5 Tips on How to Write Every. Single. Day.
By: Lisa Martens
Tags: Writing Tips, Writing, Blogger, Creative Writing, Blogging

Here’s how I write every single day:

Remove the preciousness.

Let go of the idea that the thing you write has to be perfect, has to generate a lot of attention, and has to be both captivating and meaningful at the same time. Sometimes something can be captivating and not meaningful, and sometimes something can be meaningful and not captivating. But if you wrap yourself up in expectations, you probably won’t write anything at all.

I’ll be honest with you: the first blog post you create probably won’t get much traction. Some do, but those are the outliers. And that’s fine! Even if you don’t create the most click-baity of articles, if you publish consistently and your work has value for people, you’ll find your audience.

But first, remove the preciousness. The blank page is not pristine and pure and perfect — It is a coloring book. It wants to be scribbled on, messed up, crumpled, and begun again.

Remove the preciousness, and begin playing. This is the internet…there are unlimited pieces of blank paper. They only have worth when you give them worth.

Walk. Swim. Be active. Socialize. Step away.

Don’t write.

At least, don’t set aside large chunks of time for writing.

Never say to yourself: I’m going to write all day today.

Instead, tell yourself: I have to write this blog post in an hour, because I’m going for a walk then.

Human beings work when we have time limits. The more time you give yourself, the more likely you are to procrastinate. If you do need eight full hours to write one blog post, you can break it up and write a little bit each day.

If you want to write…do other things. Give yourself a time limit. Give yourself that pressure of “If I don’t write this right now, I’ll have to wait until the kids are asleep/the laundry is done/after I come back from my walk.”

When writing is something special that you have the opportunity to do…as opposed to a chore you have to do…you’ll do it with more determination and eagerness.

Recognize that no one is making you do this.

Writers and other artists sometimes feel a strange pressure that we put upon ourselves.

Society doesn’t ask us to write. Literally no one asks us to write. It’s something we do because we want to.

But sometimes, we don’t feel that way. We might see creativity as a way out of our current lives and problems…If I could just write a novel, if I could just have a successful blog, if I could do this, it’ll be my way “out.”

Especially now, with people feeling insecure about their jobs, this pressure is mounting.

It’s important to keep track of the fact that no one is making you do this. You could create a viral blog post and then never make money again. Hell, you could create a viral blog post and not make a single dime. Alternatively, you could spend years writing and just make a moderate amount of $100-$300 a month.

Which, hey, it’s the phone bill and then some. That’s not bad!

Remove the pressure that writing will utterly transform your life, and remember that this is something you’re doing primarily for fun.

So don’t feel bad about not writing — You don’t have to, any more than you have to play video games.

Realize you’ll always have topics.

Sometimes, writers are afraid they’ll run out of things to say.

You won’t. Forget about this immediately. You might continue to revisit the same topics, over and over. I frequently write about women who regret marrying and having kids, medical trauma and anxiety, and PTSD. This isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but my stories around these topics definitely still get traction.

You don’t need to worry about being trendy. Just keep writing. Eventually, something you write will line up with the news cycle. But if you’re not a news writer or present yourself as someone who keeps up with trends, you don’t have to keep up with the ever-changing news cycle.

Write about topics you enjoy. Even if it’s dated…like gender roles, for example…it will resonate with someone. If you thought to create it, then there are still people out there who thing about it, too. Many people, I’ve learned, still struggle with the idea that as a woman, there are certain duties and obligations they have to fulfill, even though it’s a topic I used to fear was “dated.”

Ask what feeling you want to provoke in others.

I think this is more important than the topic. What impact do you want your work to have? Do you want people to laugh? To be angry? To be driven to act?

I try not to use anger and fear as motivators. Anger, fear, and shock are good clickbait, and I probably would have more readers and clicks if I utilized these emotions.

But I have made a personal choice to try instead to evoke humor, hopefulness, and introspection. That’s not to say my pieces never provoke anger — Sometimes they do, especially when I talk about sexism, my experiences with racism, and when I’m satirical.

However, when I create something and imagine my audience, I am trying to provoke a specific positive reaction in them.

Instead of worrying about the craft, format, and timeliness of a piece, ask yourself what kinds of feelings you want your ideal reader to come away with.

I usually imagine my reader as one person. It’s impossible to write something for everyone. I imagine she’s one person, probably a woman, who has similar values as myself.

This might seem limiting, and I know that not all of my readers fit that description, and I’m not saying that they should. It’s just a tool to help me write. Thinking of your audience as the entire internet is not helpful. You know around who your audience is — How they lean politically, what their hobbies are, what they like and dislike.

Your audience shouldn’t always dictate everything you write, but if you’re writing to be read, and not writing a diary, eventually you must consider how the work will be received. After all, you do want people enjoying what you write…I think any writer will agree that they want people to read their work by choice.