How to Build a Summer Writing Routine in 4 Simple Steps

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When the weather turns warmer and the days get longer, many of us start to daydream about the possibility of making serious progress on our writing projects.

Whether you have some time away from work or study, or simply make use of the extra daylight to extend your writing time, there’s no denying the potential that summer has to be a superb season for writing.

However, the key word there is potential. Without a proper plan, and a productive approach, your summer writing goals will end up being nothing more than unfulfilled dreams.

So how do you go about ensuring your summer writing season is as productive as you hope for? Here are some tried and tested tips to setup a summer writing routine and achieve your summer writing goals.

Find a noble summer writing project

The first important part of setting useful and achievable summer writing goals is to have a big project that motivates you. Without a big-picture aim, you won’t have the necessary desire and dream through to see the smaller goals to make it happen.

The type of big project you choose to pursue over the summer depends entirely upon the stage of your writing journey you are at as well as the type of thing you like to write.

For example, you might wish to work on an existing writing project you have, start a new project entirely, focus on an element of the writing craft you wish to improve, or some combination of the above.

Some of the specific examples to consider include: 

No matter what your big project focus is, it’s important to have one and to stick to it. If you dabble back and forth between different writing aims you will lose all your focus and won’t make any significant progress at all.

The final thing to think about it is the need to set a focused and targeted program of reading to accompany your summer writing aims. As Stephen King said in On Writing, reading regularly is just as important as regular writing practice. One cannot happen without the other if you wish to succeed.

Once you’ve chosen your big picture writing project for the summer, it’s time to consider the overall goal you will need to hit in order to make that happen. 

Set your big-picture summer writing goal

Now that you know what your overall aim for your summer writing season is, it’s time to break that down into a tangible plan so you can plan your time and ensure your progress is measurable.

Let’s use an example to make this easier to envision. Imagine your overall writing aim for the summer is to write a single nonfiction book on a topic you are passionate about. The first stage is to research both how long a comparable book happens to be in length, and also to have a clear understanding of how long it takes you to achieve similar levels of output.

So let’s imagine you do some research and decide that the right length for a book similar to the one you have in mind is 30,000 words. You also know that the maximum word count you are capable of in a day is 1000.

Using those two pieces of information, the overall summer output you will be required to hit, as well as the daily amount you are capable of, gives you everything you need to go on and create smaller, more manageable aims that will allow you to reach your big-picture aim.

Let’s take things a step further and see the process of translating a big-picture aim into something more achievable.

Make manageable, bite-size goals 

Continuing the example we looked at above, a 30,000 word nonfiction book for a writer capable of writing 1000 usable words a day, let’s break it down even further.

The first thing to do here is to take the 1000 word maximum daily target and schedule exactly when those sessions will occur. 

Ideally, your daily writing sessions will occur at the same time each time. This will allow you to get into a routine where your body and brain know it’s time to write. However, that might not be possible depending on your schedule and other life commitments. 

Regardless of whether it’s at the same time each writing session, or at variable times due to the demands of your schedule, you need to commit to at least 30 days of writing 1000 words over the summer to hit the big-picture goal we used earlier. Put these in writing or on your calendar so you don’t end up missing out and failing to commit.

You might feel able to commit to 30 daily sessions where you hit 1000 words or need to break this down further into two sessions in a day where you hit 500 words each time. No matter how you get there, the important aim is to make sure you hit your overall daily target without fail. 

You now have everything you need to break your overall writing target down into manageable big and smaller picture aims.

But achieving success with your summer writing goals is only one piece of the puzzle. Let’s explore the other element you can’t overlook if you want to succeed.

How to set up a successful writing environment

Setting writing goals is an essential part of achieving summer success. But it’s only one piece of the puzzle. It’s also crucial to choose a writing environment that allows you to make the most of your scheduled writing time, both in terms of output quality and quantity. 

Everyone has a different way of doing their best writing work. There is no one size fits all approach. If you’ve been writing for a long time, you may have a solid idea of what works well for you. If not, there are some steps you can take to discover your optimal writing environment. 

Some of the factors to experiment with include:

  • The time of day when you write. Some people are most productive in the morning while others are night owls. Find what works for you.
  • The place where you write. Do you need the stillness and isolation of a room at home? Or do you prefer the mental stimulation and buzz of your favorite local coffee spot?
  • The beverage you write with. Do you like to drink water while you write? How about coffee or tea? Or even something stronger?
  • The music or sound you use. Do you prefer natural background noise, music, or white noise type sounds like rain falling?
  • The device you write with. Is there a particular writing app or tool that lets you do your best work, or do you like to keep it simple and use something minimalist, or even write by hand?

Finding your most optimal way of working is one of the surest ways to achieve your summer writing goals. Experiment and take time to see what works for you.

Your next steps 

Inevitably, summer usually ends up being over before we even know it. 

If you hit your writing goals, or fall slightly short, don’t worry. Your writing career should be treated as a marathon rather than a sprint. So what’s the next step after it’s all said and done, after summer turns to fall?

If you made progress on a big project, such as a novel, keep riding (and writing) the wave of your momentum and grinding away until it’s complete. 

If you finished a whole project, congratulations! You can now think about the logistics of publishing, launching, and marketing your work. If you’re at this point, it may make sense to talk to one of our friends in the publishing space who has a team of publishing strategists you can talk to.

No matter what you hope to write, or which stage of your writing journey you are at, we wish you every success this summer and hope these tips help you achieve your aims.

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