If you look around and read a little about the lives of creative people like musicians, famous writers, and painters, you will find that they all have one thing in common – their peculiar behaviors. They are usually the odd ones out, the eccentrics. They do not conform to the mediocrity of life. They are special in their own ways. They do things the way they deem fit and this is what makes them stand out. Similarly, many famous writers had the writing rituals that they followed and came up with the best of literary pieces history has ever known.

Let’s see how these good or weird things that writers do make them famous.

Ernest Hemingway (July 1899-July 1961)

Born in American, he was a novelist, journalist, short-story writer, and also sportsman.
Once in an interview, he revealed his writing schedule.
According to him, “When I am working on a book or a story I write every morning as soon after first light as possible. There is no one to disturb you and it is cool or cold and you come to your work and warm as you write. You read what you have written and, as you always stop when you know what is going to happen next, you go on from there. You write until you come to a place where you still have your juice and know what will happen next, you stop and try to live through until the next day when you hit it again. You have started at six in the morning, say, and may go on until noon or be through before that.”

How to Instill This Habit? As we can see from the life of Ernest Hemingway, one of the good writing habits is to write early in the morning. Research also suggests that when you start your day as the dawn rises, you have an overall better performance. As a new author, it may seem a daunting task to start early in the morning but gradually you can inculcate this and take advantage of the early morning calmness.

Maya Angelou (April 1928-May 28 2014)

Maya Angelou was born as Marguerite Annie Johnson in America. After some odd jobs in her adult years of life, Maya became a poetess and then a social activist later in her life. She is one of the most famous writers of the contemporary times.

In an audiobook named Daily Rituals, Maya talked about her daily routine and how she wrote. According to her, “I usually get up at about 5:30, and I’m ready to have coffee by 6.
I keep a hotel room in which I do my work — a tiny, mean room with just a bed, and sometimes if I can find it, a face basin. I keep a dictionary, a Bible, a deck of cards, and a bottle of sherry in the room. I try to get there around 7, and I work until 2 in the afternoon.
If the work is going badly, I stay until 12:30. If it’s going well, I’ll stay as long as it’s going well. It’s lonely, and it’s marvelous. I edit while I’m working. When I come home at 2, I read over what I’ve written that day, and then try to put it out of my mind.” 

How You Can Inculcate This Habit? Well, to be honest, it can become difficult for you to always find a noise-less and distraction-free spot to write peacefully, but if you can wake up a little early or can work late in the night while the rest of the world around you is asleep, you can write peacefully without getting distracted by the day’s hustle and bustle.

Stephen King (September 1947)

An American author of horror, crime, suspense, supernatural fiction, science fiction, and fantasy novels, King has a record selling of 350 million copies of books worldwide. He is famous for writing some 50 novels during his 40 years of writing career.
As we talk about the writing rituals of famous writers, we have an excerpt from his interview on YouTube where he talks about his writing schedule.

“Here’s the thing, okay? There are books, and there are books. The way that I work, I try to get out there and I try to get six pages a day. So, with a book like End of Watch, and … when I’m working I work every day — three, four hours, and I try to get those six pages, and I try to get them fairly clean. So if the manuscript is, let’s say, 360 pages long, that’s basically two months’ work. … But that’s assuming it goes well.”

How You Can Adopt This Habit? Set a target for your writing. Write every day and write a fixed number of pages. Start from a lower number and you can gradually increase it. Challenge yourself into writing those number of pages no matter what and you will soon get into the habit of writing regularly. 

Dan Brown (June 1964)

Daniel Gerhard Brown is a famous writer in the US. He is best known for his thriller novels. His books have sold over 200 million copies as of 2012.
A bit eccentric, Dan Brown has this weird habit he usually talks about in his interviews. According to Dan, when he faces what is called writer’s block, he puts on his gravity boots and hangs himself upside down in his writing loft. He calls this an inversion therapy, something he believes helps him feel relieved and inspired to write. It also gives him a new perspective, he believes.

How NOT to Make It a Habit? As it is one of the weird things writers do, there is no need to follow suit. Instead, you can try changing your environment once in a while as you write. Try going out for some fresh air or go for a cup of coffee in a nearby cafe. This will help you clear your mind and also give you a new perspective to look at things.
 

Khaled Hosseini (March 1965)

A physician by profession, Hosseini was born in Afghanistan and raised in America. He wrote his first novel in the year 2003. He is a novelist, activist, and UNHCR’s goodwill ambassador.
Hosseini has a piece of very valuable advice regarding new authors’ writing process.
He says in an interview, “You have to write every day, and you have to write whether you feel like it or not. Perhaps most importantly, write for an audience of one—yourself. Write the story you need to tell and want to read.”

How to Inculcate This Habit? Many a time, we are being held back by our own thoughts, and the only way to get over this is to challenge ourselves. Try setting up a writing schedule and follow it no matter what. Write every day even when you don’t feel like writing. This way you will slowly start getting over your mind’s delaying tactics and get into the habit of writing.

 
So, if we look at the writing rituals of famous writers, we can easily sum up their habits as the following:

• Write early in the mornings.
• Write when there are no distractions.
• Set a writing goal and achieve it by the end of the day.
• Have a change of environment occasionally.
• Write even when you don’t feel like writing.

With these incredible habits of famous writers, we hope you would be inspired enough to start writing and fulfill your dream of becoming a well-known writer.

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