Write Every Day And Become A Better, Happier Writer!
There are plenty of writers who don’t write every day, and by no means does it make you a ‘bad writer’ if you don’t.
Many writers only write once a week, or even less, but still manage to finish their work, achieve their goals and generally feel satisfied with their writing life.
No, there is no need to write every day at all.
However, imagine if you did.
Writing daily may not be possible for everyone. But for the majority of us there is space in the day to squeeze in some writing time, and if you can, it will have a positive impact on your life and your writing career.
I have often felt a little guilty about not writing everyday, especially when I have an idea. This has happened so many times.
Practice makes perfect
Writing every day will help you hone your writing skills. Even taking as little as 10 minutes ever day to practice your writing can make a huge difference. You find that your writing flows better, your inner critic is more easily silenced and you make better progress with whatever you are working on. Because you can pick up right where you left off, you’ll spend less time going over previous pages trying to remember exactly what is going on – so your time will actually be spent more productively too.
Do it to relax and unload the stresses of the day
Do it to relax and unload the stresses of the day
If you leave it too long between each writing session it can be all too easy for the pressure to mount and when you do get a chance to sit down and write, nothing comes to mind. When you write every day you can simply start where you left off, or if you are having a day where you don’t feel creative, just write about what you did, or try free writing. Because you know you always have tomorrow to get back to it, it doesn’t matter if you don’t bring your writing A game every time.
Writing when you don’t put pressure on yourself can be very therapeutic. You can write a journal every day where you can note down things that you’ve done or thought about, things that have upset or angered you, and things that made you feel happy, thankful and inspired. But remember that writing creatively can be just as helpful when putting things in perspective, venting frustrations or simply helping you to unwind and let go of the day.
This is something I'm going to try do a, little more of. Often I want to do so, but just don't do it. This could be a good way of getting some of my ideas down.
You’ll get that ‘writing high’ every day
I don’t know about you, but I always feel brilliant after I write. Even if I know I haven’t produced my best work, I still feel as though I am that little bit closer to achieving my goals, and that I can give myself a well-deserved pat on the back. Who wouldn’t want to feel this way every day?
I'm not sure if it'll make me feel "high," but I believe it will make me feel like I have have gotten better, and as the author said above, feel more brilliant even if I don't get my best work right there and then.
Different types of daily writing.
Remember, if you do decide to give writing daily a go, you don’t have to just concentrate on one thing. See what works for you.
Write a Journal – you could write a daily journal to process your thoughts and emotions.
Try goal setting – you could use the time to write down your goals and work out how to achieve them.
Brainstorming – you could simply have a brainstorming session every day to help you come up with new ideas for projects, flesh out old ones, and feel creatively inspired.
I may just try one or more of these, especially the journal. I have done one off and on, though it's been about a year since I last did so. Last night I did more editing and rewriting on my memoir (I'm now up to 32,442 words) and am still not sure how much longer to go. Does the word count really matter more than than what the story conveys--I have been asking others. I still hope to join a writers group through there aren't any in my town. I posted message on a Facebook group for my hometown last night. As of yet, I got two "likes" but no comments. I now wonder how many local writes exist in my town. The last time I saw the local bar owner who published her memoir in 2013, she suggested going to a writers conference. I'd like to, but they can be so expensive. Also, there are very few nearby where I live--one in Los Angeles is coming up in September. The cost for these conferences doesn't include hotel accommodations or food costs.
Do some writing exercises – you could decide to try a different writing exercise each day to improve your skills.
A good idea to try. Looking for writing prompts is a good way to start this.
So, regardless of what kind of writer you are, or perhaps even if you don’t consider yourself to be a writer at all, trying to write daily can really bring great benefits – why not start today?
Agreed. I'm going to try some of these ideas, even if it's not every single day.
I'm a big believer in writing every day.
ReplyDeleteGood post, Jamie.