Q: DO I HAVE A WRITING PROCESS?

A: uh. kinda. i don't have a process as much as i do a routine. i work from home full-time, and so it's hard for me to get out of the house of my own volition.

executive dysfunction has me in a death grip. i suffer from constant decision paralysis, and so i need to be forced into doing things.

so i forced myself to have a routine, with tangible deadlines.

and by tangible, i mean, there is a set expectation that i be present from an outside party.

i joined a writing group. usually, i don't like the idea of writing groups. most of them are there with the expectation to share your work and workshop each other's pieces. that is counter-productive to someone like me who write novels. usually, it is in a novelist's best interest not to share parts of their novel in progress, lest the probability they'll finish the draft will decrease. at least, this is the case for me. i've tried to write two novels during college, and i've shared parts of it for my creative writing classes. as a result, i've ended up not finishing either of them.

but this writing group was different. we meet every saturday from 10am to 11:30am at this cool coworking space run by a local literary arts organization. for writing groups associated with this organization, there is a rule that if you miss enough meetings, you get removed to open a spot for someone who actually wants to be there. so i'm expected to often be present. there's no critiquing. no workshopping. no sharing of works. we just catch up with each other, write for an hour in silence together, then share how our writing went. that's it. no pressure, just a quiet space to write among like-minded individuals looking to get work done. it's wonderful, and i often write 1,000 words on average when i'm there.

since i'm there, i might as well take advantage of the coworking space. i got myself a monthly coworking membership, which is way cheaper than traditional coworking spaces because it's run by a non-profit. after my writing group meeting is over, i book myself a desk and take a few steps over to one of the workstations down the hall, allowing myself to continue writing until the building closes at 4pm. as a result, i gave myself a weekly obligation to spend a full writing day there.

additionally, i'm rebuilding my reading habit again by borrowing from my local public library. since i'm physically at the library grabbing books, i tell myself that i might as well stay until closing and work on my writing.

because library books have due dates, i require myself to come to the library once every few weeks to return books that are due, borrow more books, and work on my writing for a few hours.

through this routine, i've given myself a minimum handful of days where i've wired my brain to leave the house and write. on average, i yield about 10,000 words a month this way.

in nine months, i will have written a full 90,000-word draft.

so far, i've reached almost 20,000 words with this routine, and i feel fantastic. i've put myself into this perpetual cycle of writing and reading, and i've finally learned to love the act of writing again.

i hope this interested folks! if you have any questions or need any certain writing advice, feel free to shoot me an email or reach out on tumblr!