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Lydia Davis: Ten of My Recommendations for Good Writing Habits

Advice for writers on editing, revising, and taking notes.

Adapted from the essay “Thirty Recommendations for Good Writing Habits” in   Essays One .

The following are just my personal pieces of advice. They won’t be the same as someone else’s, and they may not fit your life or practice, but maybe you’ll pick up something useful.

1. Take notes regularly. This will sharpen both your powers of observation and your expressive ability. A productive feedback loop is established: Through the habit of taking notes, you will inevitably come to observe more; observing more, you will have more to note down. Here are some examples from my own notebooks and also from the Austrian fiction writer Peter Handke’s notebook selection entitled The Weight of the World . Other notebooks that might serve as useful models are Kafka’s and the painter Delacroix’s.

* Observe your own activity:

From my notebook:

a. “I keep hoping for a new and interesting email, and for hours now it has been the same subject line: ‘Used Kubota tractor for sale’.”

b. “I kept smelling a smell of cat pee but could not find where it was coming from, until I found the cat pee—on the tip of my very own nose!”

From Peter Handke’s notebook:

c. “Someone [a stranger] drops something and I pull my hand out of my pocket, but that’s all I do.”

* Observe your own feelings (but not at tiresome length):

a. “At the sight of a woman with enormously protuberant eyes, my irritation vanished”

b. The feeling of love, it seems, in my response to Peter Bichsel’s stories—they are loving stories. They awaken in me a feeling (love) that I am then quicker to feel in response to other things.

* Observe the behavior of others, both animal and human:

a. Little kitty crouches down and flattens her ears (in the entryway, in front of the glass door) so that she won’t be seen by the dead leaves whirling around outside.

b. Grandpa is over there under the tree working on his retractable umbrella.

c. That very handsome dark-haired and dark-eyed young man walks up and down the aisle of the train so many times to show us how nice he looks in his cream-colored summer suit and white shirt. He will continue to walk up and down until he is sure we have all seen him.

(In this case, the observation has already turned into something a little more, even as I write it, because I am adding something to it that I imagine, or can pretend I imagine, about the man.)

* Observe the weather, and be specific:

a. High wind yesterday blew women’s long hair, women’s long skirts, crowns of trees, at dinner outdoors napkins off laps, lettuce off plates, flakes of pastry off plates onto sidewalk.

Apropos of weather and precision, here is Webster ’ s Collegiate Dictionary ’s chart of the Beaufort scale—a scale in which the force of the wind is indicated by numbers from 0 to 17. This source is “just” a dictionary, but the images are vivid because of their specificity and the good clear writing in the dictionary, and because the increasing strength of the wind on the scale becomes, despite the dry, factual account, dramatic.

I have to say, as an aside, that I’m sure I learned something about writing clear and exact prose from the very precise definitions in this same dictionary, which I acquired at age 25 and consulted constantly.

* Observe other types of behavior, including that of municipalities:

From my notebook, while traveling:

a. To commemorate the St.-Cyprieux victims of the flood of 1875, the city erected . . . a fountain.

(I revised this, in the notebook: I changed the order a little to avoid a succession of prepositional phrases. My sentence originally read: To commemorate the victims in St. Cyprieux of the flood of 1875, the city erected . . . a fountain. That version may, after all, be perfectly all right, or even better.)

* Note facts

As a writer, whether you are writing fiction, non-fiction, or poetry, you must be responsible for accurate factual information about how a thing works, if you’re writing about it. You will have to be well informed about such things as the weather, biology, botany, human nature, history, technology, such matters as color spectrums and the behavior of light waves etc. etc. This means that, over time, you will learn a good deal. Here’s an example of a piece of knowledge acquired while traveling:

Question: can you figure out three reasons why trees were planted along this canal in a French city?

My answer, noted in notebook:

a. trees planted along canal for three reasons: shade for boatmen, help slow evaporation of water, hold earth in banks. Often planted at exactly equal intervals.

* Note technical/historical facts:

Here are some notes I took in the Cluny Museum in Paris, about construction methods in Ancient Rome:

a. “Courses of limestone (rows) intersected by leveling courses (bands) of horizontal bricks forming a construction named opus vittatum mixtum , [banded mixed materials], a reference to the layering techniques and to the mixing of different materials.”

b. “The floor . . . is made of Roman concrete, opus caementicium , a mix of stones and lime mortar . . . probably covered in stone slabs or mosaics.”

Important: Take notes at the time, because you will forget so much, if not everything, later—you will inevitably either forget the moment entirely, or forget a part of it, so that won’t be as complete or interesting when you do note it down.

a. Here is Samuel Johnson on the subject of travel writing: “He who has not made the experiment will scarcely believe how much a few hours take from accuracy of knowledge.”

On the subject of taking notes, I want to add one last thing, and that is about public transportation: I do a lot of writing and note-taking on trips: in airports, on airplanes, on trains. I recommend taking public transportation whenever possible. There are many good reasons to do this (one’s carbon footprint, safety, productive use of time, support of public transportation, etc.), but for a writer, here are two in particular: 1) you will write a good deal more waiting for a bus or sitting on a train than you will driving a car, or as a passenger in a car; and (2) you will be thrown in with strangers—people not of your choosing. Although I pass strangers when I’m walking on a city street, it is only while traveling on public transportation that I sit thigh to thigh with them on a subway, stare at the back of their heads waiting in line, and overhear sometimes extended conversations. It takes me out of my own limited, chosen world. Sometimes I have good, enlightening conversations with them.

2. Always work (note, write) from your own interest, never from what you think you should be noting, or writing. Trust your own interest. I have a strong interest, at the moment, in Roman building techniques, thus my notation above, taken down in the Cluny Museum in Paris. My interest may pass. But for the moment I follow it and enjoy it, not knowing where it will go.

Let your interest, and particularly what you want to write about, be tested by time, not by other people—either real other people or imagined other people.

This is why writing workshops can be a little dangerous, it should be said; even the teachers or leaders of such workshops can be a little dangerous; this is why most of your learning should be on your own. Other people are often very sure that their opinions and their judgments are correct.

3. Be mostly self-taught.

There is a great deal to be learned from programs, courses, and teachers. But I suggest working equally hard, throughout your life, at learning new things on your own, from whatever sources seem most useful to you. I have found that pursuing my own interests in various directions and to various sources of information can take me on fantastic adventures: I have stayed up till the early hours of the morning poring over old phone books; or following genealogical lines back hundreds of years; or reading a book about what lies under a certain French city; or comparing early maps of Manhattan as I search for a particular farmhouse. These adventures become as gripping as a good novel.

4. Revise notes constantly—try to develop the ability to read them as though you had never seen them before, to see how well they communicate. Constant revision, whether or not you’re going to “do” anything with what you’ve written, also teaches you to write better in the first place, when you first write something down.

I have already given some examples of revision, since it is an inveterate habit when I reread anything I’ve written. I will give more examples as I go along and explain more about the importance of this later.

5. If you take notes regularly, sitting in an airport, for example, you can “grow” a story right then and there. Revising it, you can give it a good shape and pace. Here are some notes I took sitting in an airport lounge at a table near a Starbuck’s:

a. First I copy down some dialog I hear that strikes me:

“Caramel syrup or caramel drizzle?”

“Caramel syrup or caramel drizzle?” (I look up; it is a tall slim woman with a ponytail buying the drink. She’s an airline employee in the Starbuck’s line.)

Long pause for deliberation.

“I’ll take the drizzle.”

(I see her now from behind, over there, her blond ponytail and sticking-out ears, drinking her caramel drizzle. As she deliberated, I was deciding that drizzle was a smaller amount of caramel than “syrup” even though “syrup” must be involved in the “drizzle.”)

Later, she walks away with another airline employee, the empty cup in her hand, the caramel drizzle inside her.

And then she turns out to be the attendant on our flight—her name is Shannon—so her caramel drizzle will also be going to Chicago with us.

In between my observations of the flight attendant, there were other notes, first a comment about something I had experienced trying to learn Dutch, and then another people observation, as follows:

b. Stout, cheerful, rather dandyish man dressed in preppy clothes—tweed jacket, bow tie, loafers, etc.—starts off down the airport corridor in pursuit of a boy of six or seven in camouflage clothes who was galloping away. Stout man calls cheerfully back to woman at table, who is evidently boy’s mother: “James and I are going potty!”

Then I go back to observing the stewardess.

6. Taking notes as you sit outside at a cafe table, you can also begin to develop a poem. This is the same wind as before, at the same cafe table. I did not write it to be a poem, but later I look at it, and it almost reads as one:

a. In the wind, the grass is bowing and the Queen Anne’s lace is nodding.

Now, as though blown by the wind, come the runners in the footrace.

Here is how the revision worked: originally I did not have “In the wind” at the beginning. I was sitting there in the wind, I knew it was windy, I knew why the grass and the Queen Anne’s lace were bowing and nodding. But when I read it over with fresh eyes, I could see that I needed to say the wind was blowing, otherwise the reader might hesitate or take time figuring out why the grass and flowers were moving. You want the impact of what you write to be unobstructed ; you don’t want confusion or hesitation in the reader’s mind.

I say “the reader” for convenience, by the way. The fact is that when I revise in my notebook, I’m revising for the sake of the piece itself, to make it work. I’m not thinking about any reader. I may never do any more with it than leave it in the notebook.

7. Another advantage of revising constantly, regardless of whether you’re ever going to “use” what you’ve written, is that you practice, constantly, reading with fresh eyes, reading as the person coming fresh to this, never having seen it before. This is a very important skill to develop, and one that probably develops only with time and practice (although some people recommend various tricks, such as printing different drafts of your work in different fonts).

Another way to see your work freshly is to leave it alone and come back to it after time has passed. I will quite often begin a piece of writing, even hastily, getting a few lines or sentences down, with a title, and then leave it and work on other things, and sometimes I leave it for so long—weeks or months—that when I see the title again I wonder what it is, and even when I read it I don’t recognize it, having completely forgotten it existed.

8. Sentences or ideas reported from reality out of context can be wonderful. But then, when and if you use them in a piece of finished writing, beware of how much context you give them.

Context can mean explanation, exposition. And too much of it can take away all the interest that the material originally had. Here are some more notes, effective alone, without context, less effective with context:

More notebook entries:

a: “When he was in his sixties, he often seemed tired of life.” (from Wikipedia article about the Dutch painter Willem Maris)

b. “Another of Tennyson’s brothers, Edward Tennyson, was institutionalized at a private asylum, where he was deemed dead.” (from Wikipedia article on Tennyson)

c. Alas I’m in Denver” (email)

d: “I can always get someone to open a window in Paris.” (email from schoolmate about learning French)

e. “The children at The Children’s Center are interested in building a castle.” (email)

In this last example, part of the vividness of the entry is the language: the repetition of “children”and then the word “interested”, which somehow seems incongruous to the behavior of children. And then the picture conjured up by children building a (real) castle. This would not have been as striking if the situation as a whole had been more fully explained and the language had been slightly changed, thus: “The children at the daycare center want to build a castle out of blocks.”)

f. “I need a plumber.” (email)

9. Go to primary sources and go to the great works to learn technique. This was the advice of Matsuo Basho, the 17th-c. Japanese master of the haiku.

Read the best writers: maybe it would help to set a goal of one classic per year at least. Classics have stood the test of time, as we say. Keep trying them, if you don’t like them at first—come back to them. I tried Joyce’s Ulysses three times before I read it all the way through. (It helped that I was living in Ireland at the time, where I saw Joycean and Beckettian characters all around me.) I haven’t yet read Don Quixote , but I think I’ll actually enjoy it.

10. How should you read? What should the diet of your reading be? Read the best writers from all different periods; keep your reading of contemporaries in proportion—you do not want a steady diet of contemporary literature. You already belong to your time.

——————————————

Adapted from the essay “Thirty Recommendations for Good Writing Habits” in Essays One by Lydia Davis. Reprinted with the permission of the publisher, Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Copyright © 2019 by Lydia Davis.

Lydia Davis

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Developing effective writing habits.

