Written

You might prefer one approach to making time to write, but the reality of your day-to-day life may mean you need to use a combination to move your writing forward. Be flexible, keep experimenting with different approaches, don’t compare yourself to others, and most importantly don’t compare yourself to an idealised future-you or a rose-tinted versi

‘Make an intention and follow through with it. So, if all you can do is write one day a month, say “I’m going to take one day a month that’s all I’m doing” – that’s twelve good days a year, there’s a lot of writing you can get done.’

‘I write when I want to,’ Italian novelist Elena Ferrante is reported as saying.8 She claims not to have any kind of routine and has no fixed schedule either, saying, ‘I write continuously and everywhere and at every hour of the day and night.’ But she does know that she needs some pressure: ‘If I don’t feel the urgency to write, there is no propri

Block out all the hours that are already committed to work, care, socialising and exercise. What’s left? Are there any opportunities? If yes, book in some time for your writing like any other appointment and commit to it – whether it’s a slot every day or just once a month. Not found any time? Reschedule other tasks to free up time. What can you st

You need to practise – that goes without saying – but to become an expert, and for that to lead to success, you need to do more than rack up the hours. Gladwell’s book might have topped the bestsellers’ chart and been critically applauded, but Ericsson felt he overemphasised the 10,000-Hour Rule. In essence, practice matters, but how you practise m

After spending thousands of hours coaching writers to write, we have found that noticing things about your process is the single most powerful thing that you can do.

We wrote this book with the sole purpose of helping you to keep going as a writer. But the ideas in it can guide your life. After all, our whole lives are trial and error strewn with highs and lows, ups and downs, breakthroughs and blocks. The more mindful you become about what you believe and how you live, the better you’ll be able to weather the

Take time to consider what a writing routine might look like. When do you want to write, where, and what will you do when you show up each day? Imagine it fully – visualise, draw, brainstorm, explore and make notes on what a successful routine looks like for you.

The thing they don’t do is to ‘try harder’. And by this we mean they don’t rely on willpower alone to sit grim-faced at their desk attempting to grind out some more words. And they don’t carry on using the same approach that isn’t working for them – instead, they change and adapt.