Habits for a Successful Writing Year

Published January 2, 2024

So, you want to write a book. Or perhaps you’ve written one and would like to write more. Where should you start? How can you make this writing year your most productive yet? 

Whether you’re a newbie or a seasoned writer with multiple books in print, these five habits will ensure a successful year of writing. 

Five Habits of Successful Writers

1. Read. Read the newspaper, your favorite genres, comics, and books similar to what you plan to write. Reading is what fills a writer’s soul. 
2. Write. A regular writing time at a designated writing spot(s) will likely increase productivity. Remove distractions and clutter from the area ahead of time so that when you sit down to write, your brain knows what to expect. Write daily. Remember to prioritize your writing; no one else will do it for you.  
3. Set goals. These can be word count, paragraph, or deadline goals. You’re more likely to accomplish something if you break it into small, reachable chunks.
4. Make separate times for research, writing, and editing. Each of these requires a different skill set. It is more efficient to perform one task at a time. 
5. Keep a positive mindset. Writing can be hard work. Past the actual writing part, editing, querying, and marketing are also trying tasks. Writers need thick skin, determination, and diligence. You can do this!

More Tips for Your Best Writing Year Ever:   

1. Join a writing guild such as our very own Pikes Peak Writers. Writers Guilds provide supportive communities of writers to give you encouragement and share expertise. 
2. Sign up for our blog to get marvelous writing tips straight to your inbox!
3. Attend a writing conference! Pikes Peak Writing Conference 2024 is an excellent place to start! It’s a 3-day fiction-writing conference for writers of all levels, indie and traditionally published, featuring a variety of craft and business workshops, acquiring editors/agents, and well-known authors across many genres. It allows you to network with other writers and hone your craft.

I trust these habits and tips will guide you to achieve your best writing year yet! If you have questions or more writing tips, please don’t hesitate to contact me (editor@pikespeakwriters.com) or leave them in the comments. 

Trista Herring Baughman is a blogger and Children’s writer. She is the Managing Editor of Writing from the Peak (PPW’s blog)  and  Managing Editor of Mississippi Folklore, a collaborative collection of Mississippi folklore and legends in a bi-weekly blog. Her books, The Magic Telescope, Halloween Night and Other Poems, and Zombiesaurs (which she co-illustrated with her sons), can be found at Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Visit Trista on her website.