In this module, you’ll learn how to overcome the barriers that keep you from finishing—or starting—a writing project, and how to develop a writing routine. With a few of these tools under your belt, you’ll be ready to form a writing habit that saves you time and maximizes your productivity.

We imagine prolific writers as geniuses who, struck by an idea, simply begin to write and, with very little effort, produce a finished product. Nothing could be further from the truth. Instead, prolific and skilled writers have developed writing habits that help them take charge of the writing process.

Make writing a habit

When you make writing a regular part of your life, it becomes much less of a burden. When writing becomes part of your routine, you’ll start getting more done in less time; thus your writing becomes more automatic, fluid, and natural.

Identify and overcome writing obstacles

When you have a writing project with an approaching deadline, you may suddenly decide to do more reading, check your email, or start a load of laundry . . . instead of sitting down to write. In effect, you’ve basically decided to procrastinate.

Procrastination is not an obstacle but a manifestation of a writing block. While nearly every writer is aware of procrastination, far fewer writers know about the different types of obstacles that are at procrastination’s root.

Writing obstacles include (a) lack of confidence, (b) distaste for writing, or (c) a lack of time. These three top obstacles have one thing in common: Once they’re identified as productivity blocks, they can be directly confronted and overcome.

^ identified by psychologist Robert Boice, Professors as Writers: A Self-Help Guide to Productive Writing. Stillwater, OK: New Forums Press, 1990. PP 20-22.

A writer who waits for ideal conditions under which to work will die without putting a word on paper. —E.B. White

Writing Obstacle 1: Lack of confidence

Writers who lack confidence worry they don’t have the skills necessary to make a contribution to their field or they haven’t correctly analyzed their data, so their conclusion must either not be worthwhile or simply wrong. This is similar to the impostor syndrome: the belief they aren’t good enough to succeed, or they’ve deceived themselves or others about their ability to succeed. Additionally, telling yourself that you’re “not a good writer” is also counterproductive.

Strategy: Counter negative self-talk

Self-talk is about remaining confident in your skills and addressing any negative thoughts about your abilities. When your negative voice emerges, recognize it and gently self-correct. Counter those feelings with an affirmation about your abilities: You’re in graduate school because you are smart enough. You can learn to write well. From there, take one task at a time (if you’re overwhelmed by a number of tasks, it’s difficult to make headway). A checklist helps build confidence in your abilities to continue making progress. Source: thewritepractice.com/self-talk

Strategy: Form a writing group

Writing groups help you gain confidence by providing feedback, receiving encouragement from others, and helping you realize you’re not alone in your struggle to write. When you share your project timeline with others, you also become more accountable in completing tasks. Writing groups work best when writers are at a common stage in their careers (working on a final paper is a different task from writing a dissertation) and have a similar disciplinary focus, although members need not be from the same department. However, a word of caution is in order: A writing group must retain its focus; if it devolves into a social gathering or a meeting to vent frustrations together, you should either redirect the members to the group’s original purpose or, failing that, leave the group altogether. To start a writing group, talk with colleagues in your department or contact the Office of Graduate Studies.

Work on a good piece of writing proceeds on three levels: a musical one, where it is composed; an architectural one, where it is constructed; and finally, a textile one, where it is woven.” ―Walter Benjamin, One Way Street And Other Writings

Writing Obstacle 2: Distaste for writing

Perhaps the most common obstacle, many writers have a distaste for writing. Those who dislike writing think about how difficult it is and what they’d rather be doing. They often find writing exhausting.

Strategy: Outline

For writers who have a distaste for writing or who lack confidence in their writing abilities, outlining is a strategy to help them make measurable progress. Before writing, outlining the argument for a chapter, section, or even a paragraph gives the writer perspective on the project and shepherds thoughts into place. When it’s time to write, the writer doesn’t have to sit staring at a blank screen, wondering how to start.

Below are a writer’s two attempts to outline his progress report on the 1988 forensic investigation of the ill-fated Pan Am Flight 103—an air disaster that killed 243 passengers and 16 crew members.

When you read it closely, you’ll see that the weak outline suffers from vague descriptions, inconsistent coordination and subordination of ideas, single item headings, and an overall lack of transparent logic. After reading it, ask yourself this question: Does this outline really provide the direction the writer needs?

Weak Outline

• Debris recovered
• Cataloguing
• Interpretation
• Bomb makeup
• Work to be done

Unlike the first attempt, the revised outline reflects the writer’s intentional efforts to organize thoughts into a naturally logical, consistently well-coordinated and subordinated flow of ideas . . . before the actual writing begins! The strong outline provides clear directions for the writer.

Strong Outline

• Recovering debris
• Cataloguing debris
• Interpreting debris
• Placement of bomb
• Construction of bomb
• Future work

So, you’ll need to be self-critical of your first attempts at outlining . Taking the time to do so will make writing much easier and save you a great deal of time. Outlining is a powerful tool that helps you reflect on your own thinking and puts you in charge of meaning making when you’re ready to put thoughts onto the page.

Strategy: Create a distraction-free environment

Once you’ve scheduled writing times, it’s important to have an environment that’s conducive to writing. A designated workspace minimizes distractions and helps you get in the right frame of mind for working. Before you start writing, have things like snacks, water, and tissues within easy reach. Doing so will keep you from getting up every few minutes. Turn off your phone and leave it in another room. Let your family and friends know there will be times when you’ll be unavailable because you’ll be writing. Similarly, use a productivity application on your computer to block internet sites you know will be especially distracting to you. In addition to physical distractions, there are mental distractions to writing—usually remembering something you have to do that’s totally unrelated to the task at hand. Keep a pad of paper within easy reach to jot down reminders for later, then put the pad aside.

Protect the time and space in which you write. Keep everybody away from it, even the people who are most important to you. —Zadie Smith

Writing Obstacle 3: Lack of time for writing

Ask any graduate student, postdoc, or faculty member—there are a lot of demands on their time, and there’s always something else that needs to be done. If you don’t make writing a priority it’s easy to go days or weeks without writing, and deadlines arrive before you know it.

Strategy: Create a schedule

Scheduling a regular writing time will help you make writing a priority and keep you working on your writing projects, even in the middle of a busy semester. Here’s how to schedule a regular writing time:

• Use a weekly planner to break days into 30-minute increments. First, fill in your weekly commitments: classes, meetings, and appointments.
• Next, schedule one or two hours a few times a week at the time of day you know you do your best work.
• Finally, allocate the time for less important tasks to the slots that are left. These blocks of time are flexible—you might use them to scan readings ahead of a seminar or quiz. Start writing for 15 minutes or half an hour. Over time, you’ll be able to lengthen your writing sessions to an hour or two. Distinguish your writing time independent from secondary writing tasks such as outlining, editing, fact-checking, and writing footnotes. These are common distractions for writers who put off the more challenging writing task of actual writing.

Strategy: Set goals

Make the most of your writing time by setting goals—for the project, sections of the project—even for a day or a week.

The best goals are SMART goals. They are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-based.

Setting SMART writing goals takes practice. Over the course of a project, by setting goals and reflecting on the work you did that day, you’ll learn when you’ve been too ambitious and when you can push yourself a little more.

Goals that are SPECIFIC are narrow and defined. For example, "I will write every day" is vague, while “I will draft the methods section” is clearly defined.

MEASURABLE goals can be checked off of a to-do list. “I will write two pages” or “I will finish the data analysis section” can be measured.

ACHIEVABLE goals are challenging, but reachable. Doing anything worthwhile requires persistence in spite of obstacles. Writing is no different. By keeping to your schedule of specific tasks, the more likely you’ll be of completing your writing project.

All of your intermediate writing goals are RELEVANT because they help you finish your writing project. They are also RELEVANT because they move you closer to having your research published, completing all course requirements, or finishing your dissertation. Finishing the project matters to you because it’s another step towards achieving your long-term aspirations.

TIME-BASED goals include completion dates and intermediate deadlines to serve as checkpoints.

It’s true that writing takes serious intellectual engagement. Sitting still for an hour or two, finding the right words, and shepherding ideas into a logical order takes extreme focus. But there’s a pleasure in creating clear prose, of communicating a particularly difficult idea so the reader grasps your meaning. There are a few common obstacles that can stymie even the most seasoned writer, but they can be overcome! Counter a lack of confidence with affirming self-talk or by participating in a writing group. Work through a distaste for writing by learning to develop an effective outline for a writing project and then creating a distraction-free writing environment. Find time to write by establishing a workable writing schedule and setting SMART writing goals. With a little practice, you can develop the good writing habits that will help you finish your writing projects. Developing these writing skills will help you look forward to the writing process (or dread it far less!). These skills eventually become habits that translate to other realms of your working life as well.

The beautiful part of writing is that you don’t have to get it right the first time, unlike, say, a brain surgeon. —Robert Cormier

7 Writing Habits Of Highly Successful Writers

Discover the 7 writing habits of highly successful writers. They’re easy to apply if you want to become more prolific.

So you love writing. You’re committed to developing your writing voice, improving your skills, and working steadily on your craft. But, sometimes, you want to pull out your hair after a day’s writing.

If only you could figure out what successful writers do every day and then use this insight to improve your craft and learn how to become a writer.

Because many successful writers are inaccessible (or they’ve passed on). The good news is that you can still learn from them if you do the work. All you have to do is emulate their writing habits.

In this post, I’ll explain the 7 writing habits of highly successful writers. I’ll also explain how you can cultivate these habits using practical writing tips. They work for short stories, blogging, fiction, and non-fiction.

How To Cultivate This Writing Habit

The final word on creating good writing habits, what are some examples of writing habits, how many hours a day do authors write, what are some bad writing habits, how can i develop my writing habits, what are stephen king’s writing habits, what can alter a person’s writing habits, cultivating atomic writing habits with james clear.

1. Keep an Orderly Daily Routine

Following a consistent daily routine means a writer is more likely to find time to write because they are less prone to unplanned interruptions and life events.

The creative process is messy, unordered, and demanding, but you’ll find it harder to organize your writing if your life outside the blank page is chaotic.

The writer George Flaubert argued an orderly daily routine is all writers need to create. He said:

“Be regular and orderly in your life, so you may be violent and original in your work.”

For many writers (particularly new ones), being regular and orderly means keeping a job . When you sit down to write, the last thing on your mind should be paying the bills. If the prospects of an orderly routine fill you with boredom, consider T.S. Elliot.

Working with numbers is anathema for most writers, but British poet T.S. Elliot worked in Lloyds bank in the UK and wrote his poetry outside of work.

Until your writing is earning you a decent income, don’t quit your job . That way, you can experiment with different genres or niches.

Instead, create on the margins of the day by either getting up early or writing after work. Dedicate time to the creative process, free from email, the news, and social media.

I usually start the day with a cup of coffee or tea and write the first draft for at least thirty minutes without interruption.

That said, if you’d rather not hold down a job unrelated to creative work, check out our guide to the best writing jobs .

2. Write Every Day

Successful writers sit down in front of the blank page every day , not just on weekends or when inspiration strikes. They do the work because writing is their job, not just a hobby.

Consider Anthony Trollope. This 19th-century English author produced an astonishing 47 novels during his career; two dozen were published while he worked in the General Post Office. According to Mason Currey , Trollope said about writing every day:

“All those I think who has lived as literary men, – working daily as literary labourers, – will agree with me that three hours a day will produce as much as a man ought to write.”

If Trollope completed a novel during his three-hour writing session, he immediately took out a blank sheet of paper and started writing a new one.

Writing three hours a day is a tall order if you’ve never attempted it. As with any new habit, start small.

Start by writing for 15 minutes today and 15 minutes tomorrow. The following week, write every day for 30 minutes. And so on.

If you falter, set the alarm on your phone to remind yourself about your writing schedule. Consistency is vital if you want to become a better writer.

Do this until you create a writing routine that sticks. I also recommend tracking your word count during these sessions to evaluate your progress.

3. Leave Yourself Subtle Writing Prompts

Prolific writers know how important it is to get going quickly and efficiently. They leave themselves subtle prompts that simplify picking up from the previous day’s work.

Ernest Hemingway famously stopped writing in the middle of a sentence so he’d know exactly where to resume the following day.

