The Pros and Cons of a Daily Writing Habit
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I used to think that if I didn’t write every day in order to be a “real” writer. Or write a certain number of words per day, or hours per day. I believe it was Stephen King who writes 2000 words every day without fail, including holidays (I have his book On Writing here somewhere but am too lazy to go look up an exact quote).
Certainly, no one can argue that he’s not prolific. And neither can you argue about the need for butt-in-chair if you’re actually going to produce anything.
But I’ve learned that for me, forcing myself to write every day (and feel like a guilty failure if I didn’t) was counterproductive. It made me want to write less. In fact, I do pretty much write every day, but it’s not necessarily fiction. Journaling, blog posts, and other writing is just a normal part of my life.
Of course, having a clear, dedicated writing schedule is a must. If it’s one of those things you do when you have time, or when you get around to it, is a recipe for not getting around to it very often, if at all.
Once writing becomes a normal, unquestioned part of your routine, it’s much easier to push yourself through those initial fear-based gremlins that lead you to procrastinate. Your Muse gets the message that it’s time to work, and voila, she shows up more often than not. This isn’t magic. This is your brain creating new neural pathways, the same as it does for any habit.
For some of us, the thought of writing daily is daunting. For others, a rigid schedule feels like a creativity-killer. I have two answers to this:
Consistency is the only thing that leads to results.
There is no one right way to do it. No perfect schedule, no perfect time, no perfect number of words.
In other words, you can be as creative as you want with your schedule, as long as you are consistent in your writing practice.
But “write every day” is so often propounded by teachers and writers – there must be something to it, right?
Yes, and No.
The Pros:
You get automatic consistency. Consistent writing, whatever form it takes, means pages accumulate. When I say “whatever form,” it means: daydreaming about the story, doing research, outlining, story mapping, writing experimental scenes, drafting, revising, polishing, and work toward publication.
You stay connected with the story. You aren’t avoiding it for days, weeks, months, until you have no idea what it’s about, who the characters are, what they want... it can be incredibly difficult to get back into a long-abandoned story (see The Torture of Getting Back to Long-Abandoned Projects for ideas of how to jump-start after a long absence).
You are more likely to enter a flow state more often. Flow is that coveted state when we’re just writing, and we don’t think of time, or what we’re having for lunch, or the laundry that’s piling up. We’re completely immersed in the story. If you’ve had it happen, you know how amazing it is. But it’s hard to get into if you only show up once in a while.
You develop discipline that helps you move past the rough spots. Writing isn’t always flow and ease. It’s hard work, and it takes a tremendous amount of mental energy. There will be plenty of times when it feels like pulling teeth – your own, slowly, painfully, and bloodily.
The Cons:
We all need fallow periods once in a while. We need to sit back, and refill the well. If we’re forcing ourselves to write when our inner tank is on empty, we could grow to hate it, resent it, and fear it. Not the way we want to approach our art! Take an Artist Date, go on an adventure, use your writing time to read.
As great as a schedule is, you may need to change it up, or it can become stale. If you’re falling into a rut, change your writing time or location, or put on some different music, or wear a funky hat – mix it up a little. It could be just the boost you need.
It can lead to beating yourself up if you miss a day. While it can be motivating to see the writing days (and pages) pile up, in reality, life happens. Unless you have a Jeeves in your life to order everything perfectly, there will be times when writing just doesn’t happen. If a rigid schedule leads to shame and guilt, that’s the opposite of motivating. Forgive yourself, and get back to it when you can. If you find yourself not getting back to it, gently investigate why.
It can lead to creative burnout. Mindlessly forcing yourself to write every day is not a fun, juicy way to stay creative. It leads to resentment, fatigue, and worst of all, poor writing. Sometimes you have to push through a difficult patch, but when you push yourself too hard for too long, it could lead to a crash-and-burn that keeps you from writing for a very long time.
So remember: it’s all about what works for YOU. If a daily habit is your goal, go for it! Just be mindful of the cons I've listed above. Do create some kind of consistent schedule, though, and follow through with your commitment to it. When it feels stale, create a different one. The only thing that matters is consistency. There may be times when writing every day is what you want – when you’re burning to work on a hot project, or when you’re on deadline – but there may be other times when you have a less intense schedule. As long as you don’t abandon your creative work altogether, you’ll find success.
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