S. W. Raine

Have you ever wanted a behind-the-scenes glimpse into an author’s creative process? I thought I’d share how I create the stories you love by giving you a little peek behind the rituals and habits that help me weave tales. So here’s my writing routine:

Morning Ritual

It might surprise you to know I have no morning ritual in my writing routine. No rising with the sun, no yoga, no breakfast of champions. I just get up and get right to work.

I used to sleep in until my son got up, anywhere between 7 and 8 a.m. Then my morning ritual consisted of getting him fed and dressed, getting myself fed and dressed, and hopping on social media for a few before I even thought about getting ready to work. But by then it was 10 a.m., and more often than not, my time was no longer mine. Working from home isn’t easy with a preschooler!

Eventually, I decided that if I wanted to get any work done, it would have to be before my son woke up. My husband was getting up at 5:30 a.m. for work anyway, so I decided to get up with him. And since my son got up anywhere between 7 and 8 a.m. (and sometimes even 6 a.m.!), there was no time to dawdle.

Now that my son is in school, I still get up at 5:30 a.m. He attends online classes, and until he’s more independent with getting things done on his own (I was told somewhere around third grade), he still demands most of my attention during the day. So early morning writing sessions it is.

Setting the Stage

I learned from Craig Ballantyne, business coach and author of The Perfect Day Formula and The Perfect Week Formula, that to set your day up for success, you need to do it the night before. Creating the perfect environment is essential for channeling creativity, but if you do it the morning of, it’s already too late.

I don’t need to set the mood to get my writing routine started. No candles, no ambiance music, no essential oils. But in the winter, I do need to run the humidifier, else my sinuses suffer. So I make sure to fill it up the night before. I also have my light therapy lamp to chase away the winter blues, though Michigan had more sunny days this winter than cloudy days, so I never needed to use it. But it was plugged in and ready if I needed it.

I keep a notebook nearby to jot down the thoughts that distract me from my writing, but I also write down my to-do list the night before. Not only does this help with knowing exactly what needs to be done after my writing session, but by doing it the night before, I can sleep better because the tasks and ideas aren’t constantly on my mind as I cross my fingers I won’t forget them by morning.

Writing Process

I seem to work best in sprints. Not necessarily as a rush to get the most done within a certain time frame (like during NaNoWriMo, where it’s quantity over quality), but in the sense that my brain can only focus for so long before it wanders. So the Pomodoro technique is great for this.

The Pomodoro technique is a time management method where you work in intervals, typically 25 minutes in length, separated by short breaks and one longer break after the fourth Pomodoro. I work off a modified technique of my own creation where I can maybe get one or two sets in my writing routine before my “longer break” is my son getting up and ready for school.

And aside from my early morning session, I try to have another session from 3–4 p.m. This doesn’t always work out, as sometimes my son is still needing help on homework-heavy days, and this is typically the time my husband gets home from work. Thank goodness I have a third session planned (with accountability buddies!) for after my son goes to bed.

My sessions aren’t strict to just drafting up new novels, either. More often than not, I’m editing. Sometimes I’m doing research. And on the rare occasion, I’m catching up in my author business by finishing up a newsletter, blog post, or social media post. But I usually try to limit my sessions to working on my current novel.

Taking Breaks and Recharging

Even storytellers need to recharge their creative batteries. That’s where the weekend comes in. Unless it’s during NaNoWriMo where the main events happen over the weekend all month long, I don’t write or edit on weekends. That’s my family time. That’s my me time. Sure, I might have book-signing events, but I don’t work on my novel.

My favorite way to recharge is by playing video games. If I can play, it’s mostly on the weekend. Sometimes though, if my son finishes his lessons early enough on a Friday, I’ll play until my husband gets home. My son loves watching my play.

As for those “longer breaks” I mentioned farther up? It’s not all play. I work on the business side of things during my son’s classes. I do a load of laundry. But I unwind with games on my phone during lunch. And I incorporate movement into my schedule by going for a family walk after supper. In the summer, when my son’s out of school, we even add an extra movement session mid-morning by dancing, going for a bike ride, or just running around in the yard.

Wrapping Up

While I might have another late-night writing session later on, my business workday typically ends around 4–4:30 p.m. And as I mentioned farther up, I do my brain dump and to-do list for the next day. So I’ll make a new list, even drawing a star next to the two most important tasks to get done.

Craig Ballantyne has a list of very business-y journaling prompts. Some questions include writing out a review of the day and thinking of three ways to improve for success tomorrow. I found answering the same prompts day after day counterproductive, especially when my daily progress is too small to count toward anything for a single day. So I do it on a weekly basis instead, then sprinkle in a few of my own coach’s journal prompts she’d given me throughout the years.

Thanks for joining me on this journey through my writing routine. I hope this glimpse behind the curtain has sparked your curiosity and given you insight into the magic of my creative process.

Raine