When I first moved into my apartment, I placed an old black poker table in the kitchen. It was the same table that I used during my time as a college and graduate student. The next morning, I sat at the table in the kitchen with my MacBook Pro and wrote. Later that evening, I began typing on one of my various typewriters.
I spend days, weeks, and even months on a composition before it is submitted for consideration and for possible publication. I do so because good writing takes time.
My writing routine varies; it depends on the time of the year, what I’m writing, and if there is a deadline connected to what I am working on. As an assistant professor of English at a community college, I spend most of the year helping students become better writers. This means that the amount of time that I can devote to my own writing is limited.
When I was finishing the final draft of my debut novel, it made for a lot of early mornings and late nights. When it comes to the work of writing, an hour here and an hour there adds up, and eventually, a complete draft of a work is produced.
Again, my writing routine is shaped by what I am working on. Twice a year—April and October—a small writing community that I am a part of participates in a writing exercise. We email each other an original poem every day based on a daily prompt. In that situation, there is no time for a complete first draft or even an outline; often just a stream of words are placed on a computer screen and sent. When I revisit a poem later, I revise it no more than ten times. Any more than that, I’ve learned, and the original essence of the poem is edited out.
My writing routine also takes into account a deadline. As a writer, nothing can hinder a promising writing career quicker than missing deadlines. I work for days, for long periods of time, to avoid missing deadlines.
I work best when I write in my kitchen. I used to write in public—in coffeehouses, for example—but I often ran into someone I have not seen in ages. I would spend time catching up with them, and then lose a couple of hours of writing time. Like a follower of Jesus entering into their prayer closet to pray, a writer needs a small, private space to connect to the creative force they possess. In my kitchen, I freeze in the winter and roast in the summer but given enough time and effort, I produce pages of prose and poetry that are blessed with the selection of publication.
Devan Burton is an assistant professor of English at Walters State Community College. His debut novel, The Will of the World, is available at such places as Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Books-A-Million, and Politics and Prose. His chapbook, In Quiet Hours, and play, A Patron of the Arts, are available exclusively for Kindle and other e-reader devices. Burton’s next publication will be in the summer issue of Door is a Jar literary magazine in July 2019. Find Devan Burton on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, or email him at devanburton30@yahoo.com.
