Spurred in part by needing to adapt to the pandemic—I’ve carved out a new routine for myself: deep writing months. 

It started when I decided to participate in my first ever National Novel Writing Month (aka NaNoWriMo). I made my own rules (like no word counts) and ended up with a good amount of progress on my memoir—even without writing every single day. I repeated the process three months later, and have fielded a few questions about the whole process.

For me—and I'd venture to say most writers—a deep writing month isn’t a new normal. That wouldn’t be sustainable. I see it as a short-term shake up, an opportunity to set aside intentional time to focus on your work (whatever that looks like for you) and make just enough progress to build future momentum.  

I can't tell you if this is a good idea. In my experience, the decision to pursue a deep writing month is felt. It's an inner knowing, a creative nudge, a “this just can't wait any longer” demand. When the story starts speaking, you'll hear it. And if you'd like to follow its voice, then a deep writing month may help you do just that. 

If you've been away from the page for a bit and need a refresh, or you’re feeling the tug to work on something, and/or want to experiment with some gentle boundaries to help you forge ahead. here’s my simple, no pressure system.

5 Steps to Plan a Deep Writing Month

1. Set an intention. The first step is making the decision to simply do it. What specific project are you wanting to work on? Name it clearly. And if your intention is to write every day, that’s great! Please note that I consider writing to be anywhere from 10 minutes to four hours. Even when you plan ahead, there may be days that simply don’t accommodate a longer writing session (see Step 5). Ten minutes still counts! 

2. Remove distractions. Look at the things that most distract you (e.g. scrolling on social media, watching television in the evening, etc.) and commit to removing at least one of them for the month. You’ll be pleasantly surprised by how much mental space opens up.

3. Tell your people. This intentional writing month will be much more difficult if you don’t tell your people. Specifically, the people you live with need to be in the loop. If you’re someone who’s motivated by public declarations, then share it on social media as well, but have a conversation with your partner, your kids, your best friend, what have you, to ensure they know what your plans are and can support you. This is also a good time to look at your schedule and figure out a somewhat consistent time you might be able to write. 

4. Track (if you want). This is a totally optional step, but I find it fun to track my writing days on a calendar in my planner. Nothing fancy, just a star for the days I write. It’s satisfying to count them all up at the end of four weeks. 

5. Stay flexible. As we discussed in Step 1, writing days will look different. Kids might get sick. Day job projects might divert you. It’s fine. So long as you’re intentionally making progress, even 15 minutes a day, your project will end in a better place than when you started.