The American novelist Henry Miller was also a big believer in stopping before he ran out of ideas. He said:

“I don’t believe in draining the reservoir, do you see? I believe in getting up from the typewriter, away from it, while I still have still things to say.”

Buy a packet of index cards or Post-It notes. When you’re finished for the day, write on a single index card or Post-It about what you want to work on tomorrow.

Now, stick this on your writing desk . This writing habit will also help you overcome writer’s block as you’ll have a visual reminder about where to start.

4. Embrace Research

Research is a vital part of the writing process, and a writer’s inputs inform what they produce.

I struggled to accept research as part of the non-fiction writing process for a long time.

I told myself research was a distraction from doing the work of putting one word after another on the blank page.

Now, I know better. The contemporary non-fiction writer Robert Greene spends hundreds of hours researching books like Mastery and The 48 Laws of Power .

Greene typically reads 300–400 books about a particular topic. He annotates what he reads and translates his notes to a trusted system for organizing his ideas. In this Reddit AMA , he said:

“I read a book, very carefully, writing on the margins with all kinds of notes. A few weeks later I return to the book, and transfer my scribbles onto note cards , each card representing an important theme in the book.”

Review your calendar and block part of your creative time for writing and another part for research.

If you’re worried about getting stuck and endlessly researching your work, set a hard deadline for when you’ll stop researching and start writing.

5. Work Without Distraction

lone are triggers for deep thinking that supports the creative process.

Perhaps, this explains why pictures of writers’ offices and workspaces are so popular with other writers and creative people?

The American novelist behind Freedom and the Corrections seeks solitude by disconnecting himself from the internet. During a book tour for his 2012 novel Freedom , Jonathan Franzen told a journalist he wanted to write more each day.

So, he physically removed his Wi-Fi card from his computer and permanently blocked his machine’s ethernet connection with Super Glue.

Create a place where you can work uninterrupted on your ideas for at least an hour at a time. This could be a small room in your house or apartment, a quiet table in your local favorite coffee shop, or a seat at the back of the train where you can sit and write wearing noise-cancelling headphones.

The location is less important than having a place your brain associates with writing at length without interruption. When this happens, you’re less likely to face problems like procrastination.

6. Keep Strong and Healthy

Sitting at a desk, hunched over an old manuscript or keyboard for hours at a time isn’t good for your physical health, and writing in pain isn’t conducive to creativity.

Successful writers go to great lengths to keep themselves physically healthy so they have the strength to come up with new and better ideas.

The British writer Charles Dickens was a prolific walker . On a given day, Dickens walked 12 or more miles around Kent or through the streets of Victorian London. He used many moments from these walks as inspiration for his novels. Critic G.K Chesterton writes in Charles Dickens: A Critical Study:

“There are details in Dickens’ descriptions—a window, or a railing, or the keyhole of a door—which he endows with demoniac life. The things seem more actual than things really are,”

Keep a pair of trainers beside where you write as a visual reminder to exercise. Activities like walking and running will help you sleep better and give you more energy to write tomorrow.

I also like sit-ups and push-ups as they get the blood flowing if I’ve spent an hour or two sitting at a writing desk. If you exercise for several days, reward yourself with a healthy treat.

To learn more, check out our guide discussing the link between exercise and creativity .

7. Write Even When You’re Not Inspired

Even if you don’t feel like you have a good idea, write it down anyway. Accomplished writers are meticulous about recording thoughts throughout the day.

Mark Twain carried a pocket notebook with him for his ideas. Thomas Jefferson jotted down notes about everything from the growth of plants and flowers to observations about daily life. Even George Lucas keeps a notebook with him while shooting a film.

My favorite story about a writer who made it a point to write things down involves the children’s author, Roald Dahl.

One day, Dahl found himself stuck in traffic. Suddenly, he thought of a breakthrough for a story he was working on. Having no notepad or pen, he grew afraid he’d forget his idea before getting home.

So, Dahl got out of the car, and with his finger, he wrote the word ‘chocolate’ into the dirt on his vehicle. This idea later became Charlie and the Chocolate Factory . Dahl said about his ideas:

“You work it out and play around with it. You doodle… you make notes… it grows, it grows…”

Commit to writing down 5–10 ideas (it doesn’t matter how outlandish) in a notebook you carry around every day.

You can use digital tools like an app on your smartphone or buy a small notebook that fits in your pocket. Before your next writing session, read back on these notes for inspiration.

If you’ve been writing for a while, you’ll recognize these 7 habits as proven writing advice. That shouldn’t come as a surprise.

Becoming a successful writer doesn’t mean discovering a great secret. Instead, walk the path of the literary betters who came before you.

Do what they do, and you’ll discover how they built a writing career to envy. Then, you’ll be able to use this new insight into your creative life to improve the quality of your writing and strike out on your own.

Want more? Check out our guide to the qualities of successful writers .

Writing Habits FAQs

Some famous examples include writing in the same place or at the same time every day while listening to a particular type of music or ambient noise. More unique examples include writing while drinking tea or coffee from the same cup or wearing specific clothes while writing.

Highly-prolific authors like Dan Brown and Danielle Steele write for a minimum of three or four hours a day. They start early, usually before dawn. Other writers care less about the time they spend writing and more about what they write.

Writing and editing simultaneously, while multi-tasking and writing without the help of an editor are all examples of bad writing habits. They’ll slow down your progress towards a finished manuscript. More specific examples of bad writing habits include overusing adjectives or adverbs and writing in the passive voice .

You can develop your writing habits by starting small. Identify a place where you’ll write consistently. Turn up at the same time each day and write for a set amount of time or aim for a target word count. Get into the habit of sharing your drafts with other readers or an editor for critical feedback.

Stephen King tasks himself with writing two thousand words a day or more. He writes from eight onwards, usually up until 13.30. King listens to music while writing and enjoys bands like Metallica and Anthrax. He works with his phone and internet access turned off.

After a productive morning writing session, King naps. He spends his free time reading, catching up with family and watching Red Sox games. This daily writing habit has enabled him to write over 61 novels and 200 short stories.

A person’s writing habits are dictated by energy, time available to write, location and environmental triggers. For example, a bad migraine could derail even a prolific writer with a solid worth ethic. On the other hand, writing in an environment conducive to deep work, like a library of coffee, should enable more effective writing habits.

James Clear is the New York Times best-selling author of Atomic Habits . He also coaches readers (and even writers) on how to succeed in their personal and professional lives by reaping the rewards of smart daily decisions.

In this podcast episode,  Clear explains:

• How to use effective habits to write a book
• The value of writing just one page a day
• His process for coming up with book titles like Atomic Habits
• How writing two articles a week helped him build a business and write a New York Times best-selling book

We cover lots more. If you like this article, you’ll enjoy our companion piece A Habit Expert Reveals How To Finally Find Success At Work

Bryan Collins is the owner of Become a Writer Today. He's an author from Ireland who helps writers build authority and earn a living from their creative work. He's also a former Forbes columnist and his work has appeared in publications like Lifehacker and Fast Company.

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A (Very) Simple Way to Improve Your Writing

• Mark Rennella

It’s called the “one-idea rule” — and any level of writer can use it.

The “one idea” rule is a simple concept that can help you sharpen your writing, persuade others by presenting your argument in a clear, concise, and engaging way. What exactly does the rule say?

• Every component of a successful piece of writing should express only one idea.
• In persuasive writing, your “one idea” is often the argument or belief you are presenting to the reader. Once you identify what that argument is, the “one-idea rule” can help you develop, revise, and connect the various components of your writing.
• For instance, let’s say you’re writing an essay. There are three components you will be working with throughout your piece: the title, the paragraphs, and the sentences.
• Each of these parts should be dedicated to just one idea. The ideas are not identical, of course, but they’re all related. If done correctly, the smaller ideas (in sentences) all build (in paragraphs) to support the main point (suggested in the title).

Where your work meets your life. See more from Ascend here .

Most advice about writing looks like a long laundry list of “do’s and don’ts.” These lists can be helpful from time to time, but they’re hard to remember … and, therefore, hard to depend on when you’re having trouble putting your thoughts to paper. During my time in academia, teaching composition at the undergraduate and graduate levels, I saw many people struggle with this.

• MR Mark Rennella is Associate Editor at HBP and has published two books, Entrepreneurs, Managers, and Leaders and The Boston Cosmopolitans .  

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Table of Contents

Ai, ethics & human agency, collaboration, information literacy, writing process, develop effective writing habits.

• © 2023 by Joseph M. Moxley - University of South Florida

Although individual writing processes are vastly different, composition scholarship provides evidence of patterns across disparate writing methodologies. This section identifies and explains some of the most notable patterns of successful compositionists. We suggest that successful compositionist practice some of the following strategies: Return, Revise, Risk, Reject.

Researchers in the field of composition and rhetoric have uncovered important insights regarding effective writing habits. Below are a few of the important insights researchers have discovered regarding how college students and professionals manage writing processes:

• Return : Successful writers often describe their composing strategies as recursive.  By recursive, they mean that they engage in a variety of writing strategies in a non-linear manner.  For example, they may begin by collaborating with others, then try inventing on their own, then consult authorities and scholars via research, and then return to collaborating.
• Revise – and then revise again: From composition research and scholarship, we know that many students do not plan or revise as much as professional writers.
• Risk – be open-minded about trying new methods: Unsuccessful writers may become trapped in a single composing strategy. For example, they may get stuck researching, thinking they need to read absolutely everything before writing.
• Reject fatalism – embrace learning: Inexperienced students may believe they receive low grades because they weren’t “born writers” when the real truth is that they aren’t really employing the invention, revising, and editing strategies that more successful writers use. Writing well requires patience and practice.

How much do you know about how writers work? Have you ever researched the creative processes of writers? What do you know about ways to manage revision and editing so that you can write an effective document in less time? Perhaps most importantly, have you experimented with different ways to conceptualize and edit ideas?

Brevity - Say More with Less

Clarity (in Speech and Writing)

Coherence - How to Achieve Coherence in Writing

Flow - How to Create Flow in Writing

Inclusivity - Inclusive Language

The Elements of Style - The DNA of Powerful Writing

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Citation - Definition - Introduction to Citation in Academic & Professional Writing

• Joseph M. Moxley

Explore the different ways to cite sources in academic and professional writing, including in-text (Parenthetical), numerical, and note citations.

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Collaboration refers to the act of working with others or AI to solve problems, coauthor texts, and develop products and services. Collaboration is a highly prized workplace competency in academic...

Genre may reference a type of writing, art, or musical composition; socially-agreed upon expectations about how writers and speakers should respond to particular rhetorical situations; the cultural values; the epistemological assumptions...

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Information Literacy - Discerning Quality Information from Noise

Information Literacy refers to the competencies associated with locating, evaluating, using, and archiving information. In order to thrive, much less survive in a global information economy — an economy where information functions as a...

Mindset refers to a person or community’s way of feeling, thinking, and acting about a topic. The mindsets you hold, consciously or subconsciously, shape how you feel, think, and act–and...

Rhetoric: Exploring Its Definition and Impact on Modern Communication

Learn about rhetoric and rhetorical practices (e.g., rhetorical analysis, rhetorical reasoning,  rhetorical situation, and rhetorical stance) so that you can strategically manage how you compose and subsequently produce a text...

Style, most simply, refers to how you say something as opposed to what you say. The style of your writing matters because audiences are unlikely to read your work or...

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Home / Book Writing / How to Develop a Writing Habit: 15 Tips for Consistent Writing

How to Develop a Writing Habit: 15 Tips for Consistent Writing

The best way to succeed as an author is to be able to write continuously so you can produce a lot of books consistently.

Most of us (and I absolutely lump myself in with this) have probably tried and found ourselves stuck at some point.

And no matter what you do, you just can't seem to develop those juggernaut writing habits that some of the best authors in the world have accomplished. You want to write all those books, because if they can do it, you should be able to do it too, right? Well…

Thankfully, I have good news. People from every industry and spent tons of time and money researching the best techniques and technologies to form good habits, things we can use as authors to become writing machines!

By following the tips I'll introduce in this article, you'll be able to keep your word count steady, which means you'll avoid those burnout-inducing marathons, get more written overall, and ultimately write more books.

