Steal These Black Women's Writing Habits
- 2 days ago
- 5 min read
Need writing inspiration? These 9 bestselling Black women may be able to help!
Octavia E. Butler
Octavia E. Butler believed in making writing a daily habit-- rather than simply writing when inspired. She said, “Habit is more dependable, habit will sustain you whether you’re inspired or not.”
Encouraged writers to study other subjects like history and anthropology
She squeezed in time to write early in the morning (as early as 2 AM) before going to her day job
Must Reads: Kindred (1979) and Parable of The Sower (1993)
Tananarive Due
Her novels and screenplays begin with a detailed outline. Blood Colony, for example, was outlined by chapter and was 30 pages long
She gives herself page quotas (3-7 pages) and external deadlines. She wrote, “Wandering aimlessly through a long project isn’t fun for me. I don’t like creative rollercoasters, just as I don’t like rollercoasters in real life.”
She added: “Most of our writing props and rituals are only an emotional crutch–or worse, an excuse not to write.”
Read more about Tananrive Due's writing habits in her own words here
Must Reads: My Soul To Keep (1997) and The Reformatory (2023)
Toni Morrison
Toni Morrison wrote best when “stealing time” from her other obligations. For example, a 2-week writing retreat in the countryside yielded no writing. She said, “I have always had a nine-to-five job. I had to write either in between those hours, hurriedly, or spend a lot of weekend and predawn time.”
Wrote on a yellow legal pad (usually with a No.2 pencil) in the early hours after making a cup of coffee and watching the sun rise. She’d then type her work on the typewriter/computer and edit
Must Reads: Song of Solomon (1977) and Beloved (1987)
Maya Angelou
Maya Angelou wrote best in isolation with intentional props in a plain and undecorated hotel room, saying in a 1983 interview: “I keep a dictionary, a Bible, a deck of cards and a bottle of sherry in the room. I try to get there around 7, and I work until 2 in the afternoon. If the work is going badly, I stay until 12:30. If it’s going well, I’ll stay as long as it’s going well. It’s lonely, and it’s marvelous. I edit while I’m working. When I come home at 2, I read over what I’ve written that day, and then try to put it out of my mind.”
Must Reads: I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings (1969) and Gather Together in My Name (1974)
Alice Walker
In 2018, Alice Walker said she has kept a journal since 1962, mentioning she has never had writer’s block-- meaning frequent writing is central to her routine. She said, “...Part of writing is not so much that you’re going to actually write something every day, but what you should have, or need to have, is the possibility, which means the space and the time set aside—as if you were going to have someone come to tea.”
Writes best in the mornings after meditating
Enjoys writing on the go, saying, “In the old days, [I needed] my spiral notebook and a pen or two, and now [I carry] my little tiny Mac[Book] Air in my backpack”
Get more writing advice from Alice Walker in her own words here
Must Read: The Color Purple (1982)
NK Jemisin
According to her 2011 blog post Carving a New World, after forming a short synopsis and scribbling down a few scenes, N.K. Jemisin writes her first chapter from multiple POVs until she finds one that “feels right.”
Typically, after writing 100 pages, she writes a companion synopsis that she runs by her writer’s group and editor
Due to her full-time job, she typically writes on Fridays and Sundays by 9 AM, saying, “I try to get in about 1500 words a day. More if I’m in deadline mode, which means 2500-3000 words a day...” She tries to squeeze in 250 additional words on other days in between work
Because her work is heavy on worldbuilding, she wrote that,
"I don’t always do this, but sometimes I’ll write a short story set in that universe to try and solidify my ideas. Not the same plot, not even the same characters; just playing around with the world. I call this a “proof of concept” story, for lack of a better description — basically I’m testing the worldbuilding to see if it’s complete enough to support a novel yet. Often the act of writing the story helps me catch glaring holes in my worldbuilding."
Must Read: The City We Became (2020)
Yaa Gyasi
Yaa Gyasi explained in 2017 that she works best when at a desk-- saying that, “I’ve never managed to get any real work done on an aeroplane or in a hotel room”
Wrote her debut novel over 7 years in a small nook in her Iowa City apartment that she called ‘The Dungeon’
She said, “I start working at around 10 if I’m feeling motivated, 11 if I’m not. I reread the work from the day before and/or passages that I think I got right in order to try to set the tone. I write a sentence. I read it aloud. I delete the sentence. I look at the clock and wonder if it’s too early to think about lunch. I tell myself that, if I can make it to 300 words, I can break for lunch.”
Must Read: Homegoing (2020)
Beverly Jenkins
According to a 2019 interview, Historical Romance author Beverly Jenkins immerses herself in letters, diaries, and academic works for her rich historical romance novels (plus travels around the country to specific locations!)
Doesn’t outline her work or plot her books in advance, instead writing on the fly and revising as she goes
She wrote in 2019, “My first dedicated writing space was a closet in the entrance way of the apartment I lived in with my husband and toddler daughter...The interior was just large enough to hold my typewriter on top of a cardboard box and for me to sit on the floor in front of it. It was small, but it was mine, and when done writing for the day, I could close the door and keep all my messiness hidden away.”
Must Read: Nightsong (1994)
Tomi Adeyemi
Tomi Adeyemi pursued her dream to be a full-time writer aggressively. She said in 2019 to Nylon Magazine:
“My writing ritual consists of timers, accents, and Thai food. I use timers to write for 20 minutes straight, and then use timers to take a five-to-10 minute break. This helps me to "reset" my mind and keep the words flowing onto the page. To get inside my characters' heads, I read their chapters aloud in horrible, horrible accents that no human being is ever allowed to hear. And last but certainly not least is Thai food, otherwise known as the great motivator. Rewarding myself with beef pad see ew and spring rolls after a good day's work has carried me through many late nights.”
Read Tomi's blog post, How To Write Every Day in 3 Easy Steps
Must Read: Children of Blood and Bone (2020)
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