Writing consistently doesn’t need to be a challenge, you can do it organically and without much friction.

Enter;

HaaBiT StAcKIng!

Habit Stacking?

Habit stacking was first attributed to S.J. Scott in his book Habit Stacking: 97 Small Life Changes That Take Five Minutes or Less but the idea never really took off until James Clear’s book Atomic Habits.

It describes a way to create new habits, focusing on already established habits rather than specific time or place-specific habits.

For example, if you want to practice mindfulness more you pair the habit you want (Practice Mindfulness) with an already established habit you do every day, like brushing your teeth.

You then stack your habits, and you say to yourself after you put your toothbrush away you will say 3 things you’re grateful for.

Easy as that.

It seems so simple but its actually quite powerful.

Consistent Writing and Habit Stacking

Now we get to the good part, the easiest way to create a writing habit.

By far the easiest way to create a habit is by habit stacking, here’s how to apply it to writing.

Today marks day 89 of consistently writing every day, also being the first time I’ve ever purposefully written.

I got here by no mistake.

Around 9 every day I sit in my chair because I wind down from the day by either playing video games or watching movies. I’ve stacked my habit of writing with this habit.

I now have an established habit that after 30 minutes of sitting down and relaxing, I write a post.

This technique has not failed me yet.

Hidden Bonus of this Technique

A hidden bonus I have found from habit stacking is that eventually the habit gets ingrained into the time of its occurence rather than the habit its stacked on.

I started walking everyday about half way through last year, I used habit stacking to stack when I got home from school at 4pm with going for a 30 minute walk.

I still walk everyday at 4pm but am no longer at secondary school.

This means that eventually a stacked habit just becomes a habit you do at a specific time and can then be stacked on itself.

Then you are writing consistently.

In Conclusion . . .

Creating consistency in your writing doesn’t need to be difficult, if you play it smart and schedule your actions you WILL achieve consistency.

Apply habit stacking to your writing and as many other habits you like, let me know how it turns out.

In the meantime, may your words flow like water and your writing stand solid as a rock.

Happy Writing 🙂

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There is no book quite like the Art of War.

It’s a military strategy book written by a great military leader, Sun Tzu, however curiously enough every single rule that Sun Tzu outlines can be applied to business, relationships, and yes even your life as a writer.

This is because the craft of writing can be interwoven with military strategy.

Unlocking the secrets of The Art of War can empower us as writers with strategic insights to conquer the battlefield of words.

Know Your Terrain

Both the military terrain and the writing landscape are free-for-all battles for survival. Although you can team up you will be up against other competitors.

And this is ok.

Just as you wouldn’t charge headlong into an active warzone with a mop and a colander on your head, you then shouldn’t charge into the writing space without some sort of preparation.

Knowing your terrain in terms of writing is understanding your genre, audience, literary trends, and expectations as well as what you enjoy writing.

The familiarity of your weapon determines the outcome of your battles.

So spend time scoping the terrain and shining your weapons you never know what the enemy is up to.

All Warfare is Based on Deception

Just as a general strategically conceals their intentions on the battlefield, writers wield nuance and subtlety to captivate their audience.

It’s the art of saying more with less, hinting rather than stating outright.

The spaces between the lines become fertile ground for readers’ imaginations to sprout, fostering a deeper connection with the narrative.

Deception in writing isn’t about tricking readers; it’s about leading them on a journey of discovery.

Skillful deployment of plot twists, unreliable narrators, and unexpected revelations becomes the arsenal of a writer.

By strategically revealing and concealing information, we shape the reader’s experience, keeping them hooked and hungry for the next revelation.

Unity of Purpose

Wielding the pen with intentionality demands a clear and unified vision.

Just as a military leader envisions victory before entering the battlefield, a writer must conceive the overarching essence of their story.

This vision becomes the guiding star, steering the narrative ship through the twists and turns of the storytelling sea.

An incoherent story is a failed story, just like on the battlefield some failures are difficult to come back from.