Note: There's a tool that will help you do this as you write, but most of these techniques will work regardless of what software you use.

• What a writing habit is
• Why writing habits are important
• How to develop your own writing habit

Table of contents

• What is a Writing Habit?
• Why is a Writing Habit Important?
• Tip #1: Define What Success Looks Like to You
• Tip #2: Have a “Trigger”
• Tip #4: Give Yourself a Reward
• Tip #5: Set Up a Calendar and Schedule Your Time
• Tip #6: Prepare Ahead of Time
• Tip #7: Use Gamification
• Tip #8: Set a Timer
• Tip #9: Have a Dedicated Space
• Tip #10: Start by Journaling
• Tip #11: Set Realistic Word Count Goals
• Tip #12: Find an Accountability Partner
• Tip #13: Ignore Editing (for now)
• Tip #14: Start Small
• Final Thoughts

A writing habit is the act of writing regularly to help you produce content on a consistent basis.

It's not the same as “writing every day”, which some authors (including myself) suggest can burn out an author. A daily writing habit can be good, but needs to be done correctly.

Writing daily will likely lead to more writing overall, but it doesn't necessarily equate to quality work or less stress for the writer- especially if the author is forced to write on days they otherwise would not have.

If you're an extremely busy person, writing daily or for a long time might simply not be possible for you – and that's okay! The important thing with a creative writing routine or habit is consistency.

And if that means you're only writing on weekdays, weekends, or only 1-2 days a week, that's okay as long as you maintain consistency.

A writing habit is important because it leads to writing more words overall.

It's a “Tortoise and the Hare” type of situation.

I've had days when I've written a ton of material, and reached goals of over 10,000 words in a single day.

But usually what happens when I do this is burnout. The next day I don't feel like writing hardly anything. And that may continue for a couple of days.

So which is better? Writing 10,000 words in one day, then skipping five days, or writing 2000 words a day?

Personally, I'd say the latter is better.

Writing habits not only help you write more overall, they also help you avoid burnout, and make the writing process easier once you form the habit. In the above example by writing 10,000 words in one day, you associate writing with a really hard day (because it will be hard). That just means that when you come back to it, even after a five day break, you'll feel more resistance to do it.

How to Develop a Writing Habit

Now that we've established that writing habits are important, what can we do to start a good habit and stay consistent with it?

The next 12 tips are all particularly important if you want to do this, and if you want to know my favorites, I would take a look at the first three.

Tip #1 : Define What Success Looks Like to You

Before you even get started with your habit, I recommend looking very closely at your definition of success.

Is your goal to make a lot of money? Fulfill a lifelong dream? Or simply tell a story to the world?

This will help determine what kind of writing habit you want to form. If you're looking to make money, you may want to set a more aggressive word count goal, but if you're only writing as an emotional release, a smaller goal would be sufficient.

Tip #2 : Have a “Trigger”

Good habits are formed by three components. The first is to have a trigger, the second the actual task, and the third is a reward.

First, let's talk about the trigger. This is an action or event of some kind that you associate with your habit. Think of the bell used by Pavlov to trigger his dog to salivate, which is how all this research started.

You've got to create your own kind of bell, a ritual that you do before you write, to help get you into the right mindset. Or you can use a specific time or place as your trigger.

Personally, I like to attach my writing to the end of my morning routine, so your trigger could be something like brushing your teeth or taking a long walk. Once you finish with those things, immediately start writing, and keep it up for as long as you can. Eventually you will come to associate your writing with that trigger.

Tip #3 : Habit Stack

The concept of “habit stacking” is where you take several habits and line them up one after another.

For example, you probably already have a morning routine of some kind. That routine is a series of small habits strung together. That is habit stacking.

When you're writing, see if you can find another habit that you've already established, then stack your writing habit on top of that.

Here's what I do. My morning routine goes like this:

• Get up and go to the bathroom
• Get a drink of water
• Get dressed and do 10 minutes of meditation
• Go on a morning walk
• Get back and start writing

That is just a series of habits strung together, but it acts as a HUGE trigger for my brain. When I get back from my walk, it takes no effort at all to start writing because it has now become part of a morning ritual.

These stacked habits don't have to be in the morning. You could have a lunch-break routine, an evening routine, etc. There are many ways that you can do it.

Tip #4 : Give Yourself a Reward

After you finish writing, a reward is the other important part of forming a habit (and it's scientifically p roven to do so). Now I'm not talking about any big reward, like taking a vacation, eating ice cream, or spending a lot of money on some new toy. If your reward looks like this every day, you will quickly run out of resources.

Instead, focus on a quick and easy reward, like a brief stroll outside, a quick kiss from a loved one, or just a chance to stretch and take a few deep breaths.

Whatever you do, make sure it's the same every time, so you begin to associate that positive reward with your writing habit. Pretty soon you will be eager to write just to get that reward.

Tip #5 : Set Up a Calendar and Schedule Your Time

One of the most important steps to forming new habits is to schedule the time you will spend on it.

You are not likely to remain consistent if you have not made time in your schedule for a distraction free time to write.

Once you have scheduled your time into your everyday life, whether that's in the morning, afternoon, or evening, make sure to stick to it. Don't let anything interfere with that writing time, especially when you are starting out.

A calendar will help you understand when you are writing and how much. When you're accurately tracking your words, and plugging the results into your calendar, you can see your success (and also your failures) in a way that gamifies your results.

The habit tracker in Atticus.io with a calendar view.

Tip #6 : Prepare Ahead of Time

If I don't know what I'm going to write ahead of time, I have a hard time getting into it. That's why I recommend having your outline, your notes, and a general idea of what you're going to do prepared ahead of time.

Personally, I like to run through what I'm going to do and write the next day as I'm brushing my teeth and winding down in the evening.

Tip #7 : Use Gamification

When FitBit first came on the scene, no one was talking about tracking your steps. Now “getting my steps in” has become a household phrase.

Furthermore, emerging research proves that using a FitBit actually improves your chances of forming healthy habits that lead to increased activity and more weight loss than those that didn't use a health tracker.

What did FitBit do that authors can apply to our writing? In a word: Gamification.

I love to gamify my writing, especially when I'm starting a new writing habit.

Not only does gamification help to keep me on track, it also helps to develop my skills as an author and writer through practice and experience points.

You can use any kind of gamification you like, whether that's rewarding yourself after every 50 pages or so, or simply breaking it all down into manageable chunks that you can check off as you go.

You'd be surprised at the power of simply checking things off.

Some great gamification tools for authors include:

• Atticus : a great software that will actually use gamification while you are writing. You can set goals and habits to track, and it rewards you when you complete them, as seen here:

Goal and Habit Tracker in Atticus.io

• Habitica  – This tool turns writing into a role-playing game. You defeat dragons and unlock new levels as you meet your goals. If you fall behind, your health suffers.
• 4theWords – A program similar to Habitica that turns your writing into a quest, complete with monster slaying and teambuilding. The more you write, the more you get rewarded.
• Write or Die  – Choose from three modes: Consequence, reward, or stimulus. Each mode has different ways to keep you writing. Try them all out to see which one works best for you.
• Written? Kitten  – Love pictures of cuddly little kittens? This tool rewards you with adorable felines when you hit a certain word count. Adjust the word count from 100 up to 500 or 1000 words per kitten!

Tip #8 : Set a Timer

Few things get me to start writing better than a timer.

It helps me to know that I have a limited amount of time to write, and the ticking clock always gets my adrenaline going as I race against it.

I've found five minutes is usually enough for a sprint, and I like to use the Pomodoro technique for longer writing sessions. You can set your own limit if you prefer more or less time.

Atticus also has a timer that will help you focus on your writing. You can set the specific time for your sprint as well as your break time.

The Sprint Timer from Atticus.io

Tip #9 : Have a Dedicated Space

I recommend having a dedicated space where you do your writing. If you can, have a separate room for it. But if that's not possible, a dedicated desk will do.

What this does is condition your mind to associate writing with that specific spot in your house.

Additionally, you should avoid playing video games on your computer or using it for other entertainment purposes. This could easily distract you.

Tip #10 : Start by Journaling

Sometimes it's hard to get the words to flow. One way to get around this is to journal before you start actually writing.

What this does is get your mind into a mindset of writing, and helps to get you into that state of flow, where the words and thoughts are just coming freely.

A little freewriting will do the same thing. Just sit down and start writing whatever comes to mind, and you'll be surprised at how soon you're ready to start writing your book.

Tip #11 : Set Realistic Word Count Goals

I, along with a lot of other authors, have fallen into the trap of setting highly ambitious goals to start.

It's fun to set challenging goals , especially when you think of how much writing you can get done, but you must be realistic.

Setting too high of a word count goal will make daily writing habit a challenge as you struggle to find time.

Tip #12 : Find an Accountability Partner

One tactic that can make a huge difference is finding an accountability partner, something proven to be 95% effective at helping you achieve your goal. This is someone with whom you share your writing goals and check in with them regularly so they can help you stay on track.

Even better if your partner is also working towards their own goals as well! But even just having someone there for support will help tremendously when you want to give up or procrastinate.

An accountability partner can be a family member, a close friend, or a fellow author who was also working toward similar goals. Masterminds are another great way to do this.

Tip #13 : Ignore Editing (for now)

We all know that editing is a huge part of the writing process, but when it comes to doing the actual writing, it will slow you down. Spending too much time thinking and worrying over the editing will get in the way of your writing habit.

Practice writing and don't stop to edit anything. Don't even stop to fix that typo or extra comma. Doing this will train your mind to write when it's time to write, and edit when it's time to edit.

Tip #14 : Start Small

This tip is one of the most important: start small.

In the landmark book, Atomic Habits, James Clear talks about how starting with small habits and slowly growing them is the best way to form new habits.

So I definitely do not recommend you try to start a writing habit by writing for four hours a day, or even one hour a day. Doing so will only put unneeded barriers in front of you.

I would start simply with 15 minutes. This may not seem like much, but for some people the hurdle is just sitting down to write. 15 minutes of writing lowers this barrier considerably, making it easier for you to just get started.

Over time, that 15 minutes will become easy, and you can increase it to 30 minutes, 60 minutes, two hours, and so forth. This habit could also be word-count-based, such as a goal of 500 words.

For example, Stephen King has a writing habit of 2000 words every single day, and he almost never misses it.

The point is to remove as many barriers as possible when you're just starting out, and once the habit is formed, then you can increase how much work you do.

Tip #15 : Let a Tool Save You Time

If all of the tips above were overwhelming, don't worry. There are tools out there to help you form habits.

As writers, we could use a tool like Habitica to help, but who wants yet another tool to keep track of in addition to all the writing processors, formatters, outlining software, and everything else we need to keep track of when writing a book?

Atticus is a writing software that is built to be the all-in-one writing processor that you will ever need. In addition to its incredible writing features and the ability to format books for ebook and print , it also comes with project-based goal tracking, habit tracking and a timer.

Specific to habit trackers, Atticus has a gamified solution to help you form good writing habits. You can input how many words you want to write, and on which days, and it will show you your progress, a calendar that tracks your words, and your “longest streak” of days when you actually hit your goal.

It's an all-in-one solution for authors who want to gamify their goals.

I hope these tips help you to develop a writing habit that's sustainable for your goals. If so, consider sharing this article with your friends.

Remember, there are many ways to form new habits, so don't be afraid to experiment with different tactics and techniques until you find what works best for you!

You certainly don't have to try all of these tactics at once. In fact, I would recommend picking only two or three, and really running with them to get the best results. I recommend starting with tips 2, 3, and 13 for best results.

Jason Hamilton

When I’m not sipping tea with princesses or lightsaber dueling with little Jedi, I’m a book marketing nut. Having consulted multiple publishing companies and NYT best-selling authors, I created Kindlepreneur to help authors sell more books. I’ve even been called “The Kindlepreneur” by Amazon publicly, and I’m here to help you with your author journey.

