The Magic of Writing Daily

Writing Daily is More Powerful Than We Realize!

In today’s world, it often feels impossible to write every single day. Some writers have an hour-long commute, some have exhausting jobs, some have multiple jobs, some struggle to get inspired, and some simply have too many demands of their time. Does this sound like you?

I will tell you a sad but simple truth. Your story will never get written unless you make time, sit down, and write it.

You can’t edit an empty manuscript. An agent can’t read an empty book. A publisher can’t profit from empty pages. You’ve got to get it down on paper. It really is that simple.  

But, of course, writing an 80,000 word manuscript doesn’t happen overnight or even in one month. How does it happen? By writing consistently. You’ve got to build the habit of writing before the words will flow.

Start small. Sit down one day and write for 5 minutes. Do that daily for 2 weeks. Then, try writing for 10 minutes daily for 2 weeks. After that, shoot for 15 minutes or more… you get the picture. Before you know it, 2 months have passed, and you’ve made the habit of writing every day. So, start small. Your magnum opus will come in bits and pieces of the words you write daily.

Your magnum opus will come in bits and pieces of the words you write daily.

Still don’t understand why writing daily is important? Let’s compare two people. So, we’ve got Bri and Alex. Bri is a true writer, she follows the muse, she gets doses of inspiration at 2AM, and her words flow like magic. She’s writing a comedy fiction that would blow the world away. There’s just one problem. She waits on the muse and only writes in sleep-deprived bursts of inspiration 7 times a year. If each dose of inspiration is 2 hours, then in one year she has written for 14 hours. Averaging 500 words an hour, that’s only 7,000 words a year.

Now let’s look at Alex. Alex is not a natural born writer; he learned the skill in his high school journalism class. He enjoys writing mysteries as it feels like a puzzle. He is methodic, he doesn’t write from inspiration but rather writes daily as a task, he wants to be a mystery writer and enjoys the meticulous logic of his novels. He writes just 15 minutes a day which equates to 7.5 hours per month. Averaging again at 500 words an hour, in one year he has written 45,000 words a year.

 So start small. Build the habit of writing daily.

It will be much easier for Alex to edit and eventually publish a full-length novel because he has already written 45,000 words. Meanwhile, Bri will need another 6 years before she matches Alex’s 45,000.

So start small. Build the habit of writing daily. Then, with dedication and consistency, watch your writing dreams become a reality.

Much love & happy writing!