Simple Mindfulness Tips for a Sustainable Writing Practice

As an Associate Professor of Publishing at Belmont University, I direct a program for undergraduates who want to be book publishing professionals after graduation. My own background in publishing began in 2008, and I have worked in the industry alongside my teaching career since then, supporting authors as a publicist first and now as a literary agent.

All my college students are learning to be writers—either with a primary career goal to be an author or as a necessary steppingstone to becoming book editors and marketers. Having strong writing chops is a part of the process regardless of their professional trajectory, and so I find myself teaching writing in many courses.

Given my role as a business of book publishing academic, supporting student learning about writing is not just about the prose itself—I am not an English professor, and accordingly, I must also impart the business side of the writing industry to my students. I’ve discovered that one of the areas students often need guidance in is how to develop a writing practice that leads to sustainable authorial productivity.

In an experimental course, now made part of our permanent catalog of courses, Advanced Book Editing, I fit together various exercises meant to inspire creativity and calm focus in young writers. The course requires them to write 18,000 words (and edit a partner’s manuscript of the same length) in a single semester. Many writers find that intimidating, so support my teen and early adult students I need to soothe fears straight out the gate—and so I created some tools for them to do just that.

Part of my research is in how to pair mindfulness classroom activities with productivity tools to help my students destress—with the goal to avoid burning out. I put that knowledge into play in this course and have been delighted to see the impact some simple tools can have on a writer looking to establish a personal creative routine.

In 1974, H. J. Freudenberger defined burnout as when a person is caused “to fail, wear, or become exhausted by making excessive demands on energy, strength or resources.'' Academic research has indicated that stress leading to burnout can be combated through mindfulness practices. A few of those practices include selected texts, as well as what may seem contrary to our assumptions—regular pausing is beneficial to overall productivity even when it takes some time away from the task at hand. Taking breaks helps people make more of whatever it is they need to make or accomplish.

My students demonstrate that this notion is similarly applicable to avoiding burnout in writing. Their application of my prescribed routines is easily replicable for other writers, and I offer up these suggestions for writers to experiment with and see if they can’t assist others outside my classrooms. Create a “purposeful pause” breaking up your day from your other tasks and worries to clear your mind before you begin writing.

If you’d like to try your hand at these methods you may find you are inspired to keep writing with a new routine that will last your lifetime.

1. Try “breathing the box” before each writing session you schedule for yourself. Close your eyes. Breathe in for 4 seconds, hold your breath for 4 seconds, and then release all of your air for 4 seconds. Repeat this for a total of 4 or more rounds to calm your nervous system. Open your eyes and write after you’ve accomplished this grounding practice. Try this for a few weeks every time you write and see how your body responds and your word count soars.
2. Read and contemplate a text for a few minutes before you write. Pick a single poem or spiritual text to read and then simply absorb what you enjoy about the writing before you. Note what you enjoyed, what thoughts jumped to mind in response, and find yourself present with your short reading before you pick up your own literal or proverbial pen.
3. Create an aesthetic physical ritual prior to your writing time. This could be: lighting the same candle and placing it next to your laptop or journal and then blowing this candle out when you stop writing for the day. Or spraying a special room scent you love that is only used at writing time. You could create a special music playlist that you only play during your creative sessions.
4. Meet with a writing partner (as my students did) for quiet writing dates. Set up a weekly schedule and write together, even if you do not talk about your projects much. This accountability does wonders for your word count. It’s a work party!
5. If you have a writing partner you meet with, try out a “read aloud.” In this exercise, the editor reads aloud the writer’s latest addition to their body of work, allowing the writer to listen to their written words emerge from their partner’s mouth. Lots of discrepancies in logic, turn of phrase, and grammar can be found easily when we are forced to listen to our own writing read by another. Running a “read aloud” before you sit down to revise and add more to your manuscript is a helpful way to fine-tune your work, and a great way to get into the right frame of mind to start creating.

Creating a ritual meant to connect your mind to your body, as practicing mindfulness does, is a wonderful way to tell your nervous system that it is okay and safe to create. Artistic experimentation can happen in a mindset that is agile, and self-editing is easier when we are practiced at the flexible attitudes that mindfulness provides, rather than the rigidity of reactionary living.

Ritualizing your writing can also help you build a habit that feels easier the more you attempt to accomplish.

My students reflected that three months of their weekly habit was enough time to discern what rituals they liked and helped them focus and work. Their trial and error, enforced by class requirements, taught them how to observe their own writing practices and find ways to create that felt natural and long-lasting.

I hope you can find the same for yourself with these ideas.

*Yes, we have footnotes.

*Featured image by Jorm Sangsorn (Adobe)