Want to Write Like Kurt Vonnegut? Do More Pushups.
Some thoughts on the importance of a writing routine
I do pushups and sit ups all the time, and feel as though I am getting lean and sinewy, but maybe not. — Kurt Vonnegut, “Letters”
Daily routine is the difference between success or failure. The discipline of sticking to a schedule is the secret ingredient behind many of the greatest pieces of literature ever written. If you want to become a better writer, create a regimen and stick to it.
The Science of Routine
Our minds are in constant need of routine. Subconsciously, our brains create routine loops every chance they get. We are neurologically hardwired to function best in routine, but frequently, we lack the ability (or the desire) to create and control productive, meaningful routines, and so our brains slip into unprofitable ruts and bad habits. One way or another, our minds will create a routine, but it’s up to us whether the routines we practice are good or bad.
In The Power of Habit, author Charles Duhigg writes that the three key components to any habit are Cue, Routine, and Reward. Isolating each of those three components, and analyzing their respective place in the neurological loop of routine, Duhigg reveals that the best way to change or create a new habit is to tweak one or more of those three components. Without an understanding of what your particular habits are based on, it will be not only harder to change bad habits, but harder to inculcate good ones, too.
The discipline of writing is nothing more than programming your own personal habit loop centered around writing. Most, if not all, of the best-known writers have had some sort of routine, although the individual routines themselves varied greatly. The point of this post, though, is not to analyize the routines of famous writers and come up with a “12 things you can add to your routine” type of post. Despite the title, that’s not the intent of this post. I’m aiming to present a much broader view of the discipline required to succeed at writing.
