by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
It’s easy to read a bit of self-righteousness into posts where writers tell other writers to write every day. Or maybe it’s smugness. Or maybe it’s not really there at all, but I’m just reading it into the post.
That being said, I do write nearly every day. I’m not going to say that I necessarily write when I’m sick or on Christmas morning or every day when I travel. But I do write most every day. Even on the above-mentioned days, I’ll likely still write, but I’ll write less. I’ll call it a successful writing day if I crank out 100 words.
The reason I push myself that way is simply because I get rusty really quickly. And, if I write, even a tiny amount, every day, then my writing practice is almost like muscle memory. This makes it sound like autopilot, which it’s not, but it’s pretty similar to it–I just sit down and immediately hop right back into the story.
But it’s different for every writer. There are some writers who, with all of their personal responsibilities, couldn’t possibly write every day. There are some who just don’t need to…they can write as much once a week as I write every day for a week and without feeling rusty.
For me, writing daily is a time-saver. It would take me longer to try to recapture my voice, my storyline, my direction, etc. after a few days off than it would to simply push out a few words.
Oddly enough, it works the same for blogging. If I get ahead on my editorial calendar for the blog, that’s fine…but I still need to write posts several days a week or else I have a harder time getting back into it.
There are a lot of different opinions on this, though, and I thought I’d share some of them. I think it’s good to evaluate what sort of writer you are: is it hard to hop back into your story after breaks? Is it easy to? Does it mess up your writing routine to step away from your book for a while or does it give you a needed refresher?
These posts may help (it’s also interesting to read other writers’ takes on the subject):
6 Benefits of Writing Every Day by Lynda R. Young
Flip the Script: Write Some Days by Jael McHenry
Why You Need to Write Every Day by Jeff Goins
Maybe You Don’t Need to Write Every Day by Annie L. Scholl
How to Be Inspired to Write Every Day: 10 Ideas by Bridget McNulty at Now Novel
How about you? Do you write every day? Most days? Or whenever you can? Do you have a hard time getting back into your story’s world after breaks?
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I don’t know about writing every day, but I do know that if I don’t write for any length of time, it’s harder to write. And when it’s hard to write, I’m less likely to do it. Which turns into a cycle of procrastination and self-loathing. I’m better off if I take a ‘NaNoWriMo’ mindset – I’m going to sit down and write 50K words this month, or until this book is done. Which I really need to do right now. Break the cycle and all that. Blerg.
That’s exactly the way I am, too. I just don’t want to have the writing be *harder* than it already is and that’s really what’s behind my writing schedule. I know you’ll be able to break the cycle…you always seem to be able to push through the resistance!
I’m with you on writing regularly, Elizabeth. I find that daily writing keeps my thoughts flowing, and helps me to focus. For me, it’s a lot like regular exercise. You don’t have to go to the gym (or write) for hours and hours. But you don’t get the benefit of it if you don’t do it regularly.
That’s a good analogy! Plus, if you just go to the gym for hours and hours once a week, it really hurts, ha. Much the same with writing…harder to get into the mindset (at least for me).
100 words could be cranked out in 5-10 minutes and we all have that in a day.
It definitely doesn’t take long!
Like you, I’m always wary of any advice that says ‘always’ or ‘never’. We all have our own idiosyncrasies that we have to deal with along with our regular lives. I don’t write daily, but it helps when I do. It’s easy to lose the flow and the voice and having to re-read is a time suck. But, there are large stretches where life interferes and then I just do what I can :)
And life does have a way of doing that! When it happens to me, I never try to make up for lost time…just make my goal for the one day. I hate the feeling of trying to catch up–it’s very demotivating, ugh.
I try to write every day, but i never seem to accomplish it. Stopping does pull you out of the flow and makes getting back into the zone much harder.
It definitely slows me down. For me, it’s primarily a question of efficiency. But life does get in the way sometimes!
If not writing, I’m editing one of my novels. And, when the writing bug hits me, it hits hard. I was up in bed writing until 11:30 last night.
That’s fantastic! I wish I could work at night…I’m just exhausted by the time 9 p.m. rolls around. Thanks for stopping by!