Writers are notoriously peculiar people. We have different ways of telling the same story and a variety of characters to help us. We might write for clients that appreciate our vision and appetite for the written word. Here are some quirks writers have a hard time escaping. Perhaps you’ll recognize yourself in these quirks!

Common Creative Writer Habits

Talking to Yourself

Writers might not admit it, but creative writing often involves speaking out loud. I find that I do this not only in my fiction writing, but writing for my freelance clients as well.

People around me might think writers are crazy when we do this, especially when working in public around strangers, but it helps in many ways. Not only can you find better ways to write, but you can change awkward wording you didn’t realize was there from the beginning. Try it! It might be a quirk you come to love.

Writing Out of Order

It’s very rare that I can start writing from beginning to end. Usually, I begin writing from the middle and fill in the gaps as I go. I’m sure other writers do the same thing…right?

Writing out of order makes sense to me and to other writers as well. I don’t think in a linear fashion when it comes to writing, so working from the middle outwards makes perfect sense. Whatever I happen to be writing works better if I wait to write the beginning. Plus, getting too attached to the beginning of a story makes it difficult to move forward. Beginning with the body paragraphs can help you develop your introduction and entice writers to read the rest of your story or article.

Continuous Revisions

Maybe it’s just a quirk specific to me as a writer, but I find myself constantly changing dialogue or reworking scenes when I write. Same with blog posts; I write, revise, and repeat. It’s a hard habit to break, but the editor in me likes to correct as I go. Same with my freelance articles for clients; what I begin with is not often the same as the end result, but that is a good thing.

Scrapping the Story

Have you ever written a story, only to completely scrap it? That was me one year during NaNoWriMo. I wrote about 20,000 words before I realized my story was going nowhere, so I abandoned the idea. It’s certainly not the first time I’ve done it! Writers are usually critical of their writing, and even the good ones can judge their work harshly.

It might be a weird quirk, but sometimes writers just have to realize when a story is going nowhere.

Commiserating with Other Writers

Writers everywhere often find themselves in conversation with other writers about their ideas. This might include talking about the progress with our current manuscripts and articles, and the scenes we’re trying to write. It’s a quirk that goes back well before social media, but it’s one that writers are likely to keep going for a long time.

Writers and their controlled chaos may not always make sense, but it helps the creative process and leads to better writing. So what if we’re quirky? We embrace it!