Note From KMW: Over the years, I’ve learned there is a difference between cultivating discipline as a writer and forcing it. Like many writers (especially those of us who came of age during the early years of the indie boom), I spent much of my career believing success required constant hustle. Push harder. Write faster. Do more.
That approach works for a while. But eventually, many of us discover the cost. As we’ve talked about before, burnout has become an increasingly common conversation among writers, and it’s one I’ve spoken about from personal experience. I’ve become increasingly interested in what makes a sustainable writing routine—not just one that helps us finish books, but one that supports a creative life over the long haul.
What life keeps teaching me is that creativity has its own rhythms. The older I get, the more I find myself paying attention to natural cycles rather than trying to override them. There are seasons for effort and seasons for rest, seasons for producing and seasons for replenishing. Honoring those rhythms allows discipline to work in partnership with something deeper.
When Brian Hicks approached me with the idea for today’s post, we had a conversation about why finding the motivation to write is really about understanding how to create a writing life that is sustainable over the long haul.
In today’s post, Brian explores this idea through the metaphor of the seasons and a farmer’s relationship to the land. He offers a framework for thinking about drafting, revision, publishing, and rest as distinct parts of a larger creative cycle.
Whether you’re struggling to finish projects, feeling exhausted by the pressure to constantly produce, or looking for a more sustainable writing routine, he offers plenty of food for thought.
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I’ve found that most authors—particularly Indies—mistakenly believe there are two types of writers: the hard-driving, rapid-release, all-gas, no-brakes writer versus the slow-grinding, perpetually drafting, angst-ridden, soon-to-be former writer.
The implication is that Type 1 will always be successful and Type 2 can never be.
I humbly submit that neither type is built for success. Type 1 burns out while Type 2 never heats up—but the eventual result for both is the same.
There’s a third, saner, author type, one that doesn’t require you to write at such a manic pace or beat yourself up when you don’t.
Both types are missing a reliable, consistent writing rhythm. I’d like to share my writing routine with you today in the hopes it will restore your sanity (and confidence) the same way it did mine.
I call it Writing the Seasons.
The Four Seasons of Writing: A Sustainable Writing Routine for Authors
We often write inconsistently because we’re managing multiple calendars: day job, kids’ activities, church responsibilities, book club, and on and on it goes. We tend to write with a snatch-and-patch process that has us grabbing a few minutes late at night and early in the morning, between calls at work, and while sitting in the bleachers at ball practice.
We’re trying to write in the margins of our already bloated schedules, and we look up a decade later, wondering why we can’t finish… or maybe it’s just me.
It’s not just me.
When we write without a consistent, reliable rhythm, we shouldn’t be surprised when the results are inconsistent and unreliable. When, however, we create a consistent, reliable rhythm, our results will be… wait for it… consistent and reliable.
And you know what’s the most consistent and reliable thing I know? The laws of nature.
We all know there are four seasons. We know this because, weather jokes aside, every year we experience all four of them—and in a very specific order.
How often does summer follow spring? Every time. For how many years? Every one, for all of recorded history. We don’t get to order two springs, a fall, and one good snow at Christmas, which is good, because we need all four seasons to make this thing work.
So, the seasons teach us the value of order. Although it may not necessarily mirror the natural calendar, our seasonal writing calendar follows that same rhythm to keep us focused and productive without burning us out.
Here’s how it works.
Spring: Drafting Your Novel
Nothing happens until seeds go in the ground, but they must go in the ground in spring. Spring doesn’t last forever though. It’s measured in mere weeks.
This is why farmers don’t vacation in the spring. They can’t just “plant later.” If they miss their window, they can tell you exactly what October will look like, and it isn’t pretty.
There’s an urgency to the spring.
And so it is for you and me. Nothing happens until words go on the page, and if we don’t create a spring for ourselves, we’ll keep finding excuses—and another year will pass without a novel.
Spring is your busy season. In spring, you lock in. No distractions. You delay that volunteer opportunity. You let the screen door squeak.
You ignore everything nonessential, and perhaps most importantly, you inform your family and friends that spring has sprung, and they won’t be hearing from you until “summer.”
Outlining Your Novel (Amazon affiliate link)
You’re outlining, crafting backstories, setting your writing schedule for each week, and, at the end of the season, you will have a completed first draft.
This begs the question: How long is spring?
The natural seasons are essentially 3 months each. But should your writing seasons be 3 months each? Not necessarily.
You may be a fast first drafter with no day job and an empty nest. Your first draft may take one month, max.
Conversely, you may be working two jobs, have four kids under age 8, and volunteer at the local food bank twice a week. You probably need a much longer spring. Regardless, the secret to making this work is putting an end date on the calendar.
Summer is coming. You must plan accordingly.
Summer: Revising and Strengthening Your Manuscript
Summer on a farm is equally serious but for different reasons. In summer, the seeds have been planted, and now the real work begins. You have to weed the garden, water it, and fight off all kinds of pestilence.
Sounds like the middle of your novel, right? This is where many of us get in trouble. The drought comes, and beetles show up—and we start to think, “I’ll just plant a new field over there and start fresh. Maybe I’ll come back to this one later…”
But on this farm, we don’t have that luxury. We planted soybeans in the spring. We’re getting soybeans in the fall.
