Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire. —William