Published 22 September 2026 by Martin Hamilton
Writers talk to and compete with each other, of course. There can be no question about that; but I suppose there are very few people who can understand how to write.
“I need complete silence when writing,” remarked Lee Child. When I sat down to write this article, I decided beforehand my thesis and proof how long the article should be, and I realize my emotional state has no bearing on my ability to physically put words on a page. So I put my fingers on the keyboard in complete silence and got to work. I could have easily put my advice into a list or bullet points but decided to articulate them in paragraphs instead.
I’ve learned several ways to go about the writing process, but I’ve settled on one that I’ve found most very successful authors and writers seem to embrace.
My action precedes my mood. I don’t wait for the right feeling to start. I use three bolded words which are theme, headline, and story.
For me, inspiration is a habit and my creativity is a breakthrough and byproduct of my consistency and not randomness. I don’t romanticize the process. I look at it more like working on a jet airplane like I did when I worked as an airline mechanic for United. It’s something that has to be done and I must use a process rather than a mystical, moody approach. What happened yesterday or last night while eating out must not affect my emotions.
My peak hours are early morning. Yours may be different. That is when I do my creation and my mindset is that the rest of the planet can wait until my daily session is over.
I’m going to finish the article before starting another one because I want to avoid scattered energy. Distractions and concentration splitters hamper creativity, as we’ve all been told a thousand times. When that shiny object or concept appears, I note them in my txt document opened in the background and immediately return to my article.
I’ve found that keeping my hands moving works. If I get stuck I write anything, and much of that is throwaway sentences, to keep my physical momentum alive. Time moves fast for me that way and I find a pleasant rhythm.
I set a time to stop before I start. It’s usually 2.5 hours and use an online timer that makes an annoying alarm sound when the time is up. This keeps me motivated because it goes back to what I learned when we were negotiating contracts between the mechanics union and the company while I worked at United Airlines. The deadline is the primary driver of progress. Without it, we tend to drift and fall into distractions. Although every contract missed the actual deadline, without it, we may still be negotiating today. I set my time to 2.5 hours because I still want to have energy left at the end of my session. Writing takes lots of energy for me and if I drag myself down, which I’ve done, then I will tend to avoid staying consistent because I won’t look forward to the process the next day. Draining myself also forces me to start the next session deep in a mental deficit.
I used to beat myself up when I had bad days of scattered thoughts and poor writing. Some days I tend to have a harder time focusing than others. I’ve learned a proper diet that works and I go to the gym to keep my body functioning well. All that helped, but there are still bad days on the page. When my prose is of low-quality, I realize my goal is practice, not perfection.
My daily writing schedule is clear about where and when I work. There is an occasional Starbucks hour on my laptop, but my writing is done on my Mac Studio and large monitor at my desk. I keep nothing on my desk that will distract me. In the past, I would write several paragraphs and go back and edit them before moving forward. Now I’ve learned the best way to write is to write freely during my set time without judging my work or polishing every sentence.
By staying grounded in concrete details, I can rise above my tendency to have a failing imagination when I’m trying to be articulate, and keep my writing moving along by using physical descriptions, concrete realities, and facts.
I’ve learned from masters in the craft that my emotional state has no bearing on my ability to type or write words on a page. When my inner critic tries to take over, I don’t allow that mood to stop me from writing. Moods come and go and the non-mood principle I learned from Henry Miller in his book, Henry Miller On Writing, keeps me moving.
For some reason, my natural daily rhythm is morning. I’m not sure why, but I love to wake up before sunrise and make my coffee before I start. When I say early, I mean usually around 3:30 a.m. That gives me plenty of time to write while I’m in my peak state of mental mindedness.
Trusting the compounding effect is key. That’s knowing my small daily sessions give me massive bodies of work over the year. This is much better than if I had sporadic bursts of writing that came from when I felt in the mood.
So with all that said, I like to go back to a book I mentioned earlier. A book that’s meant a lot to me and many very successful writers. It’s Henry Miller’s book entitled Henry Miller On Writing.
I incorporate deliberate rest by completely stepping away from my work. This goes beyond just having good sleep. I mean, I let my subconscious mind solve my structural writing problems.
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