We are all creatures of habit, and none more so than writers. Writing a book or a screenplay requires hours of labouring at the keyboard, and to hammer out the tens of thousands of words that you need, you have to make writing a habit.

Getting rid of a bad habit often takes a while, and it’s common to botch a few attempts before you’re finally successful. Ask anyone that have quit smoking. The same thing goes for establishing new habits. Either it’s excercising, eating healthier, getting up earlier in the morning. Or writing. I guess heroin is an exception to this rule. If only writing was as addictive as crack.

Anyway, in establishing my own writing habits, I’ve found a few things to be crucial. Firstly, preparation and having a plan. You need to think through the things that enable your creativity. A habit should take place in the same place at roughly the same time each day. So try to determine when and where you feel most comfortable and concentrated when you write. At your desk? At the library? In a coffeeshop? Morning, noon or night? And as you answer these questions, write them down. Put your plan on paper.

Secondly you need a real desire to write. The act of creation, of telling a story, has to give you real satisfaction. Wanting to be famous, rich or respected isn’t enough. It’s the words and sentences that count. The actual act of writing.

Thirdly you need rewards and deadlines. You have to set some kind of goals at specific dates, and try your best to hit your targets. If you don’t set deadlines for your drafts, weeks will turn into months, and months into years, without any of your projects reaching conclusions. Part of being a writer is coming to terms with the fact that you never feel you’ve finished a text. There are always more things to rewrite, paragraphs to polish, ideas and subplots to explore. So you have to set deadlines to give your stories a chance to escape – and to give yourself permission to move on to the next story.

When it comes to rewards I highly recommend beer. And a 16 year old Bushmills whiskey.