• Tip #2: Have a "Trigger"

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Posted on Feb 11, 2021

How to Become a Better Writer: 20 Hacks and Tips

Practically speaking, writing is just about putting one word after another. But as anyone who’s struggled with the question of how to become a better writer will tell you, there are sometimes entire worlds of frustration compressed in the seconds between setting each word down. If that sounds familiar, or you’re simply trying to improve your craft without the existential writerly despair, we’ve got 20 essential tips to share with you.

In this post, we’ll be sharing writing advice for everyone, but you can head to our more specific guides on starting from scratch, writing novels, nonfiction, and children’s books if that’s what you’re after:

• How to Start Creative Writing: 7 Ways to Fast-Track Your Writing
• Reedsy's guide to novel writing
• How to Write a Nonfiction Book in 6 Steps  
• How to Write a Children's Book in 7 Surprisingly Simple Steps  

1. Start by spending more time writing

• You’ll get to know your own writing habits better, e.g. the time of day when you’re most productive, or the location where you’re most inspired to write;
• You’ll develop writerly discipline (an essential skill if you ever hope to write a book or another long form project); 💪
• You'll work out what you really like to write, whether that's literary fiction or epic fantasy;
• You’ll stick around long enough for new ideas to occur to you (especially helpful if you’re a pantser, not a plotter ).

2. Practice reading books by other authors

On the level of vocabulary, sentence structure, and rhythm, the “ease and intimacy” King talks about occurs subliminally, beneath the surface of your consciousness, quietly sharpening your perceptive skills. On the level of plot or structure, you actively discover the creative strategies of other writers. Now aware of what others are doing with their words, you become a native to that “country of the writer”. 

Ultimately, the more wonderful things you feed your brain, the richer the pool of knowledge your creativity will be able to draw from.

📚 If you need recommendations, we’ve compiled reading lists for every taste here:

• 25 Creative Writing Examples to Inspire You Today
• The 115 Best Books of All Time
• The 60 Best Nonfiction Books of the 21st Century
• The 125 Best Children’s Books of All Time
• The 30 Best Memoirs of the Last Century
• The Best Short Stories and Collections Everyone Should Read

3. Pick up writing skills from other texts

Okay, enough with the subconscious magical learning — you also need to put in serious, active effort. That means taking apart passages that impress or move you and dissecting another writer’s methodology. 

This will be most helpful if you focus on texts in your genre or form: read respected newspapers or magazines if you’re hoping to submit to such publications, poetic collections if you long to publish poetry , academic papers by reputable academics if you’re a budding scholar. 

Read each sentence carefully, asking yourself how you would have gone about writing it. Notice the differences between each version: look closely at how the other writer avoids repetition and regulates sentence length, and become aware of all the words that could’ve gone into the sentence, but were trimmed out. If you remember the lessons you draw from this exercise, you’ll be on your way to becoming a better writer. 

If you struggle to write consistently, sign up for our How to Write a Novel course to finish a novel in just 3 months.  

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4. Study examples of writing theory

Time for some homework: aside from picking up other writers’ tricks by reading their work, you can also study up on basic writing theories . Learning about story structure and the different models that dramatists and fiction writers rely on, like Freytag’s pyramid or the classic three-act structure , is valuable for any aspiring writer. These models are guides to centuries of storytelling tradition: demonstrations of how you might apply a structure onto a story.

When it comes to expressing yourself, brushing up on your literary and rhetorical devices is also helpful. After all, as much as people like to pretend writing is a mystical art, divinely bestowed upon one by magical inspiration, a lot of it comes down to active effort on the writer’s part.

Head to these guides to literary and rhetorical devices if you’re ready for school:

💡 45+ Literary Devices and Terms Every Writer Should Know

💡 30+ Rhetorical Devices Everyone Must Know

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5. Create your own voice

Some people’s advice for learning how to write is to stick to templates. These can be wonderful if you’re writing something meant to be plain, like a legal document or a freelance proposal . (If this is the case, all you need to do to become a better writer is be accurate, precise, and grammatically correct.) For everything else, by all means inform yourself about things like story structure, but never adhere to templates to the point where your personality is extinguished.

If you’ve got a sense of humor, interests, opinions, or possess literally any other quality unique to human beings (as opposed to bots), you can channel that personality into your writing, and lift mundane subjects up with the buoyancy of your voice.

💡 Need an example? Check out this post on the best reading chairs written by Savannah, one of Reedsy’s writers. You might not have a passion for chairs, but you’ll stay for the engaging tone of her writing voice. 

6. Experiment with your writing style

Hit a plateau? If you don’t feel like you’re improving, it’s time to switch things up. Try writing something completely different to cleanse your palate with the literary equivalent of pickled ginger in a sushi restaurant. Experimentation seems to be working for George R.R. Martin, who has for decades been writing short stories , novellas and even reference books between instalments of his novel series A Song of Ice and Fire — evidently, switching between different forms has helped this author of epic fantasy stay inspired and motivated. 

We’ve got over 1,000 creative writing prompts you can browse for inspiration, as well as an interactive plot generator if you need someone to establish plot parameters for you. We know writers struggle to set themselves deadlines, so you could even join our weekly writing contest — we’re happy to provide you with some external pressure, and $250 if you manage to win!

7. Outline your book 

Openings and endings don’t just matter in fiction. Inherent in all good writing is story: a narrative with a full-fledged arc that must start and end in places that make sense and add value to the entire text.

Writing students commonly struggle with slow or delayed story openings — where the writer takes too long to clear their throat. They can fill two or three paragraphs, several pages, or even an entire chapter before they get to something interesting. 

To sharpen your beginning, try deleting parts of it to get a feel of your work without them. You may find a later passage is more gripping to your reader — you’ll then know you’ve found your true opening.

Endings are similarly crucial. As editor and former publisher Jasmin Kirkbride points out, “Every subplot and all the different strands of your main plot should reach satisfying, clear conclusions. If they are meant to be left ambiguously, ensure your reader knows this, and create something out of that uncertainty.”

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8. Write with a clear vocabulary

As you edit your work , you’ll be thinking of what you intended to say at the time of writing. For that reason, you’ll need to maintain a level of mental alertness that enables you to evaluate whether or not what you ended up writing actually does convey what you wanted to say. This is particularly important if you’re writing nonfiction. 

9. Self-edit for errors in your prose

While we’re discussing lazy, unmemorable writing, this is a reminder that fillers are another literary ‘bad habit’ to actively resist. Cluttering up your prose, these short words sneakily crawl into your writing and distract your reader from the essence of your point. 

In her free Reedsy course on self-editing, Lisa Lepki identifies the most common words in the English language as the culprits of literary clutter. Lisa advises writers to avoid “meandering around [their sentences’] meaning”, and offers this sentence as a wordy example:

“Andy went over to the far end of the playground to see if there was a rake that he could use to tidy up all of the leaves that had fallen down in the night.”

Lisa offers this distilled alternative:

“Mountains of leaves had fallen overnight, so Andy checked the playground for a rake. ”

Sign up to take the rest of this free course here:

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10. Cut the repetitive sentences

One practical way to become a better writer is by consciously analyzing your writing to identify repetitive patterns. This is hard to do during the drafting process, especially if you write your first draft quickly , but it’s mercifully simple in retrospect. So dig out some past writing samples ( creative nonfiction , poems, short stories — anything will do), grab some coloring pencils or highlighters, and mark every instance of repetitive language.

Study your words on multiple levels:

• The lexical level, i.e. specific verbs, adverbs or adjectives you might be repeating (are your characters constantly grinning?);
• The sentence structure level, like if all your examples come in threes;
• The narrative structure level, like if you unwittingly but consistently lapse into new flashbacks.

The point of this exercise is to identify your personal linguistic reflexes — known in linguistics as your “idiolect”. In terms of language use, it’s your fingerprint, and familiarizing yourself with it can help you identify repetition and edit it out of your writing.

💡 If you want to learn more about idiolects, check out this post by one of Reedsy’s writers.

11. Avoid clichéd language  

Clichés are every writer’s stumbling block, ever an uphill battle — though the battle has its ups and its downs, and what matters most is not the destination, but the friends we made along the way. You get our point, hopefully: clichés are lazy, overly familiar, platitudinous, and often boring. Every time you use a cliché, you’re wasting an opportunity to be original and authentic. 

Primarily, our issue with clichés is no moral qualm about authenticity. It’s the simple fact that they completely drain your writing of its ability to be memorable. Lifeless, it falls to the ground, faceless and forgotten.

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12. Understand the ideas behind your work

You’ve already taken the first step toward seeing the bigger picture by honing your opening and ending. Now it’s time to look at all the extraneous stuff outside your text: in other words, situate your writing within a wider framework of similar work. 

13. Respect your reader’s attention 

Don’t lose sight of the fact that there’s a person on the other end of the line. Be a compassionate writer by imagining yourself as the reader: is that fourth paragraph detailing the history of a secondary character’s nomadic tribe really necessary? It’s certainly great world-building , but if it puts your reader to sleep, it’s got to go. 

Similarly, do not manipulate your reader. Pointless plot twists or clickbait will erode your readers’ trust, and hollow hot takes will impress no one. Stick to substance, and skip the paratextual circus act.

14. Get feedback from an editor

Nobody writes flawlessly. Most published writing undergoes significant editing both by its author and professional editors. For example, Raymond Carver’s classic short story collection What We Talk About When We Talk About Love is known to have been extensively shaped by Carver’s editor, Gordon Lish. 

No matter what you’re writing, give your work time to cool before stepping back into it with the fresh eyes of an editor. Assess the clarity of your meaning, expressions, overall structure, your tone, and the mood of the piece, and compare these to the vision you had when you were writing.

Any writing intended for publication should also be professionally edited — and lucky for you, you can hire some of the most experienced fiction or nonfiction editors in the publishing world, right here on Reedsy.

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15. Be open to constructive criticism

Becoming a writer means releasing your work into the world, and with that comes both praise and criticism. But neither will help you become a better writer if you shut all feedback out. Though some of the criticism you’ll receive may not be helpful, some of it will be, and you’ll struggle to improve your writing if you refuse to see that. Open your heart up to constructive criticism, and you’ll see your writing flourish.

16. Invest in your career with a writing course

While we’re on the topic of learning: there’s plenty of classes and courses you can take, if you’d rather study in a more structured way. If you’re serious about becoming a better writer, whether that’s an author, journalist, ghostwriter , or freelancer , a class can give you access to the wisdom of more experienced professionals — and a real-life class also means meeting mentors and kindred spirits. 

You can check out writing courses online — we’ve got a bunch of completely free courses you can take:

FREE COURSE

Author and ghostwriter Tom Bromley will guide you from page 1 to the finish line.

👩‍🎓 How to Write a Business Book —  taught by business coach Alison Jones

👩‍🎓 The Non-Sexy Business of Non-Fiction — taught by author coach Azul Terronez

Still hungry? Consider pursuing a writing degree. These aren’t just for people looking for creative writing classes — MFAs also focus on nonfiction, so if that’s what you see yourself writing, there are plenty of options. Only you know which program and school would be the best fit for you, and the Internet will be your friend as you work the answer out.

17. Keep company with other writers

Everything’s better with company. Whether your choice is to join a local writing group, critique circle , or an online Facebook group, having friends who are writers means you’ll have someone to bounce ideas off, someone to support you if you feel insecure about your writing, someone to inspire you to work harder, and someone to offer you advice and opinions about your project. All important aspects of improving your skills! ✊

18. Write content consistently

Writing takes a lot of determination and discipline, especially when you’re working on a longer work like a book or a series . Sometimes things won’t work out, and you’ll be frustrated, impatient, demotivated, and temporarily hopeless. All of this is fine, and an entirely normal part of the process. When you get to this stage, be gentle with yourself, but do not give up. 

Writers are often the most stubborn of people: so go ahead and keep writing in spite of yourself, in spite of your insecurities or personal failures, and in spite of what anyone else might think. If that doesn’t earn you the ‘badge’ of a writer, we don’t know what does.

19. Don’t give up on your words

Your ideas will be exciting, but they won’t always be masterpieces. Some you can fix with a zealous edit. Others, not so much. Accept this as a reality and let them float down the river of oblivion. 

