Why You Should Write Every Day
You can't write an 80,000-word book in a day. But you can do it in six months if you commit to writing a page or two every day. That's how most authors do it – slowly, deliberately building up the narrative over weeks, months and years.
There's never enough time to write, but a little goes a long way if you do it regularly.
Here's why writing every day works.
No Ambiguity
When you commit to writing every day, your attitude towards writing changes – it becomes something that cannot be postponed. Instead of wondering whether you'll have enough time today, you'll be trying to figure out when you can do it.
With a dozen other things on your agenda, it's easy to keep postponing it later and later in the day until it's too late and you're too tired.
Writing every day eliminates that decision. You have to write something today. Better to get it done early in the day so that you don't need to think about it.
Build Momentum
Writing is a lot like long-distance running. It takes time before you build up the speed and endurance to finish a marathon. When you take a break for a few months, you'll have to train to get back in shape.
When writing on and off, you're always starting from zero. Your brain doesn't get a chance to adjust to the grind.
Writing a book is certainly a marathon. It's a lot easier when you work on it regularly. You'll stay immersed in the story and build momentum.
Create a Habit
When you write at the same time or the same place every day, your body will start associating those cues with writing. After a certain period, your mind will be ready to write whenever it encounters those cues.
New neural pathways will form. The habit will become ingrained deep inside your grey matter. You don't have to stay at your desk for hours for this to work. A short 15-minute writing session repeated daily comes with the same benefits.
Take advantage of how your brain works to beat writer's block.
Quantity Leads to Quality
Writing is an art. Practice matters. The time you're putting in adds up. It's slow and frustrating at times. You can't see it at first, but the improvements are there and become painfully apparent when you read your past work from months and years ago.
When you write every day, you no longer have to worry if you write enough to progress as a writer. You're doing everything you can.
Make Steady Progress
Writing only once or twice a week, you'll need to produce significantly more words at once. A 500-word daily goal becomes a daunting 3,500-word writing session once per week.
Something unexpected may come up on your writing day and set you back a week's worth of words. Spreading your work over the whole week will make you a more reliable writer.
Be a Writer
People often debate when is the right time to call yourself a writer. Is it when you decide that you want to publish a book? Is it when your first book finally hits the shelves?
When you write every day, writing stops being something you aspire to. It becomes something you do – a core part of your life. There's no more doubt that you are a writer.
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