After watching the first round of the U.S. Open Golf Championship last year, a thought popped into my head. Scary, I know.
No matter how difficult or easy the shot, every golfer went through a pre-shot routine of lining up the ball, talking with their caddie, practicing a few swings, and lining up again. This got them ready mentally and physically. Only after all this prep did they stand over the ball and hit it. Then—like being struck upside the head with a 3-wood—my pre-writing routine came to mind.
I’m not sure when I first started my routine, but over the years this ritual has become as much a part of me as breathing. I sit in the same spot at my branch office, order the same drink every time, set my screen at the same angle, find a concert video on YouTube, and put in my ear buds. Only then am I ready to write.
Peter DeVries, an author and editor, once wrote, “I write when I'm inspired, and I see to it that I'm inspired at nine o'clock every morning.”
You might not write at 9:00 a.m. every day. Whenever you start your writing session, be mentally ready to write.
Have you thought about a pre-writing routine? Or do you plop into a chair and start pounding away at the keyboard? Either can work, and the key, as with many things in writing, is that you find what works best for you.
Your assignment: Figure out a pre-writing routine that will help you get in the “mood” to write. Try this routine for three weeks. Tweak as necessary to maximize your writing time.
Get Rid of Gimmicks
Denise Loock
3/15/2024
Avoid Pronoun-Antecedent Dysphoria
Cindy Sproles
3/13/2024
Assignment 6 - Self-Editing Is Not For the Faint of Heart
Andrea Merrell
2/17/2024
Assignment 5 - What in the World is a One Sheet - Andrea Merrell
Cindy Sproles
2/8/2024
Assignment 4 - Storytelling Your Life Lessons
Lucinda Secrest McDowell
2/3/2024
Learn to Show, Not Tell Your Story
Cindy Sproles
1/26/2024
Spit shine that Work - Assignment 3
Cindy Sproles
1/20/2024
Oh! I Need a Professional Email Address?
Cindy Sproles
1/16/2024
Bio, Bio, Who's Got the Bio
Cindy Sproles
1/4/2024
Get in the Mood to Write - Assignment 5
Cindy Sproles
2/13/2023
Assignment 4 - The 5 Cs of an Elevator Pitch
Cindy Sproles
2/2/2023
Appropriate Emails - [email protected] - Assignment 3
Cindy Sproles
1/21/2023
Assignment 2 - Creative Non-Fiction
Cindy Sproles
1/15/2023
Don't Write Your Bio - Write WHY ME? - Assignment 1
Bob Hostetler
1/4/2023
How to Make the Most of Your Conference Experience - Assignment 7
Cindy Sproles
2/12/2022
Sensory Perception Enhances Your Writing - Assignment 4
Cindy Sproles
1/22/2022
January 16, Assignment 3 - Bring Your Characters to Life
Cindy Sproles
1/16/2022
Assignment 2 - Titles & Sentences - Nancy Lohr
Cindy Sproles
1/8/2022
An Adjective Safari - Assignment 1
Denise Loock
1/5/2022
Assignment 5 - Don't Waste Your Conference Experience
Cindy Sproles
2/6/2021
January 24, Assignment Four - Time to Shoot the Weasel Words
Cindy Sproles
1/24/2021
Assignment 3 - The Role of Speaker Tags and Beats
Cindy Sproles
1/21/2021
January 10, Assignment 2 (1 of 2 assignments)
Cindy Sproles
1/10/2021
Assignment 1 - ACWC January 5 - Let's Start with a Bio
Cindy Sproles
1/5/2021
February 1 - Assignments 5 & 6 - Linda Glaz
Cindy Sproles
2/1/2020
How Not to Get an Agent - Assignment 7
Bob Hostetler
2/10/2019
It's Not What You Know; It's Who You Know - Assignment 4
Bob Hostetler
1/20/2019
Stay on Track with a Writing Schedule - Assignment 3
Larry Leech
1/13/2019
Assignment 2 - Finding Speaker Topics
Beth Fortune
1/5/2019
IMAGERY–WHEN THIS IS LIKE THAT
By Ann Tatlock
12/30/2018
Asheville Christian Writers Conference Privacy Policy
Cindy Sproles
6/4/2018
2018 Writers Charge
Cindy
2/18/2018
Getting Rid of “I” Disease - Assignment 3
Andrea Merrell
1/14/2018
Curb Your Adverb Addiction - Assignment 2
Denise Loock
1/7/2018
WHO ARE YOU? - Writing Your Bio
Cindy Sproles
11/17/2017
WRITING IN A PICKLE
Cindy Sproles
11/13/2017
THE NaNoWriMo CHALLENGE
Cindy Sproles
11/10/2017
BRINGING YOUR CHARACTERS TO LIFE
By Andrea Merrell
2/12/2017
DON’T LET SPEAKER BEATS RUIN YOUR MANUSCRIPT
By Andrea Merrell
2/5/2017
HOW TO CRAFT GREAT DIALOGUE
By Andrea Merrell
1/30/2017
AVOID REPETITION AND WRITE TIGHT
By Andrea Merrell
1/20/2017
THE QUOTATION QUOTA – ASSIGNMENT 2
By Andrea Merrell
1/13/2017
ELIMINATE THE EXCLAMATION POINTS – ASSIGNMENT 1
By Andrea Merrell
1/7/2017
WRITING ADVICE FROM MARK TWAIN: WRITE WITHOUT PAY UNTIL SOMEBODY OFFERS TO PAY
By Sandra Merville Hart
12/22/2016
WHEN THE STORY STALLS IN THE MIDDLE
by Sandra Merville Hart
12/20/2016
WHO REALLY SELLS YOUR BOOKS ?
by Cindy Sproles @CindyDevoted
9/20/2016
MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR 15-MINUTE APPOINTMENTS
by Cindy Sproles
9/16/2016
ARRRGH! ANOTHER REJECTION – CINDY SPROLES
by Cindy Sproles
9/12/2016
FROZEN IN PLACE – ICEY SELF-TALK TO FREEZE YOUR WRITING
By Cindy Sproles
9/8/2016
THE BIO – THE FRAGRANCE OF WHO YOU ARE
by Cindy Sproles
9/3/2016
THE PAIN OF UNSOLICITED
by Cindy Sproles
8/29/2016
REDUNDANCY: AN EXCESSIVE, OPPRESSIVE, PERVASIVE DISEASE
By Denise Loock
8/26/2016
7 THINGS TO DO NOW TO BE READY WHEN WRITING INSPIRATION STRIKES – EDIE MELSON
by Edie Melson
8/23/2016
MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR 15-MINUTE CONFERENCE APPOINTMENTS
by Cindy Sproles
8/20/2016
WHY SHOULD I ATTEND THE ASHEVILLE CHRISTIAN WRITERS’ CONFERENCE?
by Cindy Sproles
8/17/2016
YOU NEED A PLATFORM – LIVING A STORY- ASSIGNMENT 3
By La-tan Murphy
1/20/2016
THE ONE SHEET
by Cindy Sproles
1/8/2016
OVER-EDIT?
By Steven James
11/4/2015
