As a writer, it’s important that you make time for your writing. I know that sounds like a given, but with so many other commitments on your time, it’s easy to forget to make writing a priority too.
As a blogger or writer (especially if you are writing books) it’s important to get into the habit of writing daily. Why? Because like anything else, writing is a skill that can be forgotten if you don’t work on it, and writing daily is the best way to ensure that you are constantly learning and growing as a writer.
It’s also a good way to learn the discipline necessary to hit deadlines and produce books. There will be days when you don’t feel like writing, but if you’re serious about becoming a writer, you can’t just give in at the first sign of it becoming difficult. If you do, then one day becomes two and two days become a week, and before you know it, six months have gone by and you haven’t written anything.
Forming a habit is a good way to ensure this doesn’t happen to you. It is much easier to form a habit than to break one which is good news when the habit is something you want. If you make the effort to write daily for a month or two, it will become a habit – an ingrained part of your daily routine – and that will make it so much easier to continue to write daily going forward.
Below you will find three things to do to help you get into the habit of writing daily.
Schedule a Time and Stick to It
When you write will depend on your own circumstances. Think about things like work and family commitments and select a time that you know will work with your routine. It might mean you have to miss half an hour’s TV time, but if you’re serious about writing, that is really a small price to pay to get your novel written.
Once you’ve chosen a time, schedule it in on your calendar or to do list the same way as you would any other task you need to get done each day. This will give you a concrete reminder to do your writing. And let’s be honest, it feels damned good to tick something off a last as done doesn’t it.
Accept now that there will be times when something comes up and you’ll have to change your schedule. Fit your writing in at a different time. Or in extreme circumstances, you might have to skip it altogether.
The point above contradicts everything I’ve said so far, but keep things in perspective. If say a family emergency crops up, that has got to take priority over your writing. In this kind of case, don’t beat yourself up about missing your writing time – just get back into it as soon as things settle down. Where it’s dangerous to miss a day is when it’s for no better reason than “I don’t want to”. That is the sort of thing you have to push through.
Write – Even If It’s Just 100 Words
There will be days when you’re just not feeling the flow. This is normal and happens to us all. You can always work on something else – so if your novel is stumping you, write a blog post. If you feel uninspired for a blog post, write a poem, even if you know no one will ever get to read it.
Even if you just write 100 words – words that you know will be deleted the next day and rewritten – write them anyway to form the habit. Forcing yourself to sit down, suck it up, and write will help with your mind set too. Once you accept that you will be writing whether you really feel like it or not, the negative voices in your head will stop telling you not to write, that you have nothing to say etc. and you’ll find you’re much more motivated when it comes to your writing time.
Look for Inspiration
If you’re really struggling for inspiration on what to write, look for some writing prompts that grab your imagination. You can check out some of mine here, or just type “writing prompts” and the genre you fancy writing in into Google for a whole host of suggestions.
You can either follow the prompt exactly, or take it in whatever direction you fancy. That’s the fun part of a writing prompt. Everyone will interpret it differently and you might just find you create something amazing. You might even find that the short piece sparks something in you and a new idea for a novel is born.
Do you write daily? If so, do you have any tips to add for someone who wants to start writing daily? Let me know in the comments 🙂
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I agree that setting a specific time of day for writing is ideal. It is tough to stick to a rigid schedule in a world of 24/7 interruptions. While I do write something everyday, the content might be a draft for a book, an interview,a newspaper article, a teaching segment or a book review. In an ideal world, I would be able to set aside an hour or two specifically to write my own books, but that is not always possible.
I think as long as you’re writing something it keeps you in the habit. How nice would it be to have time to work on our own books every single day!
I find that many times I start writing and even if it sucks, I get into the zone. I keep it all in case later I want to develop the ‘junk’ into something more. #AnythingGoes
It’s funny how often you get into the zone once you push yourself to start when you’re not in the mood for it
I’ve heard that some authors go to their office between a certain time and focus on work. They don’t wait to be in the mood. It’s a discipline. xx
It’s definitely important to push yourself on days when you’re not in the mood x
Good tips!
I try to write something each day, but it’s not always possible, unfortunately, due to work, family and stuff … But I agree, it’s a good habit to get into if you can.
I like this post as it makes writing realistic and allows you to forgive yourself if you just do a few words on a particular day. I recently revisited an old short story of mine and was amazed at how different it would be if I wrote it now – we learn all the time even if we don’t always feel that way #AnythingGoes
It’s so strange looking back on old works isn’t it! Fantastic way to see how far you’ve come though.
As a blogger rather than a writer, I try to write something once a week. Sometimes it’s more but never less otherwise, as you say, it becomes a chore or it’s forgotten. I often write 2 posts in the time to be shared throughout the week. #anythinggoes
Getting into a habit of writing every day can be really helpful in creating and like you said it doesn’t have to be massive amounts, even 100 words is a good start X #anythinggoes
Good advice. I struggle to find time for much writing all in one go so starting with 100 words a day is a good idea. #AnythingGoes
I love writing now, I never had a knack for it, but then i found my voice. Its like an output for me. #AnythingGoes
It’s amazing when you find your voice and the words flow easily!
Some great advice, I am trying to get my mojo back now that we have moved house! #AnythingGoes
I think writing is both a vocation and a career so I agree that you have to knuckle down and do it even when inspiration is missing #anythinggoes
I’m good about writing daily in November. The rest of the year is more difficult. But, like you said, it’s an important habit to start!