1500+ Days of Writing: An Interview with Shu-Hsien Ho

As many of you know, I often talk about the power of the 15-minute writing practice. It’s amazing what you can accomplish with the simple commitment to your writing for a few minutes every day. 

The phrase “don’t break the chain” is often attributed to Jerry Seinfeld, talking about the discipline of maintaining a streak of creative practice. Put the two together, and you can turbocharge your productivity. 

After hearing from my friend and coaching client, Shu-Hsien Ho, about her amazing writing streak when she hit 1500 days in a row, I thought, I gotta share this! So I asked her if she would mind answering a few questions. She graciously said yes, so here we are! 

1) What is your current writing streak? Why did you start?

Throughout my life, I have had periodic bouts of journaling and story writing, but it wasn't until January 1, 2017 that I decided to create a daily practice. I wanted to see how my writing would develop if I made a commitment on this level. I began counting my daily practices. To my surprise, this was very motivating. At the moment, I'm on Day 1554!

2) Do you have a minimum amount of time or words you aim for each day?

Since I'm a full-time writing teacher, I knew that it wasn't realistic to demand a certain word count each day. And I knew that I would get discouraged if I felt that I was falling behind. In the end, I chose a very doable 15 minutes per day. If I got on a roll and had more time, I would sometimes spend 1-3 hours. But if I missed a day, I wouldn't beat myself up. I would just keep counting the next practice.  

3) Do you have any "rules" about what you work on during this time?

The daily creative practice is very flexible and open. I can do anything that feeds my imagination or feeds a particular project. Over these last few years, I've done many free-writing journal entries, written haikus, made collages, jotted down brainstorming questions, taken research notes, created mind maps for a character, sketched settings, experimented with multiple versions of a scene, and counted time spent talking with a friend about a story or poem. 

4) What gave you the idea to attempt a streak like this? 

I had heard that true mastery of a complex skill develops over 10,000 hours of focused practice. Many authors also recommend the daily act of putting ideas on the page. A particular story idea kept resurfacing in 2016, so when my friend Genee gave me a beautiful turquoise journal for a Christmas gift, I decided that it was time to go after my childhood dream of writing a complete novel. 

5) How do you keep it up? You must have challenges as we all do, with time, energy, other distractions, etc. 

Like all teachers, I have a very full schedule from September to mid-June, so I learned to write at all hours of the day and night: before breakfast, during a lunch break, while waiting at the doctor's office, after dinner, just before going to bed. When I have a break or a vacation, I build in time to write for fun. After a while, it became addicting. I wanted to see how many days of practice I could complete. When I feel discouraged, my friends and family are very supportive and tell me to keep going. I go on Artist Dates to feed my creativity (Julia Cameron's wonderful concept). I'm part of a writing critique group, call on my own writing coach (Jana!), and continue to take workshops and attend conferences from SCBWI. 

6) What have you accomplished so far during this streak? 

It's surprising what can happen with small daily goals:

* I filled eleven and a half journals

* I wrote 545 random poems in 2020 (Writing in free-verse became a source of solace during the pandemic. Yes, I became a bit obsessive about counting them too. Procrastination and writer's block for my novel contributed as well!)

* I completed version 2.5 of my draft historical fiction novel.

7) Do you have any advice for someone wanting to jump in and start their own streak? 

Be very gentle with yourself. 

Do what is fun! 

It's okay if you skip a day. But then jump right back in. Set the timer and spend 15 minutes. Tiny chunks of time can make a difference. 

I allowed myself to write a lot of junk and a lot of bad poems. I also gave permission to complain and vent onto the page.

Count all your days (and blocks of time, if that helps) for this creative journey.

Celebrate all the completions! 

Shu-Hsien Ho is a Writing Coach for Children & Teens at BeyondtheBoxLearning.com