I Wish I Wrote Every Day, But I Don't Always

And you don't have to either

Mindset, motivation and inspiration for novelists—with a dash of instruction about writing craft added in. There’s no one approach to writing that works for everyone, but I can help you find what works for you. Subscribe (free or paid) to get the fuel you need for your writing career.

Photo by Susana Coutinho on Unsplash

“How we spend our days, is, of course, how we spend our lives.” ~ Annie Dillard

I don’t know about you, but when I look back on my life from the end of it, I want it to have been full of writing. I want to have published many novels, written tons of words, had an impact through my writing.

And so, of course, it stands to reason that to accomplish this I should write every day. And sometimes, I do. I love it when I get into a pattern of writing every day. Because there’s this glorious thing that happens when I do: momentum.  When I get the momentum rolling, it’s like I can’t stop. I live in my story even when I’m not writing. It’s easy to get myself to the page, easy to maximize the file (because of course it’s always open on my computer) and start writing.

It's the best feeling in the world. There’s nothing better.

And yet too often I don’t write every day. Okay, correction, I don’t write on my current novel-in-progress every day. (Doesn’t mean I don’t think about it.) But I do write something most days. I write these Substack posts, or in my journal. I make notes about my novel that I later go back and read and think huh?

But somehow, in my brain, some neuron path got twisted and that, to me, doesn’t count as writing. Because real writers (read: real novelists) write every day. In another twisted neuron path in brain, these writers wake up in their gorgeously decorated and clean home, magically transport themselves to their pristine desks that look out over green fields and hedgerows (these writers are always Brits), and start writing. No need for showers or taking children or grandchildren to school. No need to eat. All they do is write. And at the end of the day, they press send on the pages and send them to their agent who writes back and says we’re going to sell this book at auction for a million dollars.

Honestly, I’ve been in this business for a gazillion years, I’ve been trad (ish) published and I’ve indie published and I know this is as far from the truth as a fantasy can get. (Unless you’re Danielle Steele and then all this happens for real only it’s in Paris.) And yet still I believe it.

So all this is by way of saying that I don’t have to write every day and neither do you. It is an absolutely lovely and wonderful goal, but it may not work for your life. I once had a client who cleared away one weekend a month to write his novel and that worked out fine for him. I had another client who wrote his novel on his phone on work breaks—whenever he felt like it. Different strokes for different folks is the credo I live by.

But here’s the million-dollar question: what if you desire to write every day, you have the time and the mental bandwidth but you just don’t do it? What do you do then?

--For starters, you could commit to Nanowrimo. National Novel Writing Month is less than a week away and if anything can get you into the habit of writing every day, it can. You need to write just under 1700 words a day to “win” and get in 50,000 words by the end of the month. And yeah, if you’re not writing at all to suddenly amp up to that daily word count every day for thirty days might seem a touch unattainable.

--So maybe try starting small. Set small goals, like 250 or 500 words a day. Some days you’ll struggled to get this number of words in and some days you might magically find yourself going farther. Either is okay.

--Engage in writing-supportive activities. You can do side writing, about your story, but not actually in it. This is a great way to prime the pump. You can read, which often sparks ideas for your own work. You can journal or write to a prompt just for the hell of it.

—Lower your standards. Throw words at the page without worrying about them. Write fast, write badly. In truth, this is the path through which your true voice will emerge.

--Or you can say to hell with it all and take a break. The world is not going to stop if you put your novel aside for a bit. If you’re going to do this, though, my the rule is this: if you’re not getting back to it but the desire is still there, seek help. Hire a creativity coach, find a writing group, talk to a therapist. Honestly, there’s nothing worse than a dream dying inside you. Don’t let that happen to you.

I’d love to know your thoughts on this. Do you write every day? Beat yourself up if you don’t? Have a way to get back to the page after a break? Leave a comment. Or you can hit reply if this email landed in your inbox.