Writers can be creatures of habit. I am a creature of habit. One thing I do every day before sitting down to write is Morning Pages, three pages of longhand stream-of-consciousness stuff. Your morning pages don’t have to make sense. They can help you plan the day and prioritize what needs to be done. You can use them to get things off your mind, like how shitty the first draft of your novel is. Write whatever you want. This is “Your Eyes Only” stuff. Morning pages help engage your mind.

I write my morning pages in a “5 x 8.25” book. I buy them five at a time from Amazon. I use a book that 120GSM paper which takes fountain pen ink. I never re-read my pages and I toss the book when I’m done.