From Corporate Editor to Freelance Writer: Wilhelmina’s Creative Routine
A Glimpse Into the Life of a UK-Based Writer and Editor After Untethering from the Corporate World
Hey, welcome to Methods—the series where we explore the creative habits of fellow Substack writers.
Today we’re taking a look at the creative routine of Wilhelmina, a writer and professional editor who recently untethered from the corporate publishing world.
As a writer, she is committed to growth and learning, with aspirations to one day become the kind of author who’s shortlisted for literary prizes.
As an editor and book coach, she focuses on supporting voices whose stories often go unheard in traditional publishing.
On her Substack, Shopping Lists, she shares insights on developing fiction skills, editing, and the path to getting published.
Check out her article: A day in the life of a freelance editor & writer
In this interview, Wilhelmina discusses her daily routine, creative rituals, workspace setup, and the influences that shape her writing journey.
Enjoy!
Know someone with a unique creative process? Drop their name in the comments—I’d love to feature them!
Writing Routine
Meditation, Client Projects, & Late-Night Drafting
I start my day off usually with some meditation, then language learning and then dive into any clients' projects – which might be reading a novel for a developmental edit or coaching session, or working through a copyedit or proofread.
If I'm editing or rewriting any of my own writing, I typically find time to do it during the day, too.
But I'm funny when it comes to writing a first draft – it feels sacred. I write my best at night.
It took me ages to discover this. I used to wonder why I couldn't feel that burst of deep creativity during the day; it feels really powerful to know this now.
I think the realisation was triggered when I was at a conversation between Irenosen Okojie and Leone Ross, something Leone said reminded me of the very exciting moments I have close to sleep, when I have a sudden creative realisation – I've had entire scenes materialise in my head at times.
I think my subconscious is at its peak late at night. So I usually write my first drafts in bed, sometime between 9pm and 12am.
Check out her “day in the life” article for a deeper look.
Other late night writers featured in this series:
- Midnight Writing and Rejecting Influences with Liza Libes
- Late Nights and Creative Sprints: Inside Jake Varrone’s Writing Routine
Immersive Tools for Novel Writing
Playlists & Mind Maps
I toyed with creating a playlist when I wrote my first novel, and I also created a mind map of related words which I had as my laptop background to tune my mind into the mind space of my novel.
While I'm not sure if they have any effect, it was a fun way to try to shift into the world of my book.
Workspace
Desk for Editing, Bed for Writing
When editing, I have a desk in front of a window. My view is.... less than desirable but it's nice and bright.
I use my laptop with a large monitor too, which is very helpful for making notes whilst editing. Then I have a simple bluetooth keyboard. Nothing too exciting.
When I write, I'm cozy in bed with low lighting, my partner is snoozing next to me or reading, I’ve got my Scrivener open and there’s something about the profound silence as it gets later and later at night that allows me the comfort to be in my own world. It just isn’t the same in the busyness of the day.
Flexible Tools for a Creative Mind
From Pen and Paper to Scrivener
This probably speaks to who I've been as a person – I've never had a lot of money or had the specific tools I needed for each task, so I've always adapted and innovated existing tools.
So I write and create in any way that works – paper and pen, google docs, an email draft, notes on my phone. I have started using Scrivener recently though and I do enjoy the structure of it and am excited to see how it goes for novel writing.
Influential Voices
Authors and Artists Who Shape Her Craft
Like many writers, the words of Toni Morrison, and Audre Lorde shape some of how I experience the world. Especially as a Black, queer woman. And that in turn, feeds the work.
But in terms of my love for surrealist, speculative, lo-fi sci-fi types of fiction. I would say it started with my love of art – my sister and my husband are both artists and they've brought me on their journey with them and I've developed my love of art.
Frida Kahlo was a big influence in my early 20s, I travelled through Mexico and going to her Casa Azul was incredible; seeing her work, her vulnerability and her capacity to keep working through some horrific times was inspiring.
And reading authors like Ken Liu (his award-winning short The Paper Menagerie is a must-read), I seek to link emotion and diasporan culture to science fiction like he does.
I want to write deep, big emotions and broadly-spanning fiction like Yaa Gyasi, whose shopping lists I'd happily imbibe. Along with Mona Awad, who is not afraid to be bizarre and utilise the absurdism to carry her message.
Finally, a speech Michaela Coel gave when she won an award for 'I May Destroy You' lives on repeat in my head, the way she spoke about the need for solitude in your creative journey, so as not to dilute yourself and your message.
At the time, I thought it was more of a privileged stance, but I now recognise the ways we can create this sense of solitude in smaller, more accessible ways – like writing in bed at midnight.
Creative Evolution
Learning from Mistakes and Trying New Methods
By paying attention to myself and the patterns of my behavior, I've been able to refine the patterns of when/how I write.
But another thing I have started doing is in-depth planning – starting with writing out a detailed character profile and in-depth character arc for the protagonist, then I build the story out from there.
Believe it or not, very little planning went into planning book one, which landed me an agent, but I believe it contributed to problems with the edits and rewrites down the line.
So, I'm hoping this method helps. But who knows, every element of writing still feels so experimental to me – which is fun. I hope to keep learning and growing my techniques, methods and interests so I can keep writing for the rest of my life.
Similar - Mariella Hunt - Plan For the Ending
Balancing Superstitions with Openness
Thoughts On Writing In Private
I'm a very spiritual person, and often superstitious, so it's difficult not to let that affect my writing practice.
For example, I've always heard and been told that you should work in silence lest the evil eye of any haters affect your progress. And I do believe this to some extent.
But then, there's the fact that as a writer, I also believe you need to keep sharing your work, tell the truth and – particularly with personal essays – often bare your soul. So I hold this cognitive dissonance, and try to move between the two extremes.
Books and Products That Spark Creativity
Products, Apps, Books
On products and apps, I journal regularly by hand and have since I was a teenager.
Scrivener has been a new and helpful addition to my writing practice.
With books, so many books but I'll mention just a few. When I first read 'The Science of Storytelling' by Will Storr, I felt I could write a book for the first time.
But then I ended up getting on to the Faber Academy Writing a Novel course, which also helped some.
Other books include 'Sister Outsider' by Audre Lorde, 'Living by the Word' by Alice Walker, 'The Alchemist' by Paulo Coelho.
These books help my mindset – seeing writing and creativity as a lifelong journey, rather than a finite goal.
Thank you, Wilhelmina!
Don’t miss Shopping Lists, where she shares candid insights from her first year as a freelance writer-editor in the UK.
Subscribe to Writers Are Weird
Access the full archiveDocumenting the creative process. Written by Sam Mas