Small Writing Habits Can Equal Big Results  

“How did you go about writing a novel?” I’ve been asked this question frequently since publishing my debut domestic thriller, Tread Lightly, in October at the age of fifty-five.

Writing a book is a big undertaking, so I understand the curiosity. One simple answer is to cite the online courses and workshops, craft books, writers’ conferences, and my writing community as resources that helped propel my manuscript to the finish line. In looking back at my writing process, though, it was the addition of small writing habits to my daily routine that kept me on track. 

Being a novelist is my Act 3. Act 1 was a successful career in high-tech marketing communications, Act 2 was becoming a stay-at-home mom to raise my two children, but then something shifted. I no longer had a career that defined me, and was starting to feel lost on that front. Don’t get me wrong, it was a privilege to be home while my husband worked full time. And I continue to be in awe of working mothers. But after much soul-searching, my direction came in a whisper—”Remember that mystery story you wanted to write?”

There it was. I could be a novelist. I could make the move from domestic life to domestic thriller writer! But how? Well, it wasn’t going to happen overnight.

I approached writing a novel a bit like training for a marathon. I’m not a runner, but I know better than to hop out of bed one morning and arrive at a starting line to give one a whirl. I could, but that would prove discouraging—just like trying to write a book without acknowledging it would take one step at a time. And a lot of time.

In between various mom duties and volunteer gigs, I implemented my first small habit: jot down story ideas on scraps of paper as they arise while at places like the school pick-up line, grocery store or post office. It was such a small thing, but I had to start somewhere. I tried using a little note pad, like many writers do, but kept misplacing it in various jackets or somewhere in my car. Every writer needs to find their own jotting method, so I recommend testing options—even sticky notes. 

As my kids got older and more self-sufficient, I had additional time to write. I’d pop over to the library or coffee shop with my laptop for a change of scenery from the piles of laundry. Remember those ideas on scraps of paper? They were evolving into actual scenes. With family and volunteer commitments, though, I still didn’t believe that having a set time to write was possible. And even when I had a few hours, inspiration wouldn’t necessarily strike. But then the pandemic struck. 

With my family now homebound, we each had a designated area to do our respective work, and I claimed the dining room table. It wasn’t the quietest, but that is what drove me to implement a second small habit: rise before the rest of the house every day to write, even if only for fifteen minutes. It became now or never to work on my novel, thanks to COVID.

What had been keeping me from holding office hours already? Excuses, that’s what. We make time for things that are important, and I had clearly needed to shift my mindset to include a specific writing time. How would I ever finish my manuscript if I wasn’t writing consistently? 

I soon found I could make headway with only a few minutes in the morning (note: choose afternoon/evening if that’s more your jam). In one of those short sprints, I sketched my favorite Tread Lightly scene—so I can verify that lots of time isn’t always required for a successful session. 

I began to focus on my pages in earnest. My numerous scenes were becoming chapters!

Flash forward to 2021. I took an online Jumpstart your Novel course from Stanford Continuing Studies, and my project picked up speed. I still kept to my schedule, which helped me write through distractions that would inevitably cloud progress. Sometimes I’d sit and stare at the keyboard, but I still showed up each morning. Then one day after feeling quite stuck, I recalled a writing program others had mentioned as helpful—The Artist’s Way, by Julia Cameron. It was specifically her Morning Pages routine that became my savior, and helped moved my writing to the next level. 

The premise of these pages is that each morning, before doing anything else, you complete three pages of stream-of-consciousness writing by hand. This became my third small habit, which was like a daily detox for my mind. I continue to utilize this tool daily as part of my morning writing routine. 

Another activity I began during the pandemic was to get outside and walk. What else could we really do? Walking solo, though, as Cameron recommends, soon became a regular part of my daily routine—my fourth small habit, and I continue the activity today (even when I only have time for a walk around the block). I liken it to writing in nature, but using my thoughts as the paper. I frequently return home with some new inspirational nugget.

As my second book pulls focus, I continue to protect these small writing habits I’ve developed. It’s not easy when life zigs or zags, but I know better than to ignore the tools. And I hope at least one of them might breathe new life into your writing practice. 

Visit my website to learn more about me and my work: www.elizabethkempwrites.com

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Elizabeth Kemp was born and raised in California, and lives in Silicon Valley with her high school sweetheart husband. She studied public relations at the University of Southern California, earned an MBA from Santa Clara University, and led a successful career in high-tech marketing communications before becoming a stay-at-home mom. That decision helped rekindle her love of reading for fun, and enabled her to pursue writing full-time. When away from her laptop, Elizabeth enjoys lap swimming, hiking, pickleball, and golf. Tread Lightly is her first novel.

TREAD LIGHTLY

A stay-at-home mom with a past navigates a murder in Silicon Valley…

When a lifeguard’s body is found at the local pool where Tierney lap swims daily, she is pulled back into the life she thought she had left behind when she was a member of the Crisis Intervention Squad in Dublin, Ireland. A former hostage negotiator turned stay-at-home mom, her move to Silicon Valley for her husband’s job offered the contrast of a calm, domestic life. But this murder investigation disrupts all that, connecting to an event in her past, and threatening to overwhelm her.

On the domestic front, the cliques at her kindergartener’s new private school aren’t making it easy for her to fit in either. This ‘fish out of water’ story is a domestic thriller set amid a backdrop of the tech industry’s 2007 stock-option backdating scandal.

As Tierney struggles with survivor’s guilt from her previous employment and wrestles with the motherhood/career balancing act, there’s still a murder to be solved. And in helping solve it, Tierney discovers the assumptions we make about people can be completely incorrect—even when those people are ourselves.

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Category: How To and Tips