Where do you write and what’s your writing routine?
Q&A With Shay Each Sunday
A version of this post appeared in October 2018.
Q: Where do you write and what’s your routine?
A: Several years ago, especially when I was starting to take writing seriously I did basically all of my writing at Starbucks. It was just the setting I needed to focus (plus, coffee) and I really had no problem sitting there for a few hours working without getting distracted by other things. I think I wrote pretty much my whole first book and most of my second (in the beginning stages) at Starbucks, plus tons of editing and short story writing. Side note: my drink of choice is a grande soy latte, iced or hot depending on the weather. And sometimes it’s a venti sort of day.
Now, I do a lot more of my work at home. And this was happening way before COVID where I, and everyone else, was forced to stay home. I’m not sure exactly why I stopped going out and getting into the focused mindset at Starbucks or a cafe or wherever. I kind of got out of the habit once I finished my second book because I wasn’t really working on any big writing projects for a while after that. Now, I feel like my writing setting and routine is in a slump and I’m almost nostalgic for the days when I was younger and would go and work for hours because it feels so much harder with so much more pressure now. I haven’t found a huge way to get myself back into it since finishing my second book, so maybe once the world returns to some sort of normalcy I’ll be able to force myself out and to sit and write somewhere else the way I used to with way less distractions than there are at home. I do love to write at the table outside on the deck at my parents’ house in New York when I’m there in summer. It’s one of my favorite places and something about it must be inspiring to my writing process. I’m heading there again and am hoping to strike some inspiration for my third book, which is hardly a book at all right now. Maybe after the summer it’ll be something more!
When I write at home I usually either do on the couch or at the dining room table. I don’t have a desk or office. And lately with the nice weather I have been enjoying sitting on the porch to work—whether it be my writing or editing for clients. We moved to Charleston a few months ago and our porch is awesome. Now I just have to go out and find some seats and tables and trinkets and what not to make it even more inviting! Target, anyone? I’ll pretend that’ll help my writing vibe.
There are a multitude of reasons I most likely stopped going to Starbucks or out and about for writing. Starbucks is usually pretty freezing. I’m one of those people who is horribly cold all the time and how could I possibly focus on my characters saying and doing what they’re supposed to while I’m trying to fight off frostbite? Even with a hot latte in hand. Also, I think I noticed that I stopped leaving the apartment as much about 2.5 years ago when I got my dog. He’s amazing in every way but getting me to go out into the world isn’t one of those ways!
I feel like the setting of where we write probably doesn’t matter as much as many of us give it credit for. If you’re in the right headspace and immersed in your story then you pretty much tune everything else out anyway. Either way, my spots vary. And I’ve gotten plenty of productive writing done in strange or vastly different places—planes, waiting rooms, the beach, the bath, the car, benches, notes jotted down at traffic lights, classrooms when I was supposed to be paying attention to classes unrelated to writing (oops…one of the reasons I wasn’t the greatest student). Writing is for everywhere.
Now, my routine is different depending on what else I have going on that day/week and how busy I am with editing. When I was in grad school or the year after school I’d make sure to do my writing in the morning/between classes. I had a very set routine of working half the day in the mornings until early-mid afternoon. I’d then sometimes go back to writing more later in the day but I didn’t force it. Or when I worked at the library for almost two years I’d go to work there in the mornings, and after I’d come home and write for the rest of the afternoon, or I’d go somewhere to write on the way home until an evening workout class. Workout classes are also part of my daily routine. I used to only go in the evenings during the week but now my schedule fluctuates more and sometimes I’ll go in the morning and then do my work after.
I don’t really have a set writing routine anymore and I think that’s part of the problem for my lulls. I’ve gotten pretty busy with editing work in the last couple of years and I think that’s definitely taken away from my strictness when it comes to making sure I get my own writing done. I have been prioritizing editing more than my own work, so I definitely need to continue to work on finding that balance. For a few weeks recently I was making sure to write about 1,000 words in the morning before I got to any of my other tasks for the day, but then I got busy again and got discouraged with my new book and that plan didn’t stick. So, now I’m working on setting out a new routine that I MAKE myself stick to no matter what I have going on. In short: I don’t have any of the magical answers or formula. What works for me now might not in the future and my habits could change at any time depending on where I am in life. As long as I’m actually writing, that’s okay.
If any of you have tips and set routines that work really well for you in the face of all the other things we have going on, please share your secrets! Have you found a writing spot you love best? A time of day that works for you? Let us know!
