Write Like A Mother: Routines

Welcome to another installment of the Write Like A Mother series. In case you need a recap, I send out a survey to a several kind and wonderful mom writers who agreed to answer about being a mom and a writer. You can read the last post all about finding time to write here.

Today’s topic is routines. Routines are great but not always easy to maintain, especially when you have kids. For me, routines make my life run smoother, so I do my best to stick to them. I like making goals and having deadlines for myself, following a to do list, and making sure I have time at night to write.

What routines have you put in place to help with juggling writing, parenting and everything else?

Generally, I write after the kids are in bed every Monday through Thursday. It’s my wind-down time, and since I’m not big on TV it gives me something to do at night that’s just for me. I grab a giant mug of tea and put on my writing tiara (I’m serious!), turn on some rain or crackling fire sounds to set the mood, and lose myself in words. The biggest help is that my husband a) manages all requests for one last snuggle/a sip of water/extra monster spray and I don’t have to listen for kids waking up, and b) is very good at making sure I’m writing on my designated writing nights. But, lately, I’ve been working in some daytime writing sessions. My kids are a bit older (6 and 9) so they know that when I go into my writing cave, I need to focus. (When I say cave, I mean it! It’s a literal crawl space that we wired, put up walls, added a tile floor, and shoved a desk and chair into!)

Amber Roberts ( Twitter: @arobertswrites )

One of the reasons I love the early morning writing sessions is because I can almost always guarantee the writing time. Nothing else demands my attention at that hour, and the day hasn’t started yet and thrown any wrenches my way. So I try to maintain that routine as much as possible. 

I also make it a point to work out 3x a week, take a long walk as many days as possible (easier when my son was younger, he resists the stroller more now), and get outside as much as possible. I always underestimate movement in my creative life, but on almost every single walk I get new ideas.

Carmen Catena (Twitter: @carmcatena)

I try to take a workshop 2-4 times a year and really carve out time to prioritize that. It gives me a chance to start countless new drafts. Then they stay in my mind and I can revisit and revise as I have time doing mundane housekeeping and parenting tasks.

Allison Renner (Twitter: @allisonrwrites)

Using google docs has saved me. I downloaded the app right to my phone, so I can easily pull up my WIP when I have a few min or when I’m putting my toddler to bed.

Cait Maloney (Twitter: @CaitPersists)

Scheduling writing time like it’s a job, but putting it at the end of the day so it’s something to look forward to. I don’t feel guilty about writing at this time because my kid is asleep and I’ve worked my job all day. Belonging to a few writers groups also keeps me on track because people are expecting pages from me. And interacting with other writers on Twitter motivates me to write.

Erin Pullmann (Twitter: @erinpullmann)

The best thing I did for my writing during the pandemic was sticking with my writing group when we moved everything to Zoom. We meet each month, and I use that deadline for myself to get one section of writing (a chapter, basically) written. I always make time for the meeting, even if it’s a crazy parenting day or I’m already exhausted from work-related Zooms that day. One piece of writing over the course of a month isn’t daunting in the way 1,000 words a day is, and by a year and a half into the pandemic I had a full manuscript draft I’ve been revising ever since!

Shelley Mann Hite (Twitter: @shelleymann)

I am not a routine person. 🤣 Once I commit, it’s an obligation and then I don’t want to do it. The kid’s activities and their schedule are what makes the routine for our family and we do dinner, writing, errands and ballet, drums & Tae Kwon Do.

Sarah Slusher (Twitter: @reallyintoblog)

So we’ve all got different things to help us stay sane and get our writing in. My personal advice is find a routine that works for you, get your systems in place and go for it!