The daily routines of history’s greatest writers reveal a lot about the importance of habit and discipline. Previously, we’ve examined the routines that spark creative brilliance and how different artists have approached sleep and morning routines. Examining writers exclusively reveals common themes of rigour and flexibility.
In this article:
William Faulkner had a chaotic daily routine
William Faulkner was disciplined, but lacked a daily routine. He faced an erratic schedule, influenced by the demands of his jobs, which included being a night manager at a power plant. He would often use late-night hours to write his expansive novels in longhand. Over time, he began to write whenever he had a spare moment, including taking to the walls of his house. In his Mississippi home, he converted an old servants’ quarters into a writing space. The room, now part of a museum, features walls where the author outlined complex timelines and character arcs for his novels.
Emily Dickinson relished her introverted daily routine
Emily Dickinson rarely left her family home in Massachusetts, spending much of her time in her bedroom. She would write late into the night by the light of a single lamp. Like Faulkner, she wrote anywhere she could: on paper and envelopes. Her day was otherwise interrupted with chores, gardening and correspondence. Her sister Lavinia supported Dickinson’s reclusive lifestyle, which included traits that would mark contemporary people as symptoms of anxiety. Dickinson did everything she could to avoid face-to-face interactions, speaking to visitors from behind a door.
Ernest Hemingway had a famously disciplined daily routine
For aspiring writers, Hemingway’s military-like daily routine can feel intimidating. He would wake early and write standing up, using a typewriter on a high shelf. He would aim for up to 1000 words a day, famously leaving his work mid-sentence to help with momentum the following day. It’s important to note, however, that Hemingway’s daily routine was equally marked by afternoons of recreation and evenings of socialisation. He balanced his hard work with hobbies that kept him energised and engaged.
Mark Twain allowed his daily routine to be flexible
Twain was also an early riser, usually heading to his dedicated study after waking and working undisturbed. When immersed in a project, Twain worked intensively. But he adapted this seasonally and would often break up his work with reading, leisure, family time and walks. When physical writing became tedious, he would sometimes dictate his work. Like Hemingway, he was also fond of a standing desk from time to time. He was famously never without his cigar, and drank copious amounts of alcohol.
Like most of us, Twain struggled with procrastination. He valued rest and enjoyed lying in bed with a book or daydreaming. He once said, “Never put off till tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow just as well.”
