Developing a writing habit

Not developing a writing habit has by far been my biggest barrier to becoming published. You can't submit blank pages or unfinished manuscripts. I've tried many times in the past to develop a routine but I could never make it stick. There are lots of "techniques" writers have to develop these habits but none worked for me. I finally developed my own techniques and so far I've written every single day since January 1st and it hasn't been a struggle. (I didn't make a New Years resolution - that's not me.) But I did really want to have another book written by the time I am Evan came out (May 18th). I really, really wanted it.

So here's what I did:

I bought an inspirational calendar from the Dollar Tree, along with a variety of stickers. I wrote out a legend that shows what sticker I get rewarded with for what amount of words I write. a star for 300 words, a heart for 500 words, etc. For January my minimum was 300 words. I figured that would be doable. I didn't want to set myself up for failure. (Notice the frowny face on January 27th. Didn't meet my goal, but I did write something!) I also set a weekly goal of 3000 words (which I didn't always meet, but close.) This month I upped it to 500 words a day - not too difficult if I divide it up. I figured it was only 200 more than my January daily goal. Also, if I'm not near my calendar, I can text myself the daily word count to log later.
(I was inspired by this post: http://www.lainitaylor.com/2013/10/word-count-calendar-of-cuteness.html )

RThe other thing I did, and this really made all the difference for me, was to get the Werdsmith app on my phone. I don't waste any time on pulling out my laptop or sitting at my desk. I can use speech to text, or I can type on my phone like I'm texting. Then, I export my writing to my email. I can write on my break at work, I can write in bed, on the couch, in my car, at someone else's house, waiting for a dr appointment, you get the idea. This app makes it absolutely effortless to get some writing in each day.

Now, if I could get into the habit of blogging every day. Baby steps....