I can hear my pantsers, “Are you saying I’m locked into this thing? Because ew, rules.”
Of course not. Your novel, your call. But at some point, we must commit to the story we started and see it through.
Summer will be hot and dry. It will test us. We’ll get beta reader feedback we don’t like. We’ll have to kill that darling that is possibly the finest prose ever put to paper.
But we have to trust that when we tend the crop we planted in spring, the miracle of the sun and the seed and the soil will produce something of which we can be proud.
How long is summer?
This is tough because the revision season isn’t as exciting as the drafting season, is it? It’s a slog, and often you’ll come to sort of hate your manuscript, calling it all manner of unflattering names. You’ll be tempted to take an extended break, which will turn your story into a perpetual WIP instead of a finished novel.
Again, that’s a personal decision, based on your process, but you must set an end date for summer before you start, and keep it sacred, no matter what.
Autumn, Publishing, Querying, and Sharing Your Work
Autumn is the culmination of all your hard work. It’s your reward for staying committed in the summer. It’s the time you query agents or publish your novel. I am well aware those things don’t always feel like rewards, but hear me out.
First, you’ve done it! Take a moment to celebrate. Frame the cover and hang it on your wall. Go out to a nice dinner. Do something to mark the moment.
Then acknowledge this fundamental law of life:
The reward for hard work is more work.
But just like a farmer wouldn’t plant and then not harvest the crop, we didn’t write all those words just to stick them in a drawer. We asked for this moment. It’s time to take the crop to market.
How long is autumn?
Autumn doesn’t have the hard end dates that spring and summer do, because we query and market until we see results. That’s a different topic for a different day, but please know the autumn continues even as next spring rolls around and you plant a new crop.
Winter: Resting, Learning and Preparing for the Next Book
Winter is when we rest. We take time to reflect on the crop. We catch up on podcasts, courses, and books on craft. We learn more about advertising and attracting readers.
Again, we’re still running campaigns or continuing to query, and we’re probably thinking about the next novel, though we’re not actively writing it. We’re taking some time to rest that part of our brain so we can go into next spring with renewed enthusiasm.
How long is winter?
And yes. Winter has an end date. Spring is indeed coming again, and the next crop will need to be planted.
How to Create a Seasonal Writing Routine Personalized for Your Life
The key to making this work is creating your seasonal calendar on a cycle that works with your real-life schedule. Start with your spring. The remaining seasons simply flow from that.
When setting your writing spring, you want to start at a time when your other calendars are slower. Consider the following:
- Do I have a busy season at work? (The classic example is the accountant during tax season.)
- Does my family calendar heat up/slow down at certain times of the year?
- Am I a fast drafter or a slow drafter?
- If I start my writing spring now, will it be over when my family/work calendars heat back up?
The goal is to start your spring at a time that naturally works with your current calendar. If your kids’ activities slow down in winter, for example, your writing spring might be January to March.
My wife is a teacher, so I would never set my writing spring during the actual summer months. When the school year ends, the energy in our house shifts, and everything slows down. It makes no sense to attempt a period of hyper-focused productivity during a time when I’m already off my game.
Once you’ve determined your spring, it’s time to consider how long each season should last. We touched on this earlier, but this is a very personal decision. I know some people who can run two full sets of seasons a year. I can’t pull that off. I need more time to draft and revise, so my spring and summer tend to be a solid 3 months each, like the natural seasons. You likely know what works for you. Don’t fight it; just create a calendar that puts deadlines on it.
Why a Sustainable Writing Routine Helps Authors Finish More Books
My hope for you is that before today ends, you’ll create your next seasonal writing calendar—literally. Your phone has a million different ways to set up recurring appointments. Pick one. Schedule your spring activities, then your summer, and so on.
Get specific. At the very least, schedule the start and end dates for each season. Put them on your calendar, with alarms and the whole nine yards.
Farmers are consistent and reliable producers because they have a consistent, reliable, sustainable process.
Let’s decide today to become more like farmers. When we do, we’ll stop quitting and start finishing.
P.S. Brian has a special FREE GIFT for Wordplayers! He’s recorded the audio version of this post, with extra content that takes a deeper dive into Writing the Seasons. Hope you enjoy! Claim your free audio here.
Want More?
One of the biggest reasons writers struggle to maintain a sustainable writing routine is that they begin drafting without a clear roadmap. When we’re uncertain about where a story is going, it’s much easier to lose momentum, get stuck in revision loops, or abandon projects altogether.
For help during the “spring” stage of your writing routine, the Outlining Your Novel Workbook offers a practical, hands-on way to develop your their stories before drafting, so you can move into the writing process with greater clarity, confidence, and purpose. Whether you’re a meticulous planner or a discovery writer looking for a stronger sense of direction, the workbook offers guided exercises designed to help you build a story that can carry you all the way from first idea to finished manuscript.
Available in paperback, e-book, and as a desktop app.
Wordplayers, tell us your opinions! What strategies have helped you create a burnout-free writing routine and stay consistent with your writing goals? Tell us in the comments!
The post The Four Seasons of Writing: How Authors Can Build a Burnout-Free Writing Routine appeared first on Helping Writers Become Authors.
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Author: Brian Hicks