I was reading the latest issue of Mslexia the other day, and came across a quote from Gretchen Rubin, which says: “The reward for a good habit is the good habit, and that’s the reward to give yourself.”

 

This has certainly been the case for me recently with my writing. I’m still submitting to competitions and anthologies, but less often now I’m focusing on my two novels. And I do have plans to try and get those novels published, at least one of them later this year. But, at the moment, the writing itself is the point.

 

I’m also trying to cultivate better habits with my writing, helped along by my 120 habit pledge for Get Your Words Out this year. My plan is to do a significant amount of writing on 3-4 days each week and, so far, it’s not proving difficult. That’s because, given a free day, or an evening opportunity, the thing I most want to do is pack a bag full of writing supplies, repair to a cafe that does good tea, and spend a few hours working on my various writing projects.

 

I’m not forcing myself to write, with a view to getting the reward of publication, or even to reward myself with a treat once I feel I’ve done enough for the day. Meeting up with a good friend, and sharing table space while really getting on with stuff turns out to be a treat in and of itself. And this is very much a good thing, because it means writing doesn’t feel like a chore, and it makes the inevitable rejections that much easier to bear, since publication is just an added bonus on top of an activity that is already an achievement just because I’m doing it.

 

My biggest problem now is remembering to schedule in some relaxation time. Even though I’m enjoying my writing, it still takes effort and energy, and I’ve found it can be very draining if I spend several hours on writing projects on every free day I have outside my day job. So, if I want to keep my good habit up, I need to pace myself and acknowledge that I do need some time off every now and then, as well.

 

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