Real writers should write everyday, right? Not necessarily so. Being a writer doesn’t just involve sitting down and putting words down on a page.
There’s also research.
And lots of thinking, reading and watching Netflix.
Yes, Netflix. There’s a lot to learn from the good and the bad shows and movies on the streaming service. You an also consider the documentaries as research.
Gotta love being a writer!
Writers have a tendency to stare into space, a lot. They might look like they’re wasting time when in fact they’re probably brainstorming their next novel.
A writers mind rarely stops.
The idea of writing 1000 brand new words every day sounds wonderful. That’s 365,000 words in a year or 4-5 books depending on your book length of choice. But should you write everyday?
For part time writers, or those like me, who do it on top of our day jobs, it’s doable. One thousand words can easily be written in 30 minutes. Then there’s the marketing time, business stuff, editing and research.
It’s definitely doable.
But do you really need to write every day?
No, you don’t. Not if you don’t want to.
If you do want to write every day, then go for it.
Neither choice makes you any less or any more a writer than the person next to you. If you write, regardless of whether it’s every day or at weekends, you’re a writer.
I’ve seen comments on Twitter by people who really need to get off their high horse about judging others writing habits. If you haven’t walked a mile in someone else’s shoes, well, you’re not fit to judge them.
None of us have walked a mile in anyone’s shoes but our own, so why do we feel we have the right to judge how others write or live for that matter?
We don’t.
So should you write everyday?
It’s up to you.
Personally, I like the idea of writing every day however when you work a full time job, have a family to look after, and a life to live, well, writing every day isn’t always realistic.
I tried to write every day on this blog for the month of January and that lasted the first nine days.
Did I beat myself up about it?
I wanted to, believe me.
Then I realised, why? What’s the big deal?
I believe that writing everyday will improve the writing skills but just writing to have something written with no real purpose actually defeats the purpose.
When you choose to do something, make sure that you have a good enough reason for it.
You have to decide the best method that works for you and your lifestyle. If writing everyday works, that’s awesome. Maybe you can only fit in every other day or just Sunday mornings, that’s great too.
Take the pressure off and quit comparing your writing schedule to someone else’s. It’s your life, it’s your writing, making it work for your lifestyle.
Benefits of Writing Everday
There are many benefits to do things everyday. If it’s realistic for you or you really want to make writing a daily habit, check out some of these benefits.
Improve your craft.
Writing everyday, especially if you’re writing consciously – that means aware of the words you’re putting down rather than just gibberish (it happens to all of us), then it’s a great way to improve your abilities.
You’ll get more written.
If you want to write more books then writing everyday is a great idea. 1000 words a day is 356,000 words in year. The average book is about 70,000 words so you could potentially write 5 books per year. Some writers do less, some do more. Find the right amount that works for you.
Develop a habit.
By committing to writing everyday you’ll develop a lifelong habit. When we do things sporadically it’s easy to dismiss writing on a busy day, sooner or later, that busy day becomes a busy week or month, before you know it’s been a year since you’ve put words to a page. Even ten minutes on busy days can contribute to a life long habit of writing. If you’re in this for the long haul, developing a good writing habit by writing everyday is the way to go.
Related: 3 Things You Must Do To Become a Better Writer
Tip on how to write everyday
Writing everyday takes time and preparation. If you have a busy lifestyle or find procrastination easy you might put off writing for the last minute and not get it done at all. Here are a few simple trips to get you writing everyday.
Keep a journal.
Writing down your thoughts, feelings and plans everyday is a great habit to have, it’s also a goldmine for story ideas. A journal can be just a plain notebook or it can be a Word file. You can write everyday or when inspiration strikes.
With time you can go back and review your entries, they’ll remind you of things you’ve done and felt. Your journal can be a place to store ideas for future stories.
Write Fiction.
Aim for at least 10 minutes a day. In ten minutes you could easily type 250 words. That’s going to be 250 words more than you had the day before.
Fiction writing doesn’t have to be done in large chunks of time, sometimes you can get a lot more written when you have less time to do it.
Start blogging.
Blogging is a great way to improve your writing and develop regular writing habits. Set a schedule and stick to writing to it.
You can blog about anything you want. From your writing habits to your favourite books. Write about the project your working on or your thoughts about the world.
Related: How to Start an Author Blog on a Budget
Keep a list of ideas.
Ideas are everywhere. Writers know this but it’s still a question they get asked a lot, where do you get your ideas? In your journal or separate writers notebook or even spreadsheet, keep a running list of ideas that you can write about. This works for fiction and blogging. Spreadsheets are great because you can have multiple tabs for different projects. Scrivener works really well for this also.
Related: 10 Awesome Things I Love About Using Scrivener and Why You Should Get It Today
There are many benefits to writing everyday but you should only do it if it works for your schedule.
My writing schedule varies. Nothing is set in stone. Most of my writing is done on the commute to work 3 days per week. The remainder of the time it happens only if I get up at 5am and can get an 1-2 in before I start work or have weekend commitments. There are always commitments. Occasionally, I indulge in a few hours over the weekend but only after making sure I’ve spent lots of quality time with my son. It’s all a balancing act.
Does writing most days of the week make me a better writer? I sure hope so.
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