Practical writing habits shared
Poet and Writivism winner Damilola Omotoyinbo posted concrete habits for writers — stay observant for ideas, avoid editing mid‑draft, write daily, and listen to craft podcasts like 'How I Write' with David Perell. Those small rules matter because they’re repeatable, low‑friction practices that actually move projects forward, not just motivational slogans. For emerging writers, this is the kind of day‑to‑day discipline that produces pages over time. (x.com)
A prize-winning poet with work in *Poetry* magazine just posted four rules that sound almost too ordinary: notice things, stop editing while drafting, write every day, and keep a craft podcast in your ears. Damilola Omotoyinbo, who won the 2023 Writivism Poetry Prize, shared them in a short post that reads less like inspiration and more like a workbench checklist. (poetryfoundation.org) Omotoyinbo is not posting from the sidelines. The Poetry Foundation lists her as a Nigerian creative writer and software engineer, and the University of Alabama says her work has appeared in *Poetry Magazine*, *Poetry Ireland*, *Lolwe*, and other journals. (poetryfoundation.org) (english.ua.edu) The Writivism prize she won is one of the better-known literary awards tied to emerging African writing. Writivism says the initiative began in Kampala in 2012, and reporting on the 2023 awards says Omotoyinbo won the poetry category for a poem titled “The Evening News.” (writivism.org) (writingafrica.com) Her first habit was observation, which is the oldest writing tool there is. A novelist cannot describe a bus stop, an argument, or a kitchen table on command unless she has spent months quietly storing the textures, rhythms, and odd details that make a scene feel lived in. (x.com) Her second habit was not editing in the middle of a draft, which solves a very specific problem. Drafting and editing use different kinds of attention, and switching between “make the sentence exist” and “make the sentence good” is how many writers turn one page into a three-hour stall. (x.com) Her third habit was daily writing, and the point is not romance but repetition. A writer who produces 300 words a day has 9,000 words after 30 days, which is enough for several essays, a short story draft, or the bones of a book chapter. (x.com) (google.com) Her fourth habit was listening to “How I Write,” the interview podcast hosted by David Perell. The recommendation is practical because podcasts turn commute time, dishwashing time, or gym time into apprenticeship hours with people who explain how they plan, draft, and revise. (x.com) That is why the post landed with writers: every rule is small enough to repeat tomorrow morning. “Be observant” fits in a notebook, “don’t edit mid-draft” fits in a 25-minute session, and “write daily” turns a career into a stack of ordinary Tuesdays. (x.com) A lot of writing advice promises breakthroughs. Omotoyinbo’s version promises pages, and pages are usually what separate people who want to write from people who eventually finish things. (x.com)