We know this sounds contradictory to our last bit of advice, but trust your intuition to decide whether it’s worth persevering with a particular project. For example, there’s no point in trying to resurrect the passion you had for a project you started long ago, if the inspiration has long since left you. There is also little point in pursuing something you began simply because you felt it was what you were supposed to be writing. If it doesn’t speak to you anymore and you see no way to revive the spark, cut your losses and move on. 

20. Embrace failure to become a better writer

Finally, just as you’ll have to handle criticism, you’ll also undoubtedly face rejection and failure. Whether you’re rejected by literary agents , fail to get a publishing deal, or have your stories, pitches, or poems rejected by literary publications, you must remember that failure is an inescapable and inevitable fact of life, and does not determine your worth as a writer. 

Be assured that others fail, too, even if they only fail in private. One of our favorite reminders of how common failure is is the famous CV of failures published by Princeton professor Johannes Haushofer , where he lists every program, award, and position he was rejected from, as a reminder that everyone experiences failure. And if you need a writer-specific example of success despite failure, remember that Douglas Stuart’s novel Shuggie Bain , winner of the 2020 Booker Prize, was rejected 32 times before it received a publisher’s offer.

You don’t need anybody to officially ordain you as a writer — you’re a writer if you believe you’re a writer and write anyway. 

We hope these tips help you figure out how to become a better writer. Your quest is noble, and we believe in you! 

Continue reading

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Dealing with Obstacles and Developing Good Habits

Good Writing Habits

Many of the tips for overcoming writing anxiety discussed in the previous section are also just plain good tips for getting the job done. Here are a few more good writing habits.

Practice Recursive Writing

Use a variety of writing strategies (many of which you can gather from this text) and avoid the tendency to view writing as a linear process. If you acknowledge that the process of writing is recursive—meaning that you will come back to different parts of the process again and again—you are most likely to keep moving forward toward your final writing goal, and your writing is also likely to reveal your full potential as a writer.

When you return to a previously written section of a draft to generate new material, collaborate with others, or take a break from your writing and come back to it again, you’re practicing recursive writing. Most successful writers will tell you that they practice recursive writing in some way. Good writing doesn’t happen in a single late night cram session the day before the deadline. Good writing takes time. This includes time away from the writing itself to allow for distance and reflection, and good writing requires multiple drafts. That said, everyone finds themselves in a time crunch sometimes. If that’s where you’re at, check out “How to Fix Procrastination,” found under the topic of “ Procrastination ,” later in this section of the text.

Revise, Revise, Revise

As we’ve just explained, one linear trip through the writing process is not enough to achieve your best writing. In addition to strategies for generating material, you will also find revision strategies in this text. Try some different approaches to revision, and see which ones work best for you. Understand the difference between revision and proofreading, and make sure you allow ample time for each. Revision is the act of seeing something anew. This means considering higher level concerns in your essay, for example, the overall organization or how well you’re addressing the audience or purpose for the piece. Proofreading is what you do at the end to make sure that your final draft is free from errors. For specific revision strategies, see the “ Revising ” section of this text.

If you play it too safe, there’s probably not going to be anything original or imaginative about your essay. Good writing involves risk. Too often, inexperienced writers will begin writing from a position of considering only what they think their readers expect to read on the subject. What a boring world it would be if we only ever read or experienced what we expected!  Begin by exploring your own thoughts and what most interests you about the topic. Open yourself to all the possibilities. Of course, this does not mean that you can forget about the parameters of the assignment or about the audience or purpose for your writing. But allow yourself to be creative first, and then think about how you can best tailor your own ideas to the audience and purpose dictated by your writing assignment.

Be Patient and Be Willing to Learn

Good writing takes patience. As with all good things, it takes time to create something good. And good writers also understand that a big part of writing is learning. You’re selling yourself—and your readers—short if you begin the writing process with the idea that you already know everything you have to tell your readers about the subject. Even experts in a subject area continue to learn new things and expand the boundaries of their chosen fields (that’s how they become experts!).

Neil deGrasse Tyson, a prominent American astrophysicist, writes about the importance of the quest for knowledge in his 2005 article for Natural History Magazine , “ The Perimeter of Ignorance ” (found online at naturalhistorymag.com). He explains that great scientific thinkers like Newton and Galileo were successful in expanding the boundaries of human understanding (the perimeters of ignorance, as Tyson calls them), precisely because they did not conform the reports of their findings to what society—and especially some of the most powerful institutions in society—expected them to report. I hope that you will also allow the creative and inquisitive potential of your mind to search beyond what you expect to say and what your readers might expect to hear about this topic.

Consider Environmental Factors

Finally, not all aspects of writing are about process or about the inner workings of your mind as a writer. Some factors are external or environmental. Consider what time of day is best for you to write. Write every day, or as often as you can, and establish a schedule (as suggested in the section on overcoming writing anxiety , earlier in this text).

Don’t multitask. Recent studies have proven that the human brain does not operate at its best while multitasking. Switching between tasks has been shown to cause each of the tasks to take longer to complete than if they were handled independently (“Multitasking”). So put away your phone and turn off other distractions (like social media or the television). Find a quiet place to work where you are less likely to be disturbed. And don’t try to work on more than one subject or project at the same time. Make sure you have everything you need as you get started: pens, pencils, notebooks, textbooks, computer, snacks, or whatever you need to be productive and feel comfortable. Allot a set period of time to each task, and attend to each one separately.

Hopefully, these tips will help you to get started, help you gain some momentum, and help you to make the best use of that one precious resource that is limited for us all: time. As with any strategies, try different ones, and if something doesn’t work for you, move on and try something else. Select the strategies that work best for you, and modify them to suit your needs.

Take two or three minutes to list some examples of a time when writing was difficult for you and you found it hard to get started. Note that that your list does not need to be constrained to times when you were writing for school, although you should consider those times too. But also consider other writing situations, such as applications, letters, or requests. Then, choose one of those times and take a couple more minutes to consider what barriers or obstacles may have made it difficult for you to write in that situation:

• Inexperience with the type of writing
• A previous negative experience with writing
• An immediate deadline
• A distant deadline
• A lack of interest in the topic
• Personal problems or challenges

Discuss your list of writing obstacles with some classmates in a small group. Then, as a group, try to identify some strategies or good writing practices discussed in this chapter that might have helped you overcome those obstacles. If class time allows for it, your small group might share some conclusions with the whole class about which strategies and practices would best suit the difficult writing situations that you discussed.

The Word on College Reading and Writing Copyright © by Carol Burnell, Jaime Wood, Monique Babin, Susan Pesznecker, and Nicole Rosevear is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Essay on Good Habits for Children: List of Healthy Habits

• Updated on  
• Mar 15, 2024

Good habits are very important to become a successful and respectable person. Everybody must master good habits for their benefit and the welfare of their society. Good habits teach us some valuable lessons, such as eating healthy food, talking nicely, focusing on our goals, taking care of our things, etc. 

An essay on good habits is an important topic for students, where they discuss their good habits and what benefits they offer them. On this page, we will discuss some essays on good habits for children.

Table of Contents

• 1 10 Lines Essay on Good Habits for Class 1
• 2 10 Lines Essay on Good Habits for Class 2
• 3 Essay on Good Habits for Class 5
• 4 How to Write an Essay on Good Habits?

Check out our 200+ Essay Topics for School Students in English

10 Lines Essay on Good Habits for Class 1

Here is a 10-line essay on good habits for Class 1 students.

• ‘Early to bed and early to rise is one of the best good habits for students.’
• ‘Brushing our teeth every day keeps them clean and healthy.’
• ‘Washing our hands before and after meals helps us stay germ-free.’
• ‘Eating fruits and vegetables makes us strong and full of energy.’
• ‘Listening to our teachers in class helps us learn new things.’
• ‘Being kind to our friends and sharing with them makes us happy.’
• ‘Saying ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ shows good manners.’
• ‘Taking care of our toys and belongings makes them last longer.’
• ‘Going to bed early and getting enough sleep helps us feel good.’
• ‘Picking up after ourselves and keeping our surroundings clean is important./
• ‘Being responsible and doing our chores helps us grow up to be responsible adults.’

Also Read: Essay on Athletics in 100, 200 and 300 Words

10 Lines Essay on Good Habits for Class 2

Also Read: Essay on My House for Children

Essay on Good Habits for Class 5

‘Good habits are very important to build a happy and healthy lifestyle. Good habits keep our minds and body healthy and make us a good human being. Some of the good habits to develop are waking early in the morning, eating green vegetables, avoiding junk food, brushing our teeth, talking respectfully, listening to our teachers and parents, etc.’

‘Good habits make us a better person. Good habits can help us build healthy relationships. Active listening, empathy, and politeness lead to positive communication and stronger interpersonal connections.’

‘Good habits can help us achieve success in life. Consistently practicing good habits leads to long-term success by creating a foundation for personal and professional achievements. Healthy habits like mindfulness and meditation are very important to enhance focus and concentration. This allows us to work efficiently and attentively.’

The objective of following good habits is to lead a positive and happy life. Good habits can lead to better physical and mental well-being, build healthy relationships, and can also bring financial stability.’

How to Write an Essay on Good Habits?

To write an essay on good habits, there are some simple tips you can follow. Start your essay on good habits introduction with the definition of good habits and what benefits they bring. Highlight some of the best good habits for children and how they can include them in their daily lives. Then focus on the long-term benefits of good habits. Conclude your essay by listing some of the popular good habits and how important they are for a happier and healthier life.

• Definition of Good Habits

Good Habits are positive and healthy habits done daily that contribute to one’s overall well-being, personal development, and success.

• Benefits of Good Habits

Practicing good habits regularly promotes physical health, mental clarity, emotional balance, and positive relationships. Good habits lead to a positive impact on various aspects of like, such as work, education, relationships, and personal growth.

• Best Good Habits for Children

Some of the best good habits for children include eating lots of fruits and vegetables, regularly brushing their teeth, washing hands, respecting elders and friends, regularly exercising, taking care of their books and other important things, etc.

• Good Habits Lead to a Happy and Healthier Life

Good habits lay the foundation of a successful and fulfilling life. They contribute to physical well-being, personal development, positive relationships, and professional success. 

Ans: To write an essay on good habits, there are some simple tips you can follow. Start your essay on good habits introduction with the definition of good habits and what benefits they bring. Highlight some of the best good habits for children and how they can include them in their daily lives. Then focus on the long-term benefits of good habits. Conclude your essay by listing some of the popular good habits and how important they are for a happier and healthier life.

Ans: Some of the best good habits for children include eating lots of fruits and vegetables, regularly brushing their teeth, washing hands, respecting elders and friends, regularly exercising, taking care of their books and other important things, etc.

Ans: Good habits are very important to become a successful and respectable person. Good habits teach us some valuable lessons, such as eating healthy good, talking nicely, focusing on our goals, taking care of our things, etc. Good habits make us a better person. Eating fruits and vegetables makes us strong and full of energy ‘Listening to our teachers in class helps us learn new things.’

Check out our Popular Essay Topics for Students

For more information on such interesting topics, visit our essay writing page and follow Leverage Edu.

Shiva Tyagi

With an experience of over a year, I've developed a passion for writing blogs on wide range of topics. I am mostly inspired from topics related to social and environmental fields, where you come up with a positive outcome.

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Essay on Importance of Healthy Eating Habits

Students are often asked to write an essay on Importance of Healthy Eating Habits in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Importance of Healthy Eating Habits

The necessity of healthy eating.

Healthy eating is crucial for growing bodies. Consuming a balanced diet gives our bodies the nutrients needed to function correctly.

Benefits of Healthy Eating

Eating healthy foods reduces the risk of chronic diseases. It also helps maintain a healthy weight, boosts energy, and improves brain function.

Healthy Eating Habits

Incorporate fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins into your meals. Avoid processed foods and sugary drinks. Remember, moderation is key.

Healthy eating habits are essential for a healthy life. Start today and reap the benefits tomorrow.

250 Words Essay on Importance of Healthy Eating Habits

The vitality of healthy eating habits.

The significance of healthy eating habits cannot be underestimated, especially in our current fast-paced world where convenience often trumps nutritional value. Adopting a balanced diet is paramount to maintaining optimal health and enhancing cognitive function.

