My Writing Routine (July 2026)

On the long drive back from Pittsburgh after visiting Stokercon, I had a great conversation with fellow author and friend, Logan Alexander about the routines we put in place to keep our writing time protected and consistent. I thought I'd share a little bit about that process as it stands now, and revise and re-post this in the future if there are any major changes.

Sitting down to write may look different for me depending on what I’m working on, the kind of time I have available, and where I am when I get the opportunity. In future posts, I’ll share how it may look under different circumstances, but here’s the most common one.

1. I wake up early and have a small snack while the coffee brews. 

2. I get my materials together. 

   1. Story notes/outlines

   2. Relevant reference and craft books

   3. Two different color pens and a notebook

   4. My laptop with the relevant tabs open

   5. The playlist I’ve made for writing that particular genre

3. If I’m feeling slightly distracted, I use the Focus Friend app and set a timer for how long I want to avoid looking at my phone. 

4. If I’m in the middle of a draft, I’ll reread the last few paragraphs to get back into it

5. Then I write for about an hour until it’s time to wake up my wife so she can read, knit, or make some art. Then we continue for another hour or so before I wake up our son and we start the day. 

This is what I do pretty much every day when I don’t have to go to work in the morning. It’s certainly not the only time that I write, but this is what happens the most consistently. 

Other authors and creatives, please feel free to comment the routines and systems you have in place to be consistent with your creative work.