MY WRITING ROUTINE 

Could you recommend writing podcasts and the ones you listen to? The business side sounds really interesting!

Avoiding people is my favorite sport.

I sense a rush of "writing like Kate Cavanaugh" videos incoming.

Unfortunately, I am a full time college student with two part time jobs(one as a bagger at a grocery store and one as a tech support person for the college). So I can’t really set up a writing routine that sticks. I have to shuffle it around based on when I have shifts, extracurriculars and classes each semester and how much homework I have that particular day. In essence, I do it whenever I have the time. That typically happens when I am at my tech support job (if it’s slow), between classes and the hour before bed. My process is whenever I have a lull in my day, I pull out my laptop and write what I can in that time frame. Therefore my writing process is incredibly simple. The only unique thing about it is I bounce between stories like you do because my brain won’t stay in one place for long.

It sounds like the Puppy Duke knows when YOU need a break so he makes his pet psychic powers telling you it's time for your cool down period. Just a theory 💁🏽‍♀️

My writing routine is watching RU-vid videos

"If I can avoid people, that's what I'm down for." That is so me! Love mobil ordering and self checkout too. 😂

8 hours is an impressive amount of work! And it's useful to me to see that not everyone does have a routine, because I've tried, but it doesn't seem like I am able to have one 😅

My New England brain heard that you can't work out outside all year-round, and instantly was like, "Of course not, winter is far too cold to be outside." Every winter we get 50 below wind chill, which is way too cold, but then you said it was too hot in the summer, and you being from Texas clicked. hahaha As for my writing routine, yes it changes a lot with the seasons. Come winter, sunlight hours are very short, so I try to go out and experience the sun while it's up, so long as it's not too cold out. Spring and Fall seem to be my most productive times of the year.

"if i can avoid people, i'm down for that" period queen

This motivates me so much. My daily routine includes a couple hours of writing, a couple hours of reading and some time spent watching videos like these 😂

I love your channel! You brought me back to writing and since starting to watch your channel I have written almost 60 000 words in my story (it's been like a month😅) ! I would love to join one of your live write-ins but I always seem to miss them You're a real inspiration ❤️

Found your videos recently and have been binging. Your enthusiasm is contagious and really encouraged me to get motivated on my own personal projects, so thank you!

I don't have a writing routine. Never have been good at sticking to one. Being 62 and disabled for the last 9 years leaves me with plenty of time to do what I want when I want. I love your channel. I am a night owl and do my best work at 2 AM rather than 2 PM. I could never get up at 6 AM and expect my brain to work. Keep up the good work with the videos. I am currently writing memoirs, chunks here and there. I am a blogger and write plenty of flash fiction to prompts. Smallest pieces were 33 words and 280 characters. Not as easy as some might think. I have been writing about my life as short stories on my blog for years now and decided to go with the memoir. Currently, have 4 pieces - childhood, military wife, civilian wife then divorced life. Since I just revamped things none are near being finished and I am publishing them on my blog rather than traditional publishing due to family interference.

My writing routine mostly changes depending on whether or not I'm in school, not really with the seasons. What kinds of music do you like to listen to, out of curiosity?

God, I love everyone of your videos. Because of you, writing has come easier and I hope this will push me to fill the plank page and get words down.

Brooooo, you work so much harder than me. You are an inspiration!

My writing routine this summer, not in college, is using the Pomodoro technique all day! When I get back to college, I think (hope) it will look like me spending a few minutes a day and catching up on Saturdays :) wonderful video, love it!!

this was such a special, awesome video, and much needed! as someone who also has to let a dog out on an hourly basis, and sometimes feels like their life is overrun by animals or other assorted responsibilities ( the "juggling" and "shoving" and "realising how much you actually work" was a major strike to the empathy vein; ) - seeing that you also have to basically 'move' your writing routine / schedule around to fit all that was inspiring. it helped me feel more "normal" as a writer for sure. to answer the questions: I definitely more so have a "process" than a routine because of this ; my writing routine DOES differ with the seasons, because a farm functions based on dawn and dusk and therefore so do the chores ; and my writing routine is basically whenever I can, however much is necessary ( with assorted quirks to get going. ) I drink about as many flat whites as you do with cappuccinos ... coffee guzzlers unite! p.s. avoiding people is also my favourite sport. I can't wait for your Q&A!

