The Weekly Writing Routine Workbook

By Trevor Thrall

A powerful book about creating a customized weekly writing routine that puts you back in control of your writing.

 

It's time to stop struggling to stay focused, to set goals, or to write consistently. It's time for a new weekly writing routine.

 

Routines help writers by making it easier, more

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trevor Thrall
• Release date: Apr 15, 2024
• ISBN: 9798990553705

Trevor Thrall

As the founder of Get Your Writing Done and author of The 12 Week Year for Writers, my mission is to help people reach their goals by helping them to become the most productive writers they can be.I have spent more than 20 years using the 12 Week Year to manage my own writing. I have used the system to publish seven books and edited volumes, a host of academic articles and book chapters, and scores of op-eds and commentaries. My work has been published in outlets such as the Atlantic, Washington Post, Foreign Policy, Philadelphia Inquirer, and Detroit News, among others. I received my Ph.D. in political science from M.I.T. and left my post as Associate Professor at George Mason University in 2022 to live the entrepreneurial life. I live near the beach in North Carolina with my wife and two naughty dogs.

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Copyright © 2024 by A. Trevor Thrall

All rights reserved.

No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher or author, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law.

Contents

Copyrights

Preface

1.Why You Need a Weekly Writing Routine

2.The Weekly Writing Routine

3.Auditing Your Existing Routine

4.Designing Your New Weekly Writing Routine

5.Implementing Your New Weekly Writing Routine

6.New Weekly Writing Routine

7.A Few Thoughts About Writing for the Long Haul

Useful Resources

Also By A. Trevor Thrall

About the Author

Copyright © 2024 by A. Trevor Thrall

All rights reserved.

No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher or author, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law.

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Preface

Since The 12 Week Year for Writers was published, many writers have reported that the system has been a boon to their ability to write consistently. They are writing more often, writing more productively, and finishing the projects they start. I couldn’t be happier for them.

After speaking with hundreds of people about the system, however, I realized that there were still a lot of questions about how – exactly – to organize one’s weeks to get writing done. What kind of schedule works best? How should you prepare to be productive for a session? How to make sure you don’t skip a session if you feel tired or anxious? How do you stay focused and avoid distraction during a writing session? In other words, what does a healthy writing routine really look like?

The result is this workbook, designed to help you implement the 12 Week Year for Writers system by creating a personalized Weekly Writing Routine.

As you design and implement your new routine, you’ll be in great company. Read interviews or accounts of history’s most productive authors and other creative types and you cannot escape the common thread running through them all. They all have routines that help them do their best work on a regular basis.

The Process

In the next chapter, I explain why having a weekly writing routine is so important and describe the elements of a great writing routine. From there, the workbook will guide you through a three-step process to design and refine your new writing routine:

Step 1: Audit your existing writing routine

You’ll start by documenting your current routine, confirming your writing goals, and conducting an audit of each key element of your weekly routine. The purpose isn’t to kick yourself for things you’re doing or not doing. Instead, the goal is to identify the areas where you think changes will bring the biggest benefits to your writing.

Step 2: Design your new routine

Once you’ve assessed your existing routine and you know which areas are ripe for improvement, it’s time to design your new Weekly Writing Routine. Your goal is to use each of the key elements to help make your writing easier, more enjoyable, and more productive. This workbook will walk you through each of the elements and outline best practices and time-tested tips on how to get started.

Step 3: Implement and refine your routine

The final section of the workbook will help you implement and refine your routine. You’ll identify the first steps to take and a strategy for working toward your ideal routine.

12 Weeks to a Powerful New Writing Routine

I often comment that writing is hard. So is change. It follows that changing the way you write is doubly difficult. Building new habits and cementing new routines does not happen overnight. In fact, changes that happen overnight tend not to last very long. Making wholesale changes quickly is a recipe for overwhelm and discomfort, which typically leads us to seek our old comfort zone, even if we didn’t like it there. Your goal is to create a lifelong routine that fits the way you work and live.

My own tendency, however, is to get so excited at the prospect of a new plan that I rush out to do it all right now. I know I’m not alone in this, so in the interest of balancing excitement with prudence, I recommend moving deliberately, slowly adding new elements to your routine until it is just right. Your twelve-week plan might look like this:

Week 1: Get Started

Read the workbook and start the wheels spinning

Weeks 2-3: Audit and Design

Audit your current routine

Design your new routine

Weeks 4-12: Launch and Refine

Launch your new routine

Review your progress weekly

Refine routine as necessary

Take additional small steps toward goals when ready

If you’re really excited about implementing a new writing routine, this may seem too slow. On the other hand, if you’re new to the