The rhythm of the writer

When it comes to using your words to the fullest, repetition is the enemy. But when it comes to finding those words in the first place, it turns out repetition has its place.

As a writer at A Hundred Monkeys, I create a lot of blank Google docs. In fact, it’s how this story looked not too long ago. About 50% of my projects are geared toward helping clients position themselves through differentiated, engaging language. The other 50% are geared toward helping clients find a name for their company or product — which involves a lot more writing than you might think.

In previous roles, writing was more of a peripheral skill. Grammar often seemed optional, and I was lucky if I got to write a lengthy email. I hadn’t realized how much I missed writing and how little I knew about how to build a workday around it.

Over the past two years at A Hundred Monkeys, I’ve been working on finding my writing process. I’ve tried different times of day, different lengths of time, different locations around the office. It’s been an ongoing experiment, and one I hadn’t considered since college. Shockingly, pulling a Red Bull-fueled all-nighter while listening to Abbey Road on repeat is not the answer for lifelong good writing. But even more shockingly, part of that method might actually hold up: the repeat button.

It turns out, setting up the same environmental conditions each time you need to write can help get the creative ideas flowing. For some, this might mean sitting at the same desk with a cup of tea, looking out the same window. For others, it might mean taking a jog before you sit down to write, or listening to the same type of music, or having a specific snack at your side (who said Cheetos aren’t brainfood?).

It’s almost like Pavlov’s test, where you’re Pavlov and the dog. Cheetos are the glorious golden bell.

Having a writing ritual has made me much less afraid of the blank Google doc. For one particular project, my ritual has involved sitting at an outdoor table at my apartment complex. This sounds like a poorly-veiled excuse to be within striking distance of the pool — but I recently noticed that I do my best thinking there for this one particular project. It involves a lot of highly-technical subject matter — some of which, to be honest, I don’t quite understand.

Being outside and occasionally setting down the laptop has helped me approach dense writing with a clear head. Now, whenever I’ve blocked out time to work on that project, something inside me instinctively says, Get to the spot. I’m not sure what it’ll say when the weather drops.

As the New York Times recently explored, the nature of work is changing. This means more and more people can figure out what kind of working environment works for them, and when. At a small creative agency like ours, collaboration is key, and there’s no substitute for working through ideas in person. But when it comes to individual work, there’s a level of flexibility that has allowed us to find our own rhythms and rituals. The beat goes on.

Thanks to Eli Altman.