes and create an organized environment in which I can work sanely. This clues my brain in that it’s “work time” instead of “email time” or “knitting time”
I don’t have a ritual, I do have a partner who enjoys proof reading my articles on hosting
So whenever Liz needs a laught she tells me to rite and corrects the schelling!
Thanks, John Cow. I just need a swift kick to get started. My head is full, but can’t get it out.
My ritual mostly consists of coffee and tobacco.(I know) and just getting on with it.
I seem to find that a good title gets me going and then I can always go back and insert new long tails or edit if I feel the need.
Sometimes spontaneous can be best.
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As a full-time professional writer, I can verify that rituals can work.
Facing the dreaded “blank page” is a major hurdle for most writers. Do whatever you can to avoid it.
If you spend time planning your blogs, put your thoughts for each one on its own page. You are not “writing,” you’re “just thinking” so it is not the same kind of chore. Then, when it is time to write, you can open your page and it won’t be blank.
If you write an outline, again, put each on its own page.
If you do neither, then cut and paste the news item or whatever inspired the unplanned blog onto your page. You won’t copy from it — that would be stealing — but your page won’t be blank.
As you write, do not worry about grammar and punctuation. Clean that up later, preferably the next day so you can see your copy freshly. If you can, have someone knowledgable read your work. If you don’t know and can’t afford an editor, you could buddy up with another blogger.
If you can’t spell or write ungrammatically, people are less likely to believe what you tell them.
Nicki D. Harper, Ph.D.
Writing Partner at HarperCo on Elance
Peace out,
Naweko
I’ve been doing a lot of article marketing lately for a few niche sites and I use some of the tactics you’ve talked about.
The last three rituals you mentioned: outline, close other applications and set parameters are HUGE and I’ve noticed how much more productive I’ve been when I follow them.
Excellent post, you definitely make some good points.
That is an interesting psychological trick that does work. I have gotten to the point that I feel somewhat like a slave to my blog.
I get very few questions about computers on my blog. And what motivates me is that questions. I answer each one. Without the questions it is hard to write.