Plus 60% off Bloom before the doors close

I’ve talked about routines before, briefly, and how they help us support our writing without boxing us in.

But the power of building a routine (not a schedule) goes way deeper: building skills, like setting a routine that works for you, is an act of everyday magic. And one that can dramatically reshape your relationship to your writing and your writing itself.

Routines

So what makes a writing routine different from a schedule (and why does it matter)?

A schedule tells you set start and end times for each component of your day.

A routine is, in essence, more of an order of operations: It tells you the sequence in which things happen throughout your day, whether or not they exactly align with the times you planned for them to happen.

I teach writers routines, not schedules.

Why does this matter?

Because with a schedule, we can often feel like we ‘missed the boat’ if we’re running late and start doing whatever task ten minutes (or whatever) after we planned.

But the truth is, when it comes to prioritizing your creative time throughout your week, it matters that you sat down and spent the time:
Your writing doesn’t care if you’re a few minutes late, but it’s going to start to feel a bit neglected if it gets shoved aside consistently because other things got scheduled over it.

An order of operations also makes saving time to for your writing automatic: Because your routine tells you that you write after you walk the dog, or have breakfast, or whatever else you do right before.
The right routine actually teaches your mind and body to automatically shift towards your writing time when you reach that point in your day. It’s pretty magical stuff!

The magic of routines

I talk a lot about everyday magic: How the small, simple ways we choose to fill our days are spells (or intentions, or prayers, or whatever wording you like) that we’re casting towards a future we desire.

The beautiful thing about this approach is that it takes a lot of pressure off: Since every day magic happens every single day, if I feel like I didn’t ‘get it right’ somehow I will always make more magic to make tomorrow.

So setting up a routine gives me the chance to practice the every day magic of holding space in my day for what I want to spend my time on: And to see how that magical thing I love (my creative time) can realistically fit into my life as it is.

Magic is expansive, too: And that means that creating big, beautiful magic every day helps us see with clarity how the shape of our days might be slightly re-formed so our creative work can expand more fully into it.

And, the magic of routines (versus a schedule) is that you can still hold space for your writing time even on days you’re short on time. Yes, really! No more shoving your creative dreams to the side because things got busy (and I promise, it’s easier to do than you think).

Bloom starts July 22nd

Learn all about routines, and make your own writing routine, in Bloom. Just one of the many foundational skills we cover to support your lifelong writing success!

Use the code BIGIDEAS for 60% off

What is Bloom?

Bloom is an 8 week program for writers to build the foundations of a lifelong writing practice that’s sustainable, productive, pleasurable, and fun.

Using nature and ecosystems principles as our guides, we create a lifelong writing practice rooted in pleasure and sustainability: One that helps you direct your energy where it’s needed in your work, find momentum, and have fun throughout the whole process.

Bloom is part skill-building and part mindset-shifting, so you can focus on your world-building, magical writing practice.

It’s geared towards book authors (wherever you are in that process) BUT the skills we learn can be applied to all writing, whatever format and genre. So, whatever you write or create, you’ll find lots of useful material to carry forward into your life.

Bloom includes:

• Personalized coaching support every weekday from me in our Slack channel

• Weekly prompts and tips focused on each week’s skill, so you can start incorporating it into your own writing ecosystem right away

• Space for accountability, celebrating milestones, and a dedicated writer community

• A live agent Q&A session with Senior Literary Agent and Ekus Group leader Sally Ekus, all about publishing and representation (if you aren’t following her newsletter, by the way, it’s filled with tons of useful information).

• A live Q&A on finding + reaching your audience with Emma Sector, a marketing and publicity genius at Storey Publishing (and the force behind the successful publicity campaign for my book Our Fermented Lives).

• Lifetime access to an extensive resource library (a $1200 value)

• Live Q&A sessions with me to go in-depth on your questions and help you put your new writing skills to work right away

• Free gifts just for showing up each week, plus entry to win big drawings for private coaching sessions and intuitive guidance sessions, as a thank you for dedicating time to your writing practice!

• And more!

Bloom starts July 22nd, and already is filled with some really incredible, talented writers: We’d love for you to join us!

Use the code BIGIDEAS when you sign up for 60% off.