[Podcast] The 6 Writing Discipline Models

Mornings and I mix as well as homework and the weekend. The two are simply incompatible. 

That's why I rarely write in the morning (though, ironically, it's morning, and I'm writing this before the hustle of the day distracts me!).  Thankfully, there's no one perfect time to write. There are many writing discipline models that work for writers. 

Writers often try out a variety of writing discipline models as they write their book, depending on their phase of life (working full time with kids rushing around in the background means getting creative with your time!). Dave and I recently chatted about the six writing discipline models for writers.

Which one works best for you?

1. The Early Riser/Late Night Model. The Early Riser model is the paragon for writers: set the alarm for 5 AM, brew your coffee, settle into a comfortable location and start writing for three to four hours.

If you like morning rituals and are juiced up in the mornings, this might be the model for you. Often professional writers will get up early, write until mid morning, and then be off the rest of the day.

Or you might write late at night, once the chaos of the day has receded. Dave wrote much of Death by Suburb from 9 PM to midnight at his dining room table. He had three kids at the time. Life was crazy.

The principle is, you write when the dailyness of your life isn’t interrupting you or nagging at you. No laundry. No emails. No phone calls. No children needing something from you.

2. The Toilet Seat Model.  Imagine cranking out words your book on the edge of the toilet seat while your children bathed. That's what author Caryn Rivadeneira did when she had two small children underfoot and a book deal.

The "toilet seat" is a metaphor for fitting in writing time whenever and wherever you can. Dave and I love this model because it is where many of us live. We have a life. We’re not professional writers, whose sole job is to write. Nor are we professors at universities who teach only two classes a semester and have sabbaticals and summers off to write.

This model is for ordinary people who are doing an extraordinary thing – writing in the white spaces of their lives.

3. The Chunker Model. This comes from one of our Roadtrippers, George, who writes on Fridays from 8 to noon. This isn’t an everyday discipline; it’s a weekly discipline. Some may be able to do this on Saturday or Sunday--or any other day when the demands of the week quiet down.

Sometimes you might write a couple thousand words. Other days you may eke out only a few hundred. But if you honor the time, you'll make progress. As with the Early Riser/Late Night model, this model takes discipline. And the more routine it becomes, the more likely you'll stick with it. 

4. The Retreat Model. Sometimes you have to break up the routine of your life and get away to jumpstart your writing or to create some momentum in writing.

I have a friend who is working on a book, and her sister-in-law offered her lakeside home for an extended period of time. The house was a good hour from where she lived--so she wasn't hermitting in a cabin in Colorado. But it served the same purpose: uninterrupted time and space.

She made huge headway. 

This model is about the escape from the daily grind: Maybe you book an Airbnb by the lake for a few days. Or maybe you pay for a writer's retreat or conference. These can be intense periods. But you’ll make progress with guided exercises, peer reviews, time away from your everyday demands.

5. The Word Count Model. This is a model we have spoken about in a previous episode. It came from author Lorilee Craker, who commits to writing six of the seven days of the week, until she reaches 1500 words.

It doesn’t matter what she’s writing; it only matters that she is writing. Good ideas develop when you write. Your writing will improve.

The word count doesn't have to be as ambitious as 1500 words. Maybe you start with 150 words. Starting small always provides small victories--the impetus to keep the routine going.

6. "I've Got a Book Contract" Model. When you have a book deal with a deadline--or are self-publishing with a self-imposed deadline--you have to do whatever it takes to complete the book. 

You may wake up early every day. Or stay up late every night, like Dave did. Or maybe you're up early, up late and "sitting on the edge of the toilet seat" writing. This phase demands more than usual, and you'll likely have to sacrifice other things in your life until you get this done.

This is a grind. But envision the day you'll hold your book in hand, with your name on the cover...there's nothing quite like that. It's the payoff for disciplining yourself to write.