I’m a New Writer: Here Are Seven Crazy Simple Habits That Are Working For Me.

Beginners hell is real.

You know how it goes. You have no clue what to write, who to write to, and when you publish something you’ve poured your heart into — crickets.

With only three months of practice under my belt, I haven’t cracked the code to becoming a successful writer. I haven’t written a novel. Hell, I haven’t even cracked three digits for Medium followers.

Not even close.

What did happen in those three months is that systems start to form around what’s working. I’m a huge fan of systems. So much so that I wrote one of my first articles on why systems trump goals.

So, what’s working for me now?

Here are the seven habits that have helped me the most:

1. Writing when I feel most creative.

I have some challenges here. You probably do to. I have a 9–5, three young children, and a graduate program to keep up with. Fitting in quiet time to write is insanely difficult. I write once everyone in my house has fallen asleep, or before they wake up.

Those are the options.

By the end of the day, I’m mentally drained.

Since I’m fresher in the morning, I write well before the sun comes up. Writing for an hour in the morning is as productive as writing three hours late at night. I’ll come back and edit around lunchtime.

Never edit while you work.

2. Writing down ideas as soon as they come.

When I was just beginning, I would have an idea and figured I’d remember it later.

Nope.

When I have an idea now, I grab my phone and immediately jot it down in the notes section of my phone.

I’ll even get out of the shower if I have an idea to get it written down. I’m just now realizing that ideas can leave my head as quickly as they pop into it.

3. Remember “For who, so they can what?”

I stole…err…borrowed this from the prolific online writer Nicolas Cole. Every time I write, I ask myself “who is this for” and what is it helping them to do.

I used it for this article. I’m writing to new Medium writers so they can quickly build successful and sustainable writing habits. This framework replaced clarity and focus.

4. Develop a learning habit.

I spent three hours per week alone in my vehicle. I’ll use two hours of that time consuming an educational product that helps my writing process, usually a podcast or an audiobook.

The other hour, I drive in complete silence. I’m not crazy, I promise. That time lets my brain absorb and synthesize what I’m learning.

5. Seek new experiences.

There is no limit to what this can be. For me, it’s usually in form of travel. It can be doing something uncomfortable like public speaking, running in terrible weather, or attending an event.

I need fresh inputs to get creative outputs.

By the way, the there’s something magical about long runs in the rain.

6. Test ideas on social media.

I love failure. Yes, you read that correctly. It means I’m trying new things and I’m learning. The caveat is that I want to fail quickly.

No one wants to put months into something and fail slowly. To that end, I test thoughts and ideas on X (formerly Twitter). If they get no response, I let them go.

If there’s interest and engagement, it becomes a longer post. That might be on Medium or a newsletter.

7. Foster relationships.

No one cares about your work when you’re new. There’s no shortage of new creators.

You know what there is a shortage of?

Kindness, thoughtful comments, and giving without asking for anything in return. Anywhere I write, I try to focus on relationships. That is working for me as a writer, and as a guiding principle for life.

Writing as a beginner will never be easy, but it doesn’t have to be terrible. These seven habits are helping me now, and they can help you as well.

Pair these habits with a bit of temperament. Set aside a period of time where you expect no views on your writing, no comments, and nobody giving you positive feedback.

Just do the work and create the habits.

Now go forth and conquer.