The Top Game Changers for Writers

by Rochelle Melander

I’ve been thinking about game changers: ideas, practices, or products that literally change the game.

Consider the printing press. Before Johanes Gutenberg invented the press in the 1440s, all manuscripts were copied by hand. Imagine the waitlist at the monastery for the Bible. The monks must have tired of saying, “Don’t worry—we’ll have another one copied in a few years!”

Of course, for writers, one of the big game changers has been the computer—allowing us to easily produce, save, and revise our work.

What Are the Top Game Changers for Writers?

For anyone who wants to write and publish, what are the top game changers? Most would say, getting an agent or landing on the bestseller list. If you search online for the answer to this, you’re going to read many articles about AI and how it’s supporting authors in writing and editing books. That’s because AI companies have great marketing departments. I’ll write more on why I don’t think AI will be game changer in a future issue.

For me and many of my clients, I’ve seen the huge difference it makes for a writer to find and stick to a writing routine. (Even if your routine is wildly chaotic.) That time allows you to get your ideas down on paper.

As Clarissa Pinkola Estes says

“The most important thing is to hold on, hold out, for your creative life, for your solitude, for your time to be and do, for your very life.”

Maya Angelou did this by renting a hotel room.

Toni Morrison got up early to write at her kitchen table, before her boys got up. But when she had a baby in her tiny house, she’d escape to a bar to write.

Octavia Butler regularly rose at 2 AM to write before she left for her full time job.

How do you create a writing routine?

Any way that works for you.

Really.

Game Changer One: Establishing a Writing Routine

Here are three tricks I’ve learned to overcome decision fatigue that comes with ADHD and the writing life (Should I write today?) and just get it done.

Stack it. Habit stacking allows you to skip deciding by stacking a new habit on top of an existing one. Put your writing time right after something you do every day, like eating breakfast or lunch or having an afternoon cup of tea.

Bundle it. If you can’t habit stack, then bundle your writing time with something you find delicious and tempting, like a latte or a trip to the library. This is called temptation bundling and depends on you only allowing yourself to have the tempting treat when you write.

Body-double it. Stop trying to do this alone. Find a friend or colleague—or join Show Up and Write—and write with others. Honestly, it’s so much easier to get writing done when it’s a like a class you’re taking and all you have to do is show up.

Show Up and Write meets every Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday at 11:00 AM CT. It doesn’t matter WHAT you write, just that you have a project to work on. (Some of our members paint!) SIGN UP HERE.

What has been a gamechanger for you?

You have your own game changers, things you’ve done or stopped doing that absolutely changed the course of your life.

Over the next few months, I’ll be writing about what I think are game changers for writers—and how to make them work.

If you have a game changer to share, leave a comment.