When writing is going great, it can be tempting to use every last drop of your writing energy each day. This is called “binge writing,” and it is really unhealthy for your writing life. The problem is that we can only do that so long.

Writing professors sometimes talk about stopping the day’s writing on a high note—leaving your writing when you feel great about it, not when you’re frustrated with it.

Other professors say that they like to “park on a downward slope.” They’re referencing how cars that have manual transmissions are much easier to start when they’re parked to head down a hill instead of up. This means that they stop writing halfway through a paragraph or sentence that they feel good about so that they know exactly where they want to start the next day.

Next: Go on a technology diet. ->