Maybe DON’T Write Every Day… at least, not the kind of writing you think

If I were to ask a bunch of authors to give me their top tip for new writers, I wouldn’t mind betting that at least a few of them would offer up some version of this: 

“You should write every day.”

Sounds simple enough, doesn’t it? 

Does it? 

I’m going to stick my neck out here and say no, writing every day does not sound simple. Or, even if the concept of writing every day sounds simple, delivering on it does NOT. 

There are days when you have to work, the car needs to go to the mechanic, the kids have sports practice, the cat has vomited on the rug, you need to go grocery shopping, or even (heaven forbid) you just need some downtime to give your brain a rest. None of these things mean you aren’t cut out to be a writer, they just mean you are a regular person with a regular life that requires give and take. 

So, asking yourself to write every day is actually asking a lot. At least, this is true if you interpret the “write every day” advice to mean that you should be writing stuff that will end up in your book every day. I will happily look you in the eye and tell you that I cannot and will not sign up for that. I would be setting myself up for certain failure. Why? Because I love the days when I stick to my routine and the writing happens just the way I planned, but I ADORE the days when I throw the routine out of the window and just go with the flow instead. For me those days are gold. They are energising. Those days feel a little bit naughty and they are 100% essential if I am ever going to maintain a consistent writing habit.

Does that mean I’m not a writer? I don’t think so. Why? Because even though I don’t write my novel every single day, I typically write SOMETHING every day. I have a journal that (surprise surprise) gets intermittent attention, and this journal is often appealing on those non-routine, recharge-the-batteries days. Also, often while I’m out walking my dogs an idea will spark, so I’ll zoom home to write it down before I inevitably forget. I might solve a plot hole that’s been bothering me, or think up an awesome character trait that I want to assign to one of my characters. It could be anything really, and as long as I write down the key elements of this new vision I know I’ll be able to run with it later - on a regular writing day. 

So, on those days when I give myself permission not to write, I almost always still put words on a page. I give myself  freedom to write however I like, and I rarely write anything spectacular, but that is okay. It is no different to physical training where some days you push yourself to the limit and other days are just about turning the legs over to keep your muscles supple. Writing on your rest days in a loose, low stakes kind of way will maintain your daily writing practice and keep your writing muscles in good shape too.

Okay, so how would you describe your weekly writing habits as they stand today? Do you know how many words you’ve written this week? How many hours you’ve spent writing? How many days this week you’ve shown up at your computer (or notebook, or phone, or whatever)? 

If you can’t answer those questions it is okay. This is exactly the point of this post, and I’m going to help you with this. I have created a Writing Tracker that you can use to record your current writing routine, and you can download the tracker here. 

This Writing Tracker is not a place for you to log writing sessions you intended to do, or wished you’d done, or plan to catch up on later - this is the place where you keep it real. I want you to log the facts and nothing else. Then you can use the data you gather to better understand your writing vibe.

Now, I want you to log your writing sessions for the next 2 weeks (4 weeks would be even better) to get a good picture of what your current habits look like. Don’t you dare try to change or ‘fix’ your writing routine at this point. For now, we’re just gathering baseline information, painting the picture of you as a writer right now.

Then, once you’ve gathered your data, study it. Look for patterns. Look for signs of what works for you and what does not. Were you able to write 600 words in library on a Tuesday night but only able to write 200 words at your favourite cafe on Sunday morning? Are you a natural early bird or does your best work come to you once the family is in bed and you’ve got the night all to yourself? You’ll quickly see which sessions you struggled through versus the ones where you were flying.

Rely on facts over feelings. What do the numbers look like on your tracker? You might feel like you’ve been putting in the hours your manuscript deserves, but does the data captured by your Writing Tracker back that up? The facts (in this case, the Writing Tracker) will give you a clear and unbiased assessment of your current habits. Once you have identified and understand your habits you can get busy tailoring your weekly writing routine for maximum results. 

Write on!