The Discipline & Necessity of Writing Every Day

Today I thought I’d share some thoughts on writing every day. As a writer, the best thing I think I’ve done for myself in this pursuit is getting into a daily writing habit.

It started when I first began working on my novel in 2013. Back then, I was so excited to be writing that it was easy to write every day because it was all so fresh and new, and I had the motivation of inspiration.

As time wore on, it actually became harder for me to wake up every day before work to write, because a lot of that initial pizzazz faded and I was left with actually trying to tell a story.

Don’t get me wrong, there are few things I love more than writing, but it ain’t always easy!

But I persisted. Now I write five days a week without fail. When I was waiting for my beta readers to read my novel, I worked on my short story collection. And when I was done that, I went back to editing another short story, The Man in the Red Paisley Suit.

I think writing every day is crucial. When you’re writing a novel, the practice of daily writing keeps your momentum up, even during the slog through the middle, when it’s easy to give up. And when you’re not writing a novel, or working on a specific project, writing every day keeps the habit ingrained and allows you to cleanse your palette with something else.

Now I find I must write every day otherwise I can hardly live with myself!

I wish I had better advice for how to write every day other than, “Just do it,” but that’s really what it all comes down to. You can even start with just 10 minutes a day. This is a great way to get your feet wet, and it’s not too significant a chunk of time to take out of your day. But that too requires that you sit your tush down and actually write, especially when you’re not feeling too inspired or motivated. But that’s when it’s most critical to keep going!

No matter how inspired or blocked you feel, it’s crucial to write anyway.

I’ll leave you with a great quotation on the subject:

“The warrior and the artist live by the same code of necessity, which dictates that the battle must be fought anew every day.” — Steven Pressfield, The War of Art