Nutrition and Physical Health

A diet rich in vitamins, minerals, and other essential nutrients fuels our bodies, supporting vital functions. It aids in maintaining a healthy weight, reducing the risk of chronic diseases like heart disease and diabetes. Consuming fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and whole grains can significantly improve physical health.

Nutrition and Mental Health

Moreover, our diet directly affects our mental health. Foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids, such as fish and nuts, can enhance brain function, improving memory and mood. Simultaneously, a deficiency in certain nutrients can lead to mental health issues like depression and anxiety.

Establishing Healthy Eating Habits

Establishing healthy eating habits involves more than just choosing the right food. It also includes regular meal times, appropriate portion sizes, and mindful eating. It’s about creating a sustainable lifestyle rather than a temporary diet.

In conclusion, healthy eating habits are a cornerstone of overall well-being. They contribute to physical health, mental health, and quality of life. As college students, it is crucial to prioritize these habits to ensure not only academic success but lifelong health. Let’s remember, our food choices today will shape our health tomorrow.

500 Words Essay on Importance of Healthy Eating Habits

Introduction.

The importance of healthy eating habits cannot be overstated, particularly in a world where fast food and processed meals have become the norm. Healthy eating habits are not just about maintaining an ideal weight or avoiding obesity; they are also about ensuring optimal physical and mental health, and enhancing overall quality of life.

The Role of Nutrition in Human Health

Nutrition plays a pivotal role in human health. A balanced diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and healthy fats provides the essential nutrients that our bodies need to function properly. These nutrients are vital for maintaining energy levels, supporting brain function, aiding in cellular repair, strengthening the immune system, and preventing chronic diseases.

The Impact of Unhealthy Eating Habits

On the contrary, unhealthy eating habits such as consuming high amounts of processed foods, sugary snacks, and fatty meals can lead to numerous health issues. These include obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and certain types of cancer. Moreover, poor nutrition can also affect mental health, contributing to conditions like depression and anxiety.

Healthy Eating and Cognitive Function

Healthy eating habits are also crucial for cognitive function. Nutrients like Omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants, and B vitamins, which are found in foods like fish, nuts, fruits, and vegetables, are essential for brain health. They enhance memory, improve mood, and protect against cognitive decline.

Importance of Healthy Eating Habits in College Students

For college students, maintaining healthy eating habits is particularly important. The rigors of academic life, coupled with the challenges of living independently, can lead to poor nutrition. This can result in decreased academic performance, poor concentration, and increased stress levels. By adopting healthy eating habits, students can improve their academic performance, boost their mood, and better manage stress.

In conclusion, healthy eating habits are a cornerstone of good health and well-being. They play a critical role in maintaining physical health, supporting mental well-being, and enhancing cognitive function. For college students, they are particularly important for academic success and stress management. Therefore, it is essential to prioritize healthy eating and make it a part of our daily routine. By doing so, we can improve our health, enhance our quality of life, and set ourselves up for long-term success.

That’s it! I hope the essay helped you.

If you’re looking for more, here are essays on other interesting topics:

• Essay on Good Habits for Students
• Essay on Importance of Healthy Habits
• Essay on Fast Food Problems

Apart from these, you can look at all the essays by clicking here .

Happy studying!

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Essay on Good Habits – 10 Lines, Short and Long Essay for Children

Key Points To Remember When Writing An Essay on Good Habits For Lower Primary Classes

10 lines on good habits for kids, short essay on good habits in english for children, long essay on good habits for kids, importance of good habits in life, list of good habits for successful life, what will your child learn from an essay on good habits.

Essay writing is an important skill for kids because it helps them think deeply about a topic and conclude. It also helps with sentence structure, vocabulary, coming up with ideas, and presenting them in words. In the lower primary classes, students are taught the importance of good habits. One way in which the teachers focus on this topic is by assigning it for essay writing. An essay on Good Habits for classes 1, 2 & 3 can give kids many ideas for writing about their good practices as they learn how to write short and long compositions.

‘Healthy Habits’ is a great essay topic as ample knowledge on this helps kids grow up happy and healthy. We all need good habits in our daily lives. These are mostly taught to us when we are young and stay with us until the end. Let us guide your child with some essential points for writing a good essay on habits.

A broad topic like good habits for an essay can be complicated for young students to understand, and that’s why kids need a lot of practice and exposure to language to learn how to write well. If you’re also unsure how to write an essay on good habits for children, consider a few points.

• Everything you write should back up the central point.
• Write a sentence that sums up what you want to say. Lastly, use facts and examples to back up your point.
• There should be an introduction, the body (one to three paragraphs), and the end. Each paragraph should have about three to four sentences, which can change depending on your writing.
• Start your essay by saying what the main point is, and at the end of your essay, you should restate your main point.

Having good habits is like having wisdom. If you keep up the good habits, you will move ahead in life and get more admiration. You can use these 10 points in an essay on good habits for classes 1 and 2.

• Being a good person comes from having good habits.
• Successful people have good habits that help them grow in life.
• Everyone respects people with good habits.
• If you have good habits, everyone will look up to you.
• Good habits help you learn how to control yourself.
• An excellent social reputation depends on good habits.
• Having good habits can make your life better.
• Healthy habits help you stay healthy.
• A happy life is built on good habits.
• Good habits will attract friends and company.

Good habits are vital for good health. It is possible to develop a variety of healthy habits that are helpful to one’s health. Children will learn to write a paragraph by reading this small essay on good habits.

Good habits are essential for having good education and behaviour. It is the foundation for the growth of everyone. We need time and determination to develop good practice. We need to be disciplined as it’s difficult to leave bad habits behind. Having good manners is a stepping stone. We need to practice all positive values such as hard work, punctuality, honesty and more until it becomes a routine. Everyone loves and looks up to someone with good habits. If we have clean habits, maintain good hygiene, appear well-groomed and remain tidy, people will find us attractive and will want to be our friends. Right from children to elders, we all should have good habits to be better people.

Good habits have a great impact on a person’s lifestyle and progress in their work. Writing an essay on good habits will allow kids to know more about this crucial asset of life and they will feel encouraged to embrace some good habits in their disposition. Here is a template for your reference:

Healthy living needs a healthy body as it is the base of progress and happiness. For our body and mind to stay healthy, we must follow some good habits. We can have a healthy lifestyle by taking essential steps as follows.

Structured Timetable

Keeping a good schedule every day is very important. We should try to eat three to four healthy meals a day, drink a lot of water, and maintain a fitness routine like walking, jogging, or running. This regime keeps the body healthy and balanced, which is the key to keeping the mind healthy.

Sincerity And Honesty

Being honest is an essential good habit because it shapes our overall disposition. We can show honesty in many ways, such as by telling the truth, admitting mistakes, recognising and fixing errors, not slandering other people, and analysing and improving ourselves.

To succeed in all aspects of life in today’s world, we must be honest and work hard. The goal should be to do the best work that benefits us and the people we are with. Work ethic and honesty are the best traits to develop for school or a job.

Punctuality

Being on time is one of the best habits to succeed in life and is an essential aspect of life. Being on time gives us confidence because it creates a good impression and shows how interested and honest we are in our work.

Whether old or young, we need to learn to value other people. What we offer always comes back to us. People will respect us if we treat them with respect. We should always be respectful enough to say “thank you” and “I’m sorry” when appropriate.

Cleanliness

We need to keep our surroundings clean. We need to make sure that our habits are good for the environment, and don’t cause any damage to it. Small acts like not littering, reducing the use of plastic and using dustbins will help us keep our environment clean. We need to maintain the same habit of keeping everything neat and tidy at home. When things go wrong, it’s hard to find anything if the place is messy.

Sharing is one of the most important values that helps us show love and care towards others. It develops the feeling of compassion, empathy, and togetherness.

Here are some reasons why good habita are important:

• To help you reach your goals and dreams.
• To make lifelong friends.
• Family, friends, and people, in general, will respect you more.
• Having good habits makes your life better.
• You will achieve more success.
• People will be willing to help you when you need it.

These good habits will help you succees in life:

• Wake up, and go to bed early
• Always be kind and polite to other people
• Respect your friends, teachers, and elders
• Have fun with good people
• Read and learn all the time
• Have a plan to study

Writing a composition on good habits will teach your youngster to organise their thoughts. In this way, they will learn how to structure their thoughts and ideas into the paragraphs that make up the body of their essay. They will feel motivated to absorb some good habits in their routine too.

Good habits take time to form and need discipline. Children need to learn good habits from an early age. We can live a healthy life if we keep up with good habits.

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Essay on Good Habits

Good habits are very important in life. They are instilled mostly during childhood and stay with us till the end. We have covered below many aspects of good habits through three different essays, of varying word lengths, on good habits. These essays cover all the significant points about good habits. Hope you will enjoy reading and learning them:

Short and Long Essays on Good Habits in English

Essay on Good Habits for students of class 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and class 12 in English in 100, 150, 200, 250, 300, 500 words. Also find short Good Habits essay 10 lines.

Good Habits Essay 10 Lines (100 – 150 Words)

1) Good habits make you a good person.

2) Good habits help you to achieve success.

3) People with good habits are respected everywhere.

4) Good habits make you everyone’s favorite.

5) Good habits help you to develop self-discipline.

6) It is important in making a good social reputation.

7) Good habits can improve your quality of living.

8) Good habits help to keep you healthy.

9) A good habit is a key to happiness.

10) A good habit gives you a good friend and a good environment.

Essay 1 (250 Words) – What are Good Habits and Benefits

Introduction

Good habits are essential for making success in life. They are beneficial not only to the one who possesses them but also to others as well.

Good Habits for Success in Life

Good habits are very important to be successful in life. A person with good habits makes steady progress in studies, career, personal life, and all. On the other hand, a person with bad habits, however talented he/she is, will one day lose the successes in life.

List of Good Habits for a Successful Life

These are the list of good habits essential for a successful life –

• Going to bed early and waking up early.
• Always polite and considerate towards others.
• Being respectful to elders, teachers, and friends.
• Spending time in a good company.
• Constantly reading and learning.
• Studying in a disciplined way.

Benefits of Good Habits in Daily Life

These are some benefits of good habits in daily life –

• Help you achieve your dreams and objectives.
• Earn you good friends for life.
• You earn more respect from family, friends, and society as well.
• Good habits improve the quality of your life.
• You become more productive and gain success.
• You gain the trust of people who are ready to help you in need.

Good habits are very essential for making progress in everyday life and also for making success. If you have good habits and follow them every day, then there is nothing you should be worrying about.

Essay 2 (400 Words) – List of Good Habits and How to Develop Them

Good habits are like a virtue in life. If you keep your habits good, you will keep moving up in life and gain respect. One could possess several good habits to get benefit from. Good habits are mostly instilled during childhood and stay till the end. In this essay, we will know about some essential good habits, how to develop them in kids and also their benefits in everyday life.

List of Some Important Good Habits

One could possess hundreds of good habits; however, I have given below some of the essential good habits required in daily life.

You should look neat and clean as well as adopt good personal hygiene. Cleanliness is a habit and essentially a good one.

You should be polite to others you meet, irrespective of their weaknesses or strengths. If you are so, you have definitely some good habits.

Discipline is the most important good habit that one can possess. It helps at every stage in life. A disciplined person always progresses in life.

Being respectful to others, whether they are poor, weak, or small, is definitely a good habit. It will also earn you respect and love from others.

Gratitude is also a good habit and an essential one at that. It is the quality of being thankful for an act of kindness, others have done to you.

How to Develop Good Habits in Kids and Children

The earlier good habits are developed in humans the better. Therefore, it is advisable to develop good habits in children. Below are some of the ways to develop good habits in kids and children.

• Become a Role Model Yourself

Kids learn from their parents. They copy your behavior and conduct in their own real-life situations. So, the first thing to do if you want your child good mannered is to be good mannered yourself.

• Express Compassion

You must teach your kids to be compassionate towards others. Teach them to respect weak and poor, Tell them that all humans and animals can feel pain and insult and must be treated with respect.

• Instill Discipline

If you want your child to be well mannered, first teach him/her discipline. Only a disciplined child will be open for all the teaching and guidance, necessary for a productive life.

