The Stag is in one quadrant of these two dimensions: Rare on how often you write, Consistent on when. Every writer sits somewhere on both measures, and these categorize you into this house.
You can be occupied by other matters for some time, and then you come back to your habit at the same time you always do. You do not write often, but the days you do are fixed, defended, and never rescheduled. You're serious about your craft, and patience is your skill.
Strengths
- A writing habit scheduled so reliable that nothing can compete for it. "That's my writing time."
- Your creativity can rest between sessions and come back refreshed and loaded up with new ideas.
- Writing sessions are almost never interrupted. You take care to focus on your writing.
Drawbacks
- A single cancelled session costs disproportionately more
- Long gaps between sessions means you're re-reading to prepare before starting to write
- The momentum you built is felt less day to day. It's easier to forget.
Famous writers in the House of Stag
By studying these writers habits and patterns we've determined their writer house. Their story could serve as inspiration for you, and the way they took on the habit of writing can inform you to improve on your own habit.
Kazuo Ishiguro. Kept this exact protocol in reserve for the rare weeks he needed to break through a draft, not for everyday writing: diary ruthlessly cleared, 9am to 10:30pm Monday through Saturday, no mail and no phone calls allowed in. He called it "the Crash". The Booker Prizes
Umberto Eco. Called himself a scholar who happened to write novels on Sundays, fitting fiction into what he called the "interstices" between a week of teaching and academic conferences. Paris Review, The Art of Fiction No. 197
If this is you
One thing to try: Since each session is extra important for you, the biggest win is to sit down already knowing where to start. Spend the last two minutes of every session writing down a short plan for next time, so you can shorten the re-remembering re-reading phase.
Watch for: When your habit is concentrated into just a few moments a week, one cancelled session can cost a lot in output and motivation. Keep a smaller fallback session in reserve, an hour during the week if you usually write in the weekend, so your writing habit has less of a chance to disappear.
Relevant Authorlytica metrics
- Weekly streak, not daily streak: The daily streak is useless for you. The weekly one actually measures how you work.
- Pace vs. goal deadline: With output concentrated into few sessions, your pace can shift greatly after a session. Check it before a session to see how on-track you are.