5 Things I Learned by Writing Every Day
By: Leanne Johnson
Tags: Writing Life, Writers On Writing, Things I Learned, Writing, Habits For Success

We’ve all heard the advice: You must write every day if you want to be a real (read: successful) writer. I thought this was crap, until I made it a priority.

As of today, June 5, 2019, I have written every day since October 30, 2018. Instead of making you do the math, that’s 218 days. I don’t want to jinx it, but that’s almost 3/4 of a year. That’s also insane.

Now, I’ll admit, not every one of those days have been writing on a project. More often than not, it’s more of a journal. It’s been my “Morning-ish Pages” practice. But now I’ve developed the habit, I’m trying to write for Medium, or on a project, every day.

In the past 218 days, I’ve learned a few things about a daily writing practice.

Dedication

Trust me, you don’t build a streak of 218 days without more than a little dedication. I try my best to write as early in the morning as I’m able, but somedays (particularly weekends), I forget. I have, more than once, jumped out of bed at 11:30pm to rush to the computer.

I’ve tied writing daily to other, equally essential, things in my life, like my morning coffee. The full cup of coffee triggers the need to get into the office and in front of the computer.

A day where I don’t write feels too strange and I have to get something down to feel right again. And that’s just the place I need to be.

Consistency Over Quality

This is the biggest lesson I’ve learned so far. It’s not about how much you write every day, or even how good those words are. Getting words on the page is more important.

I use a website called 4 the Words that gamifies the daily writing habit. It tracks my streak, total words and time, while my character battles monsters and goes on quests. The only thing I have to do is write at least 444 words on the site every day. 444 words isn’t a lot and I can achieve that in 10–15 minutes. It’s common for me to write many more than the required 444.

Not Every Day is the Same

Some days, the words are there and flow with little to no problem. Others, it’s like pulling teeth from a wild lynx. And that’s how it goes.

There’s nothing wrong with you on the days that the words aren’t happening!

Even what I write varies by day. As mentioned, some days I’ll journal, others I’ll write a story for Medium. Other days I’ll work at outlining a new adventure or story. Sometimes I actually work on my novel.

Remember, something is better than nothing.

Failing More Comfortably

This is especially true since I started writing on Medium. Not every article I write will succeed. They don’t all get curated or promoted by a publication. And that’s okay.

The days where getting the words on the page used to feel like a failure. They’d send me into a spiral of Imposter Syndrome, making me question my career choice and abilities. Now, not so much. I’ve accepted that I’m not going to write my best words every day.

Writing daily’s taught me I can fail without the world crashing down around me. And when I do, I get back up again the next day and start again.

It’s Hard Work

A lot of people will tell you that writing every day will make you a better writer, but that’s not true. Sorry.

Dashing down a handful of words every day won’t make you a better writer. You have to work at writing to become a better writer. It’s a skill that needs practice and exercise to grow and develop.

Because I journaled for the better part of my streak, I haven’t gone back to look at what I wrote. So, I don’t think it’s made me a better writer, but it has reminded me of how much work it is to grow. And how much I love to write.

So, do I think that daily writing is a necessary part of being a writer? No, I don’t. Writing daily is a great way to build a habit and work toward a goal. It’s much more important to find a process that works for you and stick to it.