• Reward and Interrupt

Reward the children appropriately when you see then displaying good mannerism, but also remember to interrupt them when they cross the limit.

Developing good manners in children is a continuous and ongoing process and will require time. But in the end, it will turn them into productive and successful adults.

Essay 3 (500 – 600 Words) – Meaning and Importance of Good Habits

Good habits are very essential in life in several ways.  It is important for everyone irrespective of age. It is as important for a child to have good habits as it is important for an adult. Good habits are the foundation of your social life and also your achievements. In the essay, we will discuss several aspects of good habits like meaning, importance, benefits, etc.

Meaning of Good Habits

Good habits usually refer to your moral conduct and also your way of living. It is the way you treat others and behave with them. Being polite and considerate toward others is considered a good habit. If you meet others with a smile and treat everyone with respect then you have good social habits.

Apart from good social habits, how you treat yourself and your surroundings also matters. Keeping yourself neat and tidy always is considered a good habit. Similarly, if you keep your room clean and tidy, it is also a good habit. Brushing your teeth twice daily, clipping your nails from time to time, not littering are some of the good habits.

Likewise, there are many good habits that one can possess. These habits shape up your complete personality and define who you are and how you are. The society we live in, value good habits and acknowledge it.

Importance of Good Habits

Good habits in life are very important due to their several advantages. They impact our social and personal lives as well as the lives of others, up to some extent. Below listed are some of the importance of good habits, explaining how they benefit us.

• Ensures Good Health

Good habits pertaining to your personal hygiene play a vital role in keeping you healthy and out of the reach of diseases. Washing hands regularly, brushing teeth, wearing tidy clothes are some of the good habits that will keep you away from diseases and infections.

• Better Social Recognition

A person with good habits is loved and respected by everyone. If you look tidy and have polite manners, you will attract new friends. Such a person is always treated with respect in society and is remembered or called on every occasion. People don’t hesitate to associate with you if you have good habits.

• Makes Life Valuable

Good habits have an obvious impact on your life, making it more valuable. Valuable in the sense, that you will be more recognized, acknowledged, and promoted in different quarters. You will achieve the maximum in whatever you seek. Your life will not only have value for yourself but also for others in your life – family, friends, relatives, and all.

• Makes Life Productive

Good habits also make your life more productive. This has something to do with your own self-esteem and personal health. If you have good habits then you will not only feel good about yourself but also give your 100% in your work. Apart from that, you will get support from external quarters as well.

• Helps You Succeed

Good habits help you succeed in life in several ways. People, colleagues, friends, and relatives all are more than eager to help you if you are well mannered. Your boss will love you too, guiding you through hurdles.  So many good things in your life gradually become a reason for your success.

Good habits are very essential to progress in life and leave a mark. They are the most valuable asset a human can possess. You can lose money and materialistic possessions, but if your habits are good, you will regain them with hard work and support of friends and family.

FAQs: Frequently Asked Questions

Ans . It is important for parents to teach their children good habits at an early age so that doing it repeatedly will come into a regular habit.

Ans . The three magic words for developing good habits are Please, Thank you, and Sorry.

Ans . Children who respect their elders and do their work on time are called obedient children.

Ans . Good habits are taught to us by our parents and teachers.

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Good Habits Essay and its Importance | 10 lines on Good Habits for Children

May 23, 2020 by Study Mentor 2 Comments

Table of Contents

Good Habits Essay – 1

Introduction:.

A habit is something that you often do and almost without thinking, especially something that is hard to stop doing. The easier it is to fall for bad habits, the harder it is to develop good ones.

Way back in 1735, Benjamin Franklin, in his book (Poor Richard’s Almanac), wrote a very beautiful quote- “Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.” This quote is one of the finest examples of a good habit. Waking up early provides freshness to the body and peace to the mind.

However, the current scenario is quite the opposite. People stay up late at night and wake up even later. This reduces the efficiency of the mind and body, and as a result, the person becomes lethargic. 

All of us have habits, be it good or bad. Depending on person to person, it can be classified into two categories: Good habits and bad habits. These habits are developed from different sources. Most of the habits that we have has been inculcated in early age itself. Drinking water, taking breakfast, lunch, and dinner, taking naps and sleeping at nights are habits, based on instinct.

We have no control over thirst, hunger, and sleep. We search for water when we are thirsty, look for food when hungry, and lie down when sleepy. These are, therefore, Inborn habits. Other than this, there are many man-made habits like brushing your teeth, taking a bath, wearing clothes, combing your hair, cleaning your room, etc. which help a man to look neat and clean. Good habits help us in leading a better life.

List of various good habits:

There are various good habits which must be followed in life. Some of them are 

• Punctuality

1. Disciplined Daily Schedule

Following a disciplined daily schedule or routine helps in leading a healthy and a life full of contentment. For example: Brushing teeth, eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner on time, sleeping at a time are the little things that mark a great difference. One must drink lots of water and maintain a health regimen such as walking or jogging in the evening or morning.

A proper schedule keeps the body fit, and a healthy body is a key to a healthy mind. Apart from a healthy diet and a regular exercise regimen, sleep is very crucial for us. So, we must ensure that we give our body a good eight to ten hours of sleep minimum every night.

Going to sleep early can relieve tension from the mind and help the body to wake up fresh and alert the next morning to face a new day.

2. Punctuality, Promptness, and Regularity

The second good habit necessary for success in life is punctuality, which is essential in every sphere of life. Punctuality is an etiquette that encourages a person to perform a task on time. In simple words, a punctual person is someone who knows the true value of time. It helps in building the integrity of a person. A punctual person can be described as a person who is always on time, in arrival and departure, and in meeting deadlines for tasks and assignments.

Regularity in the study, work, and schedules make people look up to the person as a credible and sincere worker who will deliver the work on time. It does not just help in earning respect but also opens doors for numerous opportunities.

3. Honesty and Truthfulness

Honesty is a very important good habit in everyone’s life. It shapes the character of a human being. Honesty can be developed in many ways. Sometimes by saying the truth, by admitting to faults, by accepting and rectifying mistakes when corrected, by refraining from gossip, slander, and misrepresentation of facts, and sometimes by self-analysis and self-improvement.

It creates a reputation. It not just increases our respect in the eyes of others but also in our own. It entrusts credibility to our efforts and creates respect for our beliefs. Honesty brings trust, and trust brings happiness.

Honesty creates a stress-free environment. It keeps our mind relaxed and conscience clear. Telling lies and indulging in dishonest activities make it far difficult for our minds to relax. A dishonest person is always bothered about something or the other. He always feels tensed and anxious if someone or the other will get to know about his lies.

Honest people are daring, polite, and confident. They can easily face any challenges of life, whereas dishonest people are cowardice, unsure, and hesitant.

4. Kindness

One of the most beautiful habits is kindness. Our purpose in living in a society is to help our fellow citizens. In order to lead a successful life, goodness of heart must be imbibed within.

Goodness and kindness are two branches of the same tree. It is very essential for human beings to be kind, generous, helpful, and friendly to others. We should always spread our hands in order to help those in need. It provides fulfillment. People with a good kind heart can be truly successful in life. Philanthropy, kindness, and help must be done selflessly without the expectation of any reward in return. 

5. Hard work and Perseverance

We all must have heard that hard work is the key to success. In today’s world, there is huge competition in every aspect of life. One must be sincere and dedicated to his work in order to succeed in life. Hard-work is incomplete without Perseverance. The goal should be to excel but without harming others and also to put in maximum effort in work given to bring the best output and results. One must work hard and never give up because today or tomorrow, it pays off positively.

Importance of Good habit:

A man with good habits plays an important role in the development of the nation. He is an asset. If we once allow a bad habit to grow, it becomes a part of our nature. Accordingly, we should form good habits such as reading, studying, morning walking, waking up early, eating healthy foods, etc. Moreover, we should stay away from bad habits such as smoking, procrastination, etc. With time, habits change into character. Our impression on someone is the reflection of our actions. We should try to develop a habit of positive thinking to be tension free.

Conclusion:

Good habits are the building blocks of a better world. Without good habits, life is meaningless. It leads to self-development and that of society. It is human nature that we tend to have bad influences much more easily than good ones. If we inculcate good habits in our children from the very beginning, then only they will be able to differentiate between good ones and bad ones. Kindness, hard work, honesty, and punctuality are some of the most essential good habits every person should have. It brings a sense of contentment, happiness, prosperity, and success to the person. We, as a person, must inculcate these habits in our child, which will help in building a better society, surroundings, nation, and eventually, a better world.

Good Habits Essay – 2

“Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise. ”

These are the famous opening lines of a very popular childhood rhyme that most of us have grown up hearing or singing or reading. Yet these lines are not merely jingles. They are very valuable as they tell us about the importance of good habits.

Good habits are the keystone of success. Without good habits a person cannot mentally, morally or physically develop. Good habits shape our lives and our actions. They instil discipline and order into our lives and guide us on the path of success and achievements.

Various Good Habits

Some key good habits which must be followed in life are:  discipline, punctuality, honesty, industriousness, and kindness to others.

Proper and Disciplined Daily Schedule

Maintaining an orderly schedule in our daily lives is a very good and essential habit. One must eat healthy food at regular intervals in the day in the form of three to four meals where possible, drink lots of water and maintain a health regimen such as walking or jogging or running outdoors.

This schedule will keep the body fit and a healthy body is the key to a healthy mind as it ensures a healthy life. Apart from a healthy diet and a regular exercise regimen, sleep is very essential for the body and thus we must ensure that we get a good eight to ten hours of sleep minimum every night.

Going to sleep early can relax the mind and body and enable us to wake up fresh and alert the next morning to face a new day.

Punctuality, Promptness and Regularity

The next good habit necessary for success in life is punctuality. This is essential in every sphere of life. It means maintaining time. A punctual person is always on time, in arrival and departure and in meeting deadlines for tasks and assignments.

Punctuality instills respect in others because it evokes admiration and bears testimony to the persons’ genuine interest and sincerity in the work. Regularity in study, work and schedules makes people look up to the person as a reliable and sincere worker who will deliver the goods on time.

It increases professional and personal respect. Thus more and more opportunities to shine can come our way.

Honesty and Truthfulness

Honesty is an indispensable good habit in everyone’s life because it is the shaping factor of human being’s character. Honesty can be instilled in many ways— by saying the truth, by admitting to faults, by accepting and rectifying mistakes when corrected, by refraining from gossip, slander and misrepresentation of facts, by self-analysis and self-improvement. Honesty increases our respect in the eyes of others.

It creates goodwill and enhances our reputation. It lends credibility to our actions and creates respect for our opinions.

On the personal level it keeps our minds stress-free and our conscience clear because telling lies and indulging in dishonest actions and practices make it for difficult for our minds to relax since we are always bothered about somebody coming to know the truth behind our subterfuge.

Honest people are thus daring, courageous and confident. They can easily face the challenges of life.

Hard work and Perseverance

In today’s world of cut-throat competition in every aspect of life, one must be sincere and hard working to succeed in life. Hard work is incomplete without perseverance. One must work hard to the best of his or her ability and also work with sincerity and dedication.

The aim must be to excel, to show that one is better than the rest and also to put in maximum effort in the work given for best output and results.

Whether it is in studies or jobs, industriousness and sincerity is the best habit a person can cultivate. It pays off positively in the long run.

Kindness and Philanthropy

The purpose of living in a society is to help your fellow-citizen. In all religious texts also the moral advice given is “Love and help your neighbour and fellow man.” In order to be successful in life, goodness of heart must be imbibed within.

Goodness and kindness go hand in hand. Thus it is very essential for human beings to be kind, charitable, helpful and friendly to others. Whether it is a stray homeless hungry animal or a poor sick and ailing person, we must have an ingrained habit of being kind and helpful to those in needs.

Only people with a good kind heart can be truly successful in life. Charity, kindness and help must be done selflessly without the expectation of any reward in return. Only then are we blessed by God.

God habits are very important in life. They are essential for success, peace of mind and for building a better society. Our children will learn good habits from us and make the world a better place in the future.

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