Why I don't have a writing routine

# - (Edited) Why I don't have A Writing Routine

Mon, Apr 14, 2025 11:01AM • 8:43

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

Freedom, adventure, writing routine, published author, second book, deadlines, book structure, self-publishing, writing sprints, accountability, support, podcast episodes, journal, chunky writer, inspiration.

SPEAKERS

Emma Lovell

Emma Lovell 00:00

Emma, do you want to live a life of freedom and adventure? Are you wanting more than the daily grind? Me too. Welcome to the Emma Lovell, show a place where we talk about living a life you love. Now I'm your host, Emma Lovell, and my number one value is freedom. I've spent the last 14 years running a business and traveling the world, and now I take my husband and toddler along for the adventure too. It's possible, and I know you can create a life doing what you truly love as well. This podcast will inspire, motivate and encourage you to go after your dreams, to create a life you love and to live it now, not wait for a time and or someday in the future, I'll be sharing episodes weekly about how I harmonize business travel and self care. I'll also bring on incredible guests to share their journeys, the wins, the challenges, and how they're creating a life they love. Let's jump in and get dreaming. This is a space for you to manifest a life you love. I would like to acknowledge and recognize Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the first peoples of this place, now known as Australia. I am grateful for the continuing care of the land, waterways and skies where I work, live, listen, learn and play from here on, you can bear country and from wherever you are listening, I pay my respects to the elders past and present. Welcome to today's episode. It's all about writing, because I get asked a lot about writing, and there's my books behind me these days, because I am now a published author. I'm actually writing my second book, and people ask me, What is my writing routine, and I'm going to make this short and sweet. And I don't have one. I don't have a writing routine. I do whatever I can to get the book written, and I want to give you the permission and the freedom to do that too. Now, of course, you have to to make time for writing. Um, my book was written in so many ways, I wrote a speech which ended up forming kind of the speech was like 12,000 words once I got it down, which ended up forming the kind of base content, but that was from knowing some of the parts that I wanted to include. Then podcast episodes formed some content. I recorded one chapter in the car. I talked all the way back from Brisbane to the Gold Coast, and that ended up being chapter nine. My work hats. You have to just get it down. However you get it down. I would write in my journal. I would write little notes. But I actually did also sit there and had a document where I wrote, so having little bit in each chapter helped me to know what I was writing. But I must say, it was actually easier towards the end, a because there was a deadline, having a very, very strict deadline, but B, because I also really knew what each chapter was about. I think at the start you're just putting things down. Words matter, just getting things out and not editing as you go. So you probably what you write at the start will end up being edited the most or cut the most. And that was probably hard, because that was quite personal to me, and it was probably a bit woffly, but also some of that was downloaded in voice as well. But you ultimately, you have to get it down. Somehow. Some people say they wake up every day and for half an hour an hour before the day begins, they write that doesn't work for me. I'm not a morning person. My son will always beat me to wake up, so if I set my alarm for five, he's gonna wake up at four. He's awake in the morning. So that's just not a practical solution for me. I just also tend to write in chunks. I'm a chunky writer, so I'm much more inclined to write an entire chapter in a row than I am to write bits and bobs. So I think that it's good to have a habit, but you gotta know how you work. I'm a feast or famine kind of girl. I'm all or nothing. I can tell you that I certainly wrote chapters in bottom planes. I wrote one of my favorite parts of the book, this section called you can't I wrote that on a plane, on my phone note. I wrote one whole Oh, I finished chapter in a safari camp in India. We were visiting tigers in the morning, and I was in the tent later on writing. But having that structure, knowing what I was going to write helped. So the initial outline, the initial structure, knowing what roughly you want to say in each chapter was a huge help to have focus when I sat down, because, you know my editor, Kath Walters, you can listen to an episode by her. She's written a book called overnight authority, how to write your book in 90 days. She once did sit down in. Every day and write for 90 days and or 50 days, I think she did 1000 words for 50 days. So she had 50,000 words, which is kind of a book. I ended up writing 90,000 and the book ended up being 72,000 but, you know, so yeah, in 90 days, if you wrote 1000 words, you get there. But just writing 1000 words of whatever it turned out to be like a whatever. You know, it wasn't, wasn't really a book. Wasn't it like helpful book. So the lesson for me was to find what worked. For me, you have to make a commitment to the book, and having a deadline helped knowing when things are due. So one of the first things I've done at a meeting with my publisher to understand who are going to they're a service publisher. So I'm a self published author, but I work. They need to print it. They need to help me to lay out and edits and all that stuff. So we work backwards from the date we want to publish, to have the book in our hand out in the world. We work backwards so to know when the manuscripts needs to be ready. So I now know that my second book will be ready 30th of June. Needs to be written by then. So, you know that's that helps. And then now I'm I've got this outline of what to write, and so if I'm ever like sort of going, Okay, I've got some time I can write, but I've committed to weekly writing sprints with a group. So I'm doing two hours a week committed to the book, and I'm also going to do, I'm going to make Wednesdays like my book day, and then it's just kind of, I'm, at the moment, I'm just gathering and I'm putting information together. But if you're a DAILY WRITER person, great, if you want to do a chunk of writing. Give yourself two to four hours a week. You know, I'd say if you could give yourself you like a committed time at one point in the week, it's going to help you. But this is what worked for me, and I can't tell you how to do it for yourself, but choose. You don't have to have a writing routine. You do have to have a date that you committed to publishing. You do have to have committed time for the book. And, you know, I think get as much support as you can in regard to, yeah, just having accountability along the way, and having a publisher, having an editor, having writing groups, is a great way to do that. So that's a little insight. There'll be more coming about the book. I do have a playlist on this. See the show notes. I hope it helps you to go and have a look at that. And if you have more questions about book writing and being an author, that's a big part of my life, so I'm more than happy to share that, but I just want to give a short little one to say. In short, I don't have a writing routine, but I do believe in deadlines and having a strong book structure, I hope that helps you, and please do so many questions Emma at Emma lovell.au And of course, pick up a copy of my book, The Art of pleasure. You can head to Emma lovell.au forward slash book, and I'll tell you more about the second book in a little bit. Thank you for listening. Lovely one. I hope this has inspired you to dream big and start creating a life you love today. If you love what you're hearing, don't forget to follow and rate on Spotify and rate review and subscribe on iTunes. It helps other awesome people to find this podcast and get motivated and inspired as well. Want to stay connected. Come and join the live a life you love. Group on Facebook or connect with me on Instagram. Emma lovell.au the same as my website, but all the details are in the show notes. Lovely. I'll see you next episode for more inspiration, motivation and freedom seeking. Now, go out there and live a life you love. You.