If you’ve ever promised yourself, “This year I’ll finally finish my novel,” you’re not alone. If you’ve ever found your draft gathering dust by February of that same year, you’re still not alone. Most writers I meet and work with aren’t hurting for ideas or passion. What they struggle with is building a sustainable writing practice that fits into their real lives—complete with jobs, kids, errands, exhaustion, other joys and passions, and everything else competing for attention.
The good news? You don’t need endless free time or superhuman discipline to be a writer. You just need to create a routine that’s built around your reality—and it can be surprisingly simple.
It’s a Marathon, Not a Sprint: Why Small & Sustainable Wins Every Time
Too many authors I talk to worry that, if they can’t come to the page every single day—or even every single week—they can’t be real authors. Sure, there’s a lot of advice out there that says you have to write 2,000 words (eight pages!) a day or you have to spend three hours at your desk every morning, and all of that sounds lovely and productive. But for most of us, it’s not realistic. You have to remember: The Stephen Kings of the world are full-time authors. Writing books is the way they buy their groceries and pay their mortgages. For most of us, that’s just not the case. (Maybe it’s the ultimate goal, and that’s great, but you won’t get there if you don’t accept anything less in these early days.)
The common belief is that, if you can’t commit to writing chapters and chapters every week, it’s not worth it. But here’s what happens if you try to fit that in around everything else that’s going on in your life: You become the hare. You start strong, with a weekend writing marathon or a short string of late night story sessions, but pretty soon you burn out. And it’s no wonder—even the most productive of us only have so much time and energy, and forcing yourself to put in more than you’ve got is a recipe for…not much progress.
Instead, what if you could get comfortable being the turtle? What if you could build a practice that’s slow but steady, that allows you to work at your own pace, as your current day-to-day life allows. You’re still disciplined. You’re still dedicated. You’re no “less than” because of your plodding pace. (After all, the tortoise won the race, didn’t he?) Rather, your sustainable writing practice allows you to accomplish more than you ever thought possible in your creative life.
What makes a writing practice sustainable?
It prioritizes consistency over word count.
It’s manageable enough that you can stick with it during busy seasons.
It flexes up and down with your life stage instead of demanding rigid perfection.
None of this is to say that a three-hour chunk of writing time on a Friday afternoon can’t feel luxurious. Or that a weekend DIY writing retreat is a bad idea. But if those are the foundations of your writing practice, you’ll never build consistency. (Sorry to say it.) Writing in fits and starts will only lead to burnout and guilt when life inevitably interrupts. But wheen writing becomes a small, reliable part of your daily or weekly rhythm, you start to build those muscles and make progress without even noticing.
The 3 Pillars of a Lasting Writing Practice
So, how do you build this kind of practice? I have a free journal dedicated to just that, but to get started, I recommend prioritizing these three pillars:
Manageable Goals
Instead of setting a goal like “Finish my novel” or “write 2,000 words every morning,” try starting with micro-goals:
One sentence a day
5 minutes on a timer
One scene per week
I first learned about micro writing goals in Amie McNee’s, We Need Your Art. “Whatever you came up with, I’m going to stop you right there and ask you to at least halve it,” she says. “We want this goal to feel so beautifully doable, it would almost be embarrassing to tell someone about it.” Micro-goals reduce resistance and build momentum. They help you gain trust in your ability to show up consistently, and you’ll find that, once you start, you often end up writing more than planned.
Accountability
Accountability is what keeps you showing up on the days when motivation is thin. After all, by default, writing is a solitary hobby. For the most part, we writers are only accountable for ourselves, and that makes it a little too easy to cancel those writing sessions when things get hectic. But when we’re accountable to more than just ourselves—when we have someone else cheering us on and expecting us to show up, that can be a game-changer. Accountability can be as informal or as formal as you like:
Telling a friend your writing goal for the week
Scheduling a writing sprint with a partner
Joining a community where others are showing up, too
Inspiration
Finally, find a way to stay inspired. There’s a lot of talk about “waiting for the muse” or “waiting for the spark” in creativity. But here’s the secret: If you’re going to be a serious author—whether you plan to write five hours every day or thirty minutes twice a week—waiting for the muse to show up is a far less promising approach than making yourself available and inviting her in.
Isabelle Allende says it much more eloquently than I do: “Show up, show up, show up, and after a while the muse shows up, too.”
Showing up isn’t always easy, especially when we don’t feel inspired. Here are three ways to keep that inspiration alive so you’re available when the muse arrives:
Read widely in and out of your genre. (Don’t worry: This will not lead to unintentional copycatting!)
Use writing prompts when you feel stuck. (Just keep them productive by making sure your responses to the prompts are related in some way to your work in progress—unless of course you’re still looking for your next WIP.)
Keep a notebook of observations, overheard dialogue, or sudden ideas. (I’m guilty of having sticky notes, iPhone notes, emails to myself, and scribbles in various planners and journals scattered all over the place. But I’m a big fan of the concept of a commonplace book.)
Whether it’s a bespoke pre-writing ritual or a space you find particularly motivating or a warmup routine like prompts or morning pages, you can create the conditions that spark inspiration, so it shows up whenever you do.
Practical Tips You Can Start Now
Pair writing with an existing habit. Example: “After my morning coffee, I’ll write one paragraph.”
Create a low-friction writing space. Keep your notebook or laptop somewhere visible and ready to use.
Track your streak. A simple checkmark on a calendar can give you surprising motivation. (My free writing challenge comes with a sticker chart that makes tracking fun!)
Forgive missed days quickly. One skipped day doesn’t undo your practice—pick it back up tomorrow. (Here are some ideas for resetting when you’ve taken a break, accidental or otherwise.)
How Community Makes It Easier
Let’s go back to that accountability piece: Writing can feel lonely, and when no one’s expecting you to show up to your WIP, it’s easy to let those days slip by. That’s why community is often the missing piece. When you have encouragement, gentle accountability, and likeminded people to share the journey with, it’s so much easier to keep showing up.
That’s exactly what we’ve built inside The Inkwell: a supportive writing community designed for busy, passionate writers. With resources, prompts, and a warm (virtual) space to connect, The Inkwell helps authors like you create the kind of sustainable writing routines they’ve always wanted.
You don’t need hours of free time or endless discipline to become a consistent writer. With manageable goals, accountability, and inspiration, you can create a writing practice that lasts through busy seasons.
If you’re ready for structure and encouragement to help you actually stick with it, I’d love for you to join us inside The Inkwell. Your writing matters—and you deserve the time and space to let it grow.