By Jennifer Blanchard
You’ve probably heard this advice time and time again: If you want to be a writer, you have to write everyday.
Well, I’m here to tell you…it’s true.
If you want to be a writer, you need to write as often as possible, which is why you should make it your goal to write every single day, no exceptions.
Now you’re probably having all the same thoughts start to pop up in your mind: “I can’t write everyday.” “I don’t have time to write everyday” “I’m too busy to write everyday.” “I won’t be inspired everyday.”
Stop right there.
You can write everyday.
You don’t have to write fiction everyday (unless you want to). You don’t have to write ten pages everyday (unless you want to). You don’t have to write one chapter everyday (unless you want to).
You just have to commit to writing something everyday. Whether that be notes for your newest novel, a scene in your screenplay or 1,000 words of a short story.
Here are some ideas to get you started writing everyday:
- Write in 10-Minute Blocks—In line at the grocery store, during your lunch break, in place of watching a TV show…for more 10-minute time block ideas, read: 17 Ways to Find 10 Minutes to Write.
- Morning Pages—Julia Cameron, author of the best-selling book, The Artist’s Way, created Morning Pages, which she says are: “Three pages of longhand, stream of consciousness writing, done first thing in the morning. There is no wrong way to do Morning Pages—they are not high art. They are about anything and everything that crosses your mind—and they are for your eyes only.”Morning Pages are a great way to get all the “junk” out of your mind, making a clearing for your writing.By writing your Morning Pages, you will be getting out all the thoughts, worries, fears, doubts, angers, etc., that cloud your writing. This can help you become unblocked, leaving you wide open for creativity.Give Morning Pages a try. You’ll be surprised how effective they are, especially if you do them immediately after you wake up.
- Have a Word Count in Mind—Commit to writing a certain number of words everyday. It doesn’t matter if it’s 500 words or 5,000 words, as long as you write. This method can also work with a daily page count.
- Use the Write Everyday Productivity Tool–I had this tool built so procrastinating writers could have a simple, effective way to write every single day. Choose a time limit and allow the random writing prompt to inspire you. No excuses.
Keep in mind these are just ideas. There are plenty of other ways to write everyday. As long as you commit to doing so, how you do it doesn’t really matter.
In my experience, the above-mentioned ideas are four of the most effective ways to build a habit of writing everyday.
Keep in mind, not every method will work for every writer, that’s why experimenting is necessary. Each week, give one daily writing method a try and after a few weeks, you’ll know which methods work for you and which don’t. This will help you continue to be productive and write.
Don’t Forget to Take a Break
Writing everyday—although very important—can be difficult at first. In order not to burn out, you should give yourself a break. Take one day off each week from writing.
Now remember, this is only a suggestion. If you feel like taking a day off would ruin your momentum, by all means write seven days a week.
But you need to make sure you still have fun activities in your life. You need to make sure you still spend time with your family and friends. You need to make sure you have time for work and errands and everything else in your life.
Writing doesn’t have to be your whole life, but it should be part of your daily life.
Do you write everyday? How do you go about doing it?
