I know that having a writing routine is important. But I’d never really thought about having a pre-writing routine until recently. According to Kelly L. Stone, author of Thinking Write, a pre-writing routine signals your brain that it’s time to write. It can be as simple as making a cup of coffee, taking the dog for a walk, or turning on a particular song on your iPod. Think Pavlov’s dogs for writers.

Having a pre-writing routine makes sense. When you get ready for bed, letting the dog out, locking the doors, and brushing your teeth all signal your brain that it’s time to sleep. You may have other rituals to make it easier to transition from waking time to sleeping time. Why should writing be any different?

Think about what you do now before sitting down to write. Do you check your email, go on Facebook, read the paper, or do housework? Nothing wrong with any of those things, as long as you keep an eye on the clock. I’m as guilty as anyone of letting time get away from me. I’m also guilty of using any and all of the above activities to put off my writing. By being mindful of that, I’ve found that limiting my pre-writing routine to fifteen or twenty minutes allows me to check email, make a cup of coffee and gather my writing supplies.

Whatever your pre-writing routine, if it works for you, stay with it. But if, like me, you weren’t aware of the existence — or the importance – of having a pre-writing routine, you may want to check out Stone’s Thinking Write. Create something that works for you – I’d love to hear about it!

You know the old saying,”Neither rain, sleet nor snow, the mail must go”? It means the mail carrier has to make an honest attempt to deliver the mail, no matter what.

It’s raining where I am right now, and I’m having a hard time getting down to the business of writing. But in reality, if you want to be a writer, you have to write. It’s your job. Through rain, sleet, snow, and a whole lot more inconveniences. Nobody said it would be easy. But if you signed up for it, you need to make an honest attempt to write, no matter what, short of a natural disaster. And let’s be honest here. A diarrheal dog who has exploded seventeen times in eight different locations around your house, although quite disgusting (and somewhat alarming), does not constitute a natural disaster.

So, even though it’s raining out, and it’s late, and I’m tired, and I’d really like to read a few minutes than go to sleep, I need to deliver. I’m at a writers’ retreat, I’m meeting with one of my editors tomorrow, and I’d like to finish up a new story to show her. I can think of no better mantra to adopt than the postal creed, albeit with a writerly twist. “Neither rain, sleet nor snow, the writing must go.” Making an honest attempt to deliver, no matter what.

When you treat writing like a job — your job — you’ll be rewarded with the satisfaction that comes from completing a project. And you may even get that check that really was in the mail.

Every time we see Jeanie headed for the front door with her journal, her netbook, or her coffee cup, we go out the door and make an immediate right. That’s where our front office is located, and it’s our favorite place to work.

In fact, we’d be out here year ‘round, except for the fact that Jeanie hates to have to shovel snow off the front porch in order for us to find a place to sit, and she
absolutely refuses to type wearing mittens. Sigh.

So imagine our delight now that the temperature is up more days than down, and we can once again make liberal use of the front office.

While we do occasionally get distracted when the recycling truck rumbles by, and we absolutely have to take a break when the mail is delivered (since the mail lady so generously leaves two biscuits in the box each day – Milk Bone brand, no less!), Jeanie usually manages to get a fair bit of work done in the front office.

We think that having a regular place to write – and using it – is very important. When you find the right place to write – whether it’s on the front porch, at a desk, on the kitchen table, or even at the local Starbucks – stick with it. Get in the habit of going to the same place – or places – every time you write. It doesn’t take long for a dog to learn a new routine.

In fact, it only took one time of Jeanie writing on the front porch for us to take her right out there the next time we saw her near the door carrying anything that remotely resembled writing materials. It took Jeanie a bit longer to catch on, but it seems that old “dogs” really can learn new tricks. And once Jeanie recognized that writing on the porch was making her more productive, our front office was established!

With the two of us serving as bookends to keep Jeanie on task, we can spend hours outside in the front office. The key is to make sure that Jeanie has everything she needs when she gets out here – netbook, pens, paper, water, and coffee – so that she has no excuse to get up from her chair until she gets some work done. “Butt in chair” time, it’s been called. We like to call it “pups on porch” time.

We hope you’ll join us again next week for another “Biscuit Break.” We’re keeping our paws crossed for continued warm weather!

Last fall, I blogged about finally having a writing room of my own. This past week, I blogged about what happened to that room, and my subsequent search to carve out a new writing space. You can read the first post here – it’s from September 15, 2009.

You can read the second post at www.storytellersunplugged.com, where 31 writers, readers and editors take turns posting each month. Just click on my name, and look for the March 10, 2010 post.