The plot, characters, and themes should move in synchrony, each element enhancing the others.

Characters become the vessels through which themes are explored, and the plot becomes the canvas upon which characters evolve.

It’s the delicate dance of these components that forges a narrative with resonance and impact.

The Strategic Retreat

Some writers feel shame in editing, feel like they are a failure in some way for needing to edit and revise.

To acknowledge the necessity of revising and editing is to embrace the heart of craftsmanship in writing.

Just as a military commander reassesses their tactics after a skirmish, a writer must scrutinize their words, sentences, and paragraphs.

This acknowledgment is not a concession of failure but a declaration of commitment to the refinement process that transforms a draft into a polished masterpiece.

Sun Tzu’s concept of strategic retreat emphasizes the wisdom of withdrawing temporarily to regroup and emerge stronger.

In writing, this translates to stepping back from your work to gain a fresh perspective.

Much like a military leader assesses the battlefield from a distance, a writer should view their manuscript with a discerning eye after the initial drafting phase.

This strategic retreat allows for a more objective evaluation and sets the stage for effective editing.

In Conclusion . . .

Tzu’s ‘The Art of War,’ lets us gather the spoils of wisdom and embark on our writing journeys with a newfound strategic prowess.

1. Understanding Terrain: Knowing your genre, audience, and trends lays the foundation for a successful campaign of words.
2. Deceptive Storytelling: The art of deception in writing, breathes life into narratives. Nuance, subtlety, and well-executed plot twists become the writer’s secret weapons.
3. Unity of Purpose: Crafting cohesive narratives involves aligning the plot, characters, and themes in a harmonious dance. A unified vision becomes the North Star guiding your literary expedition.
4. Strategic Retreat of Editing: Acknowledging the necessity of revising and editing is the writer’s tactical retreat. It’s in this phase that manuscripts transform from drafts to refined works of art.

May the echoes of Sun Tzu’s wisdom reverberate through your narratives, infusing them with depth, purpose, and strategic brilliance.

As you navigate the vast expanse of the literary battlefield, remember that the art of writing is not just about crafting words—it’s about wielding them with intention, strategy, and the enduring spirit of a true wordsmith.

Onward, fellow writers, to conquer the realms of creativity and forge tales that endure through time.

Happy Writing 🙂

I post writing tips every day so if you enjoyed this post check out this one;

Have you heard or said any of these before?

‘I’ll start tomorrow’

‘There’s not enough time, so I’ll just wait’

‘I’m just not good enough’

Unfortunately, you are human (I hope) and are prone to thinking thoughts.

These thoughts oftentimes become scrambled with the truth.

This is why you can talk yourself into a panic attack or into believing tomorrow will be any different than today.

The Tomorrow Trap

These three lies we tell ourselves;

• ‘I’ll start tomorrow’
• ‘There’s not enough time, so I’ll just wait’
• ‘I’m just not good enough’

Are all ways of having our cake and eating it too.

We get the satisfaction of the idea that the thing you procrastinate is already done, it’s just a matter of time.

The thing is the brain doesn’t deal well with time, it can’t distinguish exactly between a task that has been done and a task that needs to be done.

That’s why we need planners and to-do lists because our brains don’t have that app downloaded.

Therefore, when you tell yourself you’ll start writing your book in the future your brain already thinks it’s done so you won’t act on your intention, because in your brain you’ve already done it.

Avoiding the Trap

Luckily, there are always ways around these things.

Productivity hacks they’re called in the biz.

The thing with putting off your writing has one simple way to avoid this perpetual putting off the machine.

That is just do it.

Rather than putting off starting things such as your writing, think what can you do right now?

Can you outline your novel?

Write a paragraph?

Draw a picture of a character?

ANYTHING

Some progress is better than no progress.

You’ll find that the more you take little actions, the more progress you’ll make. In the present!

Progress in the present beats delusion in the future, every day of the week.

I post writing tips every day so if you enjoyed this post check out this one;