By Larry Leech @LarryJLeechII

I love golf. I love playing while enjoying a few hours of fresh air. I love watching. The Golf Channel is on one of our TVs pretty much every minute of every waking moment in our house, even now while I write this blog. I love thinking about my stance, my takeaway, my downswing. You name it, a thought about any part of the golf swing or a golf course probably crosses my mind once or twice or a dozen times a day.

A few years ago while I watched the first round of the U.S. Open, a thought popped into my head. Scary, I know. I watched golfer after golfer that day go through a pre-shot routine. Stand behind ball and look where they want to hit it. Take a few practices swings. Stand over the ball. Maybe take a few more practices swing. Stand over the ball. Wiggled. Steady their feet. Look down the fairway or across the putting green. Boom. Then hit.

Which got me thinking. Scary again, I know. How can their meticulous preparation help me with my writing?

Their pre-shot routine helps with muscle memory and focus. Both things we need when we write.

I have found that a pre-writing routine has helped get me into the right frame of mind. Pre-pandemic my routine was pretty simple: setup my laptop in the same spot at my branch office, order the same drink every time, place my drink in the same location near my mouse, set my screen at the same angle, find a concert video on YouTube, and put in my ear buds. Each action helped the writing gears in my mind click into place. Muscle memory.

Despite sitting in a sometimes insanely busy coffeeshop, I kept my attention on the task at hand. Focus. Another regular said to me one day, “I didn’t want to bother you yesterday when I was in. I could tell by the look on your face that you were focused.”

Did I need to go through all that to write? Maybe, maybe not. But it has worked for me.

And like routines vary from golfer to golfer, routines will vary from writer to writer. If you haven’t tried a pre-writing routine, give it a shot. You might discover that you are more productive with one.

Writing coach of award-winning novelists, Larry J. Leech II has spent nearly 40 years working with words. After a 23-year journalism career that began in 1981, Larry moved into freelance writing and editing in 2004. He has ghostwritten nearly 30 books and edited more than 250 manuscripts. Larry teaches at numerous conferences nationwide and can be found online on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and his website, www.larryleech.com.