Toni Morrison's Writing Routine: How She Balanced Motherhood, Editing, and Novels

 

Toni Morrison's writing routine is the subject of much curiosity. Morrison herself was extremely well-known. The novelist and editor published many works, including 11 novels, 13 non-fiction books, and 2 short stories. Her most famous project, Beloved, won her the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1988. She also edited The Black Book, a book that acted as a collage of documents related to African American history.

Morrison began sharing her writing with a group of poets and writers at Howard University while she studied English and classics. She later went to Cornell University and obtained a master's degree in American literature. She began teaching writing at Texas Southern University in 1955. While working there, she had two children with her then-husband, Harold Morrison. After her and Harold's divorce in 1964, Morrison began working as an editor for Random House. She would go on to become the first black woman senior editor in their fiction department.

So, what did Toni Morrison's writing routine involve?

Morrison would start her writing routine at 4 AM, at her kitchen table. She did this in order to get work done before her two sons woke up. For two hours, she would work with a cup of coffee beside her. After the sun came up and her sons woke from their sleep, Morrison went to work in her position as an editor. In this role, she edited books by the likes of Angela Davis and Muhammad Ali.

What can we learn from Toni Morrison's very restricted writing routine?

It you want something to be done; it can be done. No matter how many other obligations you have, you can make actionable steps towards your goals. Morrison was a single mother with two children. She also had very involved day job. If she could fit reaching the peaks of the writing world into her daily schedule, you can accomplish your dreams as well.