During my time off right now (part time uni, looking for a job) I get up around 10am. Watch RU-vid while I have breakfast, have my coffee, then get to writing at about 11/12. Write until about 1:30, have lunch, watch more RU-vid, then write from about 2:30 until 4pm. I can't write unless I'm home alone, so when my bf gets home I switch to worldbuilding, which is my other creative outlet. I just draw creatures, or work on languages, or writing systems, and that usually inspires me for my writing tomorrow.

Just recently found your channel and absolutely love it you have inspired me to get back into writing again keep up the amazing work ❤️✨!!

I've never really had much of a writing routine either. I'd usually write in my note book at school when we didn't have anything to do for a few moments, then write for a while after school. Now that it's summer time, I just write when I have the chance and to destress from worrying about college and stuff this coming school year. While sometimes procrastinating by watching RU-vid on occasion.

I am about halfway through my new novel that I started two weeks ago and I have been so motivated by your Camp Nano vlogs! I finished camp on day 18 and I am trying to draft a new novel before I go back to college for the semester. I have been loving your videos and they have really inspired me to get back into writing and I just wanted to say thank you! I have been attending a lot of writing streams but always seem to miss yours! Hopefully I can make one soon!

Can you do a video on how scrivener works ?

I am so excited for this!

It would be so fun to do a writing experiment where you try Brooke's writing routine and she tries yours!

I was literary thinking about this video this morning because I remember seeing your picture of your cappuccino on Instagram! Loved it!!

Yay congrats on 15K! Love your channel as always!

i love the idea of a routine without rigid time schedule. Definitely trying this out especially doing something else midday like running errands or sweating out. Oh gosh. I just found your account a week now and I'm binge watching hahaha Stay awesome! 💚💙

I’ve recently found your channel and I love it! As a student at college (I’m English, so this is like the final two years of American High School), I don’t get much time to write as I have to do my college work, revision, my part-time job so writing is during moments where I feel inspired to write, and as of writing, I’m currently back into one which is good 😂. My routine when writing is to have a cup of tea next to me to start, and maybe my bottle of water. I have to sit in complete silence most of the time but occasionally I will have music on if it fits the theme of what I’m writing. So for the novel I’m writing, I listen to the soundtrack of a musical called ‘Come From Away’ because I reference that musical a lot in my novel and it relates to the theme of kindness present in my novel. I then read over what I’ve already written as it may have been a while since I’ve last written. I do some double checks on the basic outlines I have and then I just write and have stuff come to mind. In my novel that I’m writing, I have the plot planned, just not the events of the novel if that makes sense. Then I will write until I can’t think of what to write next. I write on my laptop. I used to hand write but exams ruined my hand. A weird fact for me is that I write a lot on car journeys. When we go to visit my sister in uni or go on holiday, I write then. That’s my routine! Edit: Also, I don’t write linearly. I will write what I’m in the mood to write and when I come to the editing process, I will redraft to make it flow and sort out inconsistencies. Saying that, this is my first novel and I’ve never done an editing process before.

Asked the question for the Q&A, got a whole 15 min video. 🙌 Holy moly this is gonna be a good day.

thank you for this video!! i've been wondering for a while about your routine :) i don't personally have a real routine either. since i'm still young and going to high school, my schedule is fully based on classes and homework 😅 i just write when i feel like it, i guess. but, during school times, it's mostly during the night. and during holidays, the morning. (my writer brain tends to change a lot the time it works the best) anyhoo, great video as usual!! looking forward to the writing process & tools one :) x

Thank you so much for this video! I wanted it so bad haha. You're the best of them all. I have a "routine" too. Emphasis in the quotation marks. When I'm not in school, I tend to do anything in the day (errands, reading, watching RU-vid or Netflix) and at six or so I start writing, I tend to finish at 11 or 12 PM (I'm definitely not a morning person) and write from 1,700 to 3,000 words, and that's kinda my average day. Somedays I really don't want to write and I end up writing between 600 and 1000 words, and somedays I start writing at 9 PM... I don't know, it all changes. When I have to go to school, my goal is 500 or more per day (med school consumes all of my day) but is always at night when I have more creative energy (?) Thank you for reading our requests, you are such an amazing person. Keep it the way you are, as unique as always.

Ohhh when you said you were going to work In a coffee shop I thought u actually worked at the coffe shop 😂

Loved seeing this Kate! I don’t really have a writing routine myself but I am trying to put my writing as one of my main prioritises in the day since before I haven’t really worked on it as much as I should have been doing :)

Now this is a writing routine I've been looking forward to! 😊😊🌹🌹

Hi Kate! Great video! Like you, I tend to watch RU-vid more than TV while I eat. I don't really have a writing routine, but when I'm in the middle of a WIP, I go through spurts. Days or weeks when I'm pumping out words. I'm usually the most creative in Autumn and Winter.

Thanks for sharing Kate! You're inspiring and make me think like I could do it too. Xx

I definitely feel what you were saying about your routine changing with the seasons. Between sports and school, my summer/winter routine is so different from the fall/spring.

New subscriber here. I really love your content. It was one of the factors that inspired me to finally write my first full length feature. I've written short films before, but never a whole movie. Keep it up, you're awesome

Recently found your channel and i just want to say that i love your videos :P

Thank you for the behind the scenes look. I think working in chunks like that is something I need to bring into my routine. Seems like it gives the mind time to breathe in between. Okay, you’ve convinced me. I’m trying your routine today, right meow

Between running (I average 30-40 miles a week) during the early morning or evening, taking care of and training a service puppy, and my part-time job, I don’t have a routine. I make a plan for my whole day when I have days off, which usually includes exercising Atlas in the AM, camping out at a coffee shop for a few hours to write, run for an hour or so towards the evening, and then take him out to train for a bit. After I get home is another sprinkle of words. I wish there were more hours in the day :/

Just got a job as a barista and finally....finally....I can make a olive branch. There's only leaves on one side tho Also any outside excursion where you can avoid people is a good one!

Let us all say a prayer for that coffee shop in this video that she always loved that closed. Rip coffee shop :P

Thank you! I've been planning my own Write Like experiment and because of this video I'm going to do Write Like Kate Cavanaugh! I only have a routine if procrastination is one...

Loved this video, Kate! :) I don't really have a set writing routine because I'm in college (bleh) and have a part-time job (argh), but I do try to write early in the morning and mid-late afternoon every day; I find that my writing mind is always at full charge then! Also, could you do a tour of your journal? I usually type out all my writing-related notes, but I'm thinking about using journals from now on and would love to see how you organize your notes!

I enjoyed this video, particularly the emphasis on putting in a certain number of hours a day and being flexible. Inspired to progress now!

Love this!

I love watching how other people write! And Duke!! I could watch him all day! He's so flippin' cute and sweet! We have very similar writing routines, just flip the exercise with the early morning writing. I like to exercise first so I'm not constantly telling myself 'you need to exercise. when are you going to exercise? If you don't exercise now, you won't do it today' lol! My brain won't shut up about the dang exercising so I do it first.

I see that New Orleans mug and I approve! haha! Now I have to press pause to this video cause I'm now leaving work lol. I will return to watch this in the not-so-distant future!

Emphasis on Duke as the "best" distraction :)

I work on multiple projects at once and so I allot a specific day to one project and then if I finish it, I get to do another project woot woot.. Loved this.

I just discovered your channel and I absolutely adore it. You seem like such a cool person! And it's really interesing to hear about another writers routine... Mine is such a mess... It's not even a routine yet... 😂

I should figure myself some kind of writing routine because what I'm doing now doesn't work. Which means I'm writing whenever I feel like it but when it comes to it, I don't write. I end up procrastinating and coming up with different distractions like playing games, watching youtube videos, hell, even now I'm coloring some random picture which takes forever just because so I can listen to videos about writing while dreaming about writing and then not doing it... So yeah, routine. Like, start at ten am, stop at five pm. That kind of stuff. I need it to keep my life together. Your videos are super inspiring! I found you like two days ago and am obsessed! But it also means distraction :P Whoops. Anyway, love you!

Now I want to try your routine, Kate! But first, a small break from Camp.

makes me wanna do a "write like kate cavanaugh" vlog hehe Hello from the Philippines :)

I'm like you "What routine?" My writing routine consists of when the kids are in school and what times my husband works. It adjusts from day to day and mostly happens at night when everyone is off doing their own thing.

I've been working on my current project solidly for the last 3 years, and with my new projects, I'm trying to find a healthier routine than my first draft... which involved a lot of "write drunk, edit sober". I might give this a try! Current routine I'm working on: wake up by 9, crossfit with mum, lunch, coffee and RU-vid videos, writing from 1-4, and 7-9. That changes along with my work schedule~

Love seeing the AllEars video! I watch them religiously XD

You have a lose routine, you know you write better in the morning which is so much better than forcing it when you dont want to write. Even in North Texas it's either too hot or two humid to go outside without it being torture. Also...poor Duke and his breaks every hour. Copper does that closer to bedtime because he gets treats 🤣

What are your top writing podcasts? Always looking for recommendations! Thanks for your videos, super helpful and motivating!

Hey guys! I was on that livestream. ;)

actually writing < watching kate's vlogs

Aww, love having pets around when writing! But wow, I can't believe you can make yourself stay focused on writing for so long :') My attention tends to be a bit crazy with being distracted by everything *coughs * RU-vid, Wattpad, reading, and generally the internet *coughs *

Ha, I live in Texas and eat veggie pho cup a noodles too! Great video!

I would love to someday HAVE a writing routine...what is consistency, lol?? As it stands I crunch in writing whenever I can. Sometimes I wake up at 2 AM and can't get back to sleep: pop open the laptop and crank out 100-500 words. Normally I try to write after I get home from work at around 4 PM. I intersperse it with watching videos or playing videogames and treat myself after I hit my goals. Most days 500 words is it, but on days I can tell I could hit more, I push myself. Of course I spend time at work daydreaming about the writing I could be doing!

I am writing on my first Draft, before I start writing I put some music on and write in my journal by hand, I know you hate it, but I discovered it in your videos and for me it's magic :-D. After that I type it in the Computer. But I am a slow writer, good days are 1000 but most of the time I write like 500 words, I recently startet so it's very new and for me it comes not easy, I enjoy it but it's not easy

I don't really have a writing routine - I just kind of write when I feel like it. However, I do have a daily routine that allows a certain time for me to actually sit down at the computer and do some writing. I'm actually hoping to develop a new daily routine because I am no longer working. I used to have to take out a huge, 6-7 hour chunk of my day because I was getting up and going to work/commuting to and from work that prevented me from using those hours for anything but those specific things. Hopefully, this routine will include lots more time to write because I will be at home pretty much all the time. (Oh, the joys of not having your driver's licence so you have to schedule your outings around the bus schedule). It's interesting that you said you think of going to the gym as still doing work because you're technically still doing story things - I never thought about it like that before. My first thought was, "Shouldn't you think of going to the gym as a break from work?" And then my second thought was, "Oh, that's really good!" I always find that I think of story plots at the most random times, like when I'm out and about, but the only thing I hate about that is then I don't have anywhere to write them down (I have terrible arthritis in my hands, so I can't take a journal with me and just write something down when I think about it, and I hate typing on my phone), so I often forget. I find that being on the bus is often the best time for me to come up with story plots. Anyway, I'm rambling a little here, I just wanted to answer your questions and discuss them as best I could!

And the video has uploaded now XD will be right to it after this!

A chapter usually takes me fifteen minutes. Duke is so cute.

As a person who lives in Toronto, to hear you say Toronto, it's kinda funny. Also, I've only recently gotten back into writing, and just write when I have some free time. I'll likely start up a routine once school starts up again for me.

Awesome to see someone else's process! Mine is very similar, I just try to hit the coffee a little earlier so I'm not stumbling around like a tranquilized creature on a wildlife reserve somewhere. Once 10AM hits, the routine part of the day is out the window. Thanks for sharing this!

My writing routine and my writing process are different things in my mind. Like you, the routine is the day to day operations and the process is how I work through various sections of a novel. I struggled for a while because I write best with a daily routine, but my current work/life situation just doesn't allow a good time to do that everyday. Instead, I've adopted a weekly goals system where I make a weeks goals, and then throughout the week I work at trying to fulfill them. For instance, this weeks goals were Edit 25 pages of Sin Eater and Edit three scenes of Un-familiar. Today's the last day of the week and so far I have Edited 37 pages of Sin Eater and Edited one and a half scenes of Un-familiar. I have some editing to do today... I'd recommend this for anybody who doesn't have a consistent schedule of life and can't find a way to get that routine in. I'm sure it won't work for everybody, but it's always good to have another tool in the box! :D

I've gotten around to watch your videos after a long time due to my frikkkkin exams. Really missed watching ur videos! Last time I was here, it was still hard to make the heart 😂 12.43

My writing routine is all over the place. Lately it has been far more editing than writing. I'm the opposite of you though. A night owl lol

How do you set up your Scrivener for your projects? I always end up with so many tabs that I don’t need or use.

Thanks for a great video! I'm such an opposite. My brain doesn't fully wake up until 9 p.m. LOL When I work out, I like to do it when I first wake up or I won't go. One thing we have in common is I live in an area where it gets super hot in the summer and I'm forced to go to the gym. I'm not currently working, but I still like to wait until my family is in bed before I start writing. I can relate to the dog issue lol Thankfully she goes to sleep with my hubs who goes to bed around 9:30 p.m.

Your dog is very cute! :)

was that spinach coffee? lol cool routine!! i keep finding myself getting distracted and then next thing you know, it's monday...hahahahaha

Right now I'm not writing. The project for Camp died and I'm not ready to start the next novel. So I've been going over the 0 draft to make a timeline and make sure it flows right in preparation for editing.

I wonder what an updated video would look like now that Kate’s done all these different challenges to learn if anything worked well for her and thus incorporated that into her routine

Can you recommend any podcasts? Not sure if you have already made a video or instagram post about this. You mentioned listening to podcasts more on the business side of writing and that piqued my interest! ((edit - I just saw that you included a clip of the creative pen podcast you were listening to, haha).

I find it really hard to find any sort of regular writing routine with a full time job, it's too unpredictable whether or not I'll have the energy in the evening. I am working to improve my writing process which I consider less time specific and more approach specific. Working on moving from pantsing to plotting so that I can write/edit more efficiently. One issue I'm finding working across projects is swapping tense, I've got a draft in first person present and editing third person past and my brain just can't keep up. Even if I do them on different days :(

Do you do photography too? I love their videos and they’ve got such a nice dynamic. On a different note, it’s nice to see how you personally write. What is a personal essay?

what program do you use for your writing?

I wish I could stay at my desk when I write, but I always end up crawling into bed, then breaks my concentration mode. I guess it doesn't help that my desk faces the wall lmao.

I wish I could have a routine like this omg, a 40 hour work week is brutal on the writing brain :(

I would like to ask your advice on something. How can a disabled person who wants to write a book. Mostly on metal organization and maybe how you keep your stories organized and in rotation. I think this would be a great help. Do you think you could make a video on it?

I have a question, I'm really new to your channel (this is my second video I've watched, but I really like your videos!), Is writing your day job? Or is it a hobby?

Hey Kate! I live nearby, you don't happen to do workshops or anything?

I've heard you say that you write personal essays in some of your videos. Why do you write them/ what do you write them for?

I know this is annoying and literally, a LOT of people have asked this question to other people but I would love an answer from YOU

Could you do an updated one of these now that you're not living at home all the time?

What program do you use to write in?

👏

I don't have an actual routine although it would probably help if I did. I think the routine is part of the process... or the other way around. Either way, they kind of work hand in hand.

What writing software are you using?

I always get ideas when I’m exercising.

Personal essays . . . Where do you publish those?