Building a writing routine that survives a real life

Most finished books are written in short sessions by people with other obligations. The routine that works is the one you can repeat on a bad week, not the one that works on a perfect Sunday.

Pick a fixed, modest target — a word count or a stretch of time — and defend it rather than raising it. Consistency compounds; intensity burns out.

End each session mid-thought. Stopping while you still know the next sentence removes the hardest part of starting tomorrow.

Keep a running list of what comes next so the first ten minutes are not spent re-reading. And track days written rather than words written; it measures the habit rather than the mood.