One of my goals for 2025 was to be more consistent with my writing. I’d gotten into a rhythm posting on Substack, but many weeks last year it felt like the only thing I wrote was my weekly newsletter. So, I wanted to build a sustainable, daily habit of writing.
My routine looks different every day. I have two children, one of them a two and a half year old boy who is potty training, and the other a girl who is almost a year old. So, there’s no telling when I will be needed during the day. There are some certainties built into the day: breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Also, dishes. And diapers, but the stinky ones sneak up on me. Usually when I sit down to write.
And so, my “routine” is to find time every day. My notebook is ready in a central room of the house, and when my children are quietly playing, I sneak over to my desk and scribble away until one of them realizes that they should definitely interrupt me.
It is March, so I’ve been diligent at my daily writing practice for two months now. I haven’t been perfect, but I have written something a majority of the past sixty days that way, and written somewhere around twenty-six poems or drafts of poems. Not all of them are “great.” Only a few of them are work that I’m truly proud of, but many of them have potential and will be improved upon further revision.
I felt a little frustrated toward the middle of February, a little lacking in focus. Then my mother reminded me of the 100 Day Project, which is a challenge for creative people of all types to just create something. Every day for 100 days, to sit down and make an effort toward their craft. It sounded daunting, but then again, a challenge always adds a little novelty, making it easier to motivate myself. So, I decided I’d do 100 days of poetic forms. I selected a notebook just for this project, and every day have been trying a new form. I’m allowed to repeat forms, to make it easier on me.
So far, I’ve managed to write a new draft every day. I’ve written a pantoum, an ode, an acrostic, a haiku, a ghazal, a villanelle, and more that I can’t think of right now. With all this success I’ve been having in keeping my writing habit, I thought I’d share what I’ve been learning. So here is my list of things consistency has taught me:
Like Mary Oliver says in “A Poetry Handbook,” showing up consistently really does make a difference in process. I don’t have a spectacular day of writing every day, but by being consistent, I have far more trust in the process, and days where I feel stuck do not feel so formidable. I know that tomorrow I can try again, and that the words will come.
The best way to make your days longer is to fill them up with meaningful things. I am guilty of wasting small moments of my day because ten minutes doesn’t feel like enough time to do anything. But it is. And sitting in silence is much better for you than scrolling Instagram. Social media and other mindless distractions make life speed by even faster, which is very stressful as a creative with many projects on my bucket list, LOL.
A good poem does not have to come easily. I have written many poems that required me to spend more than a few sheets of paper drafting and brainstorming. It is such a good feeling when a poem arrives on the page almost finished. But a more arduous process is worthwhile as well. Being diligent at crafting even the difficult poems helps build trust. Trust in yourself, in your skills. If you leave your creative endeavors to chance, to those fleeting moments of profound inspiration, you will have a harder time believing yourself capable of finishing those more difficult projects.
I do not have to create good things for creativity to be worthwhile. It is enough to write the poem.
I am learning to let myself be done writing “for the day,” and to be present thereafter. There is a strange tension that I face in my writing. I finish my goals for the day but there is still more I could write. I will never be done writing until I am dead. Although, sometimes ideas for poems still spook me while I spend time with my family. That’s ok. But I don’t need to always be writing in my head.
Are your creative endeavors teaching you anything about yourself or your craft? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!
Publishing news: I’ve Got a Bad Case of Poetry, a children’s poetry anthology, has almost reached its goal on Kickstarter! I have two poems that will be included. If you are interested in owning a beautifully illustrated collection of poetry that is certain to be a classic, would you consider contributing to the Kickstarter? Here is the link. We need to meet our goal for this to become a reality. It ends on March 11, so we are in the final stretch! Check it out, and share with people who might enjoy it!
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I’m learning some similar things during the 100 Day Project this year. I’m sitting down for at least a few minutes every day to sketch out character ideas, many of which are very rough and a little ugly. But this is helping me practice a vital skill, and many of my characters (even the rough, ugly ones) have the potential to be decent designs if I spend more time on them later.
❤️ for lent this year I decided to give up being on my phone while nursing the baby and it’s amazing how much brain space it provides 😂 you inspire me, friend.