The Practice of Writing
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?
Should You Write Every Day, Most Days, or Only Sometimes?
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