Building a Writing Environment
One of the key tricks to building a daily writing habit is to build a productive work environment. If you have a place you want to go to write, it will allow you to build a better word count. A daily writing habit can mean the difference between a professional and wannabe writer. So here is a first step to getting towards the professional realm of writing.
Stimulating but not Cluttered
You want to build your writing environment in a way that inspires you. That may include inspirational quotes, Funko Pops from your favorite shows, posters, or any number of things. The point is to surround yourself with inspirational items. However, no one wants to work in a mess. That is why you must strike the balance between being cluttered and being inspirational. Sometimes the best way to strike this balance is to organize the inspiration. This may include a shelf that has nothing but figurines on it. Maybe your posters are in professional framing. Another idea is to keep certain areas of the work area clean. Even if you are mostly digital, and don't do a lot of paper, the psychology of a clean working space allows you to be more active. Again the trick is to balance inspiration and clutter.
Tools and Preparation
One of the easiest ways to have a wonderful writing environment is to be prepared. If you are prepared to write for the day, you are more likely to write. That means you have an outline that needs to be accomplished. If you don't use an outline in your writing, it may be helpful to describe the feeling or environment prior to writing. The idea is to not start cold. You want a warm start to your work and being prepared is the best way to do that. In addition, having the proper tools to work is important. If you live in a noisy household and have trouble concentrating, a pair of noise canceling earphones may be required. In addition, you want to have the right software to write. If you have the correct software and it is set up the way you understand, then that is something you don't have to think about when you produce words. Ultimately, your goal is to make writing as frictionless as possible. You want to reduce the amount of excuses you have.
The Comfort Zone
One of the best ways to build a writing environment is to be comfortable and be in the zone. This includes wearing comfortable clothing and having lighting that you prefer. Some people like to work in a darker place, while others love the sunlight pouring in. Whatever is most comfortable to you, try to achieve that. In addition, wearing comfortable clothing is also essential. You don't want to be picking at your clothing, or squinting, when you're trying to produce words. Finally, the tone of your book can be set by the tone in your ears. If you have music that fits your book, that may be a wonderful addition to your working environment. Or, if you like to listen to a certain type of music, such as classical or chill, then running that over your headphones / speakers may help produce a wonderful writing environment.
Building a writing environment is the first step to a daily writing habit. However, there is a point in which you can over-engineer your writing environment. If you are spending more time on the activities surrounding writing, and not actually writing, then it can be a detriment. You can change your environment in an iterative approach. That means you change your environment a little at a time to make it a better and better writing environment. After a number of years, it will be a wonderful place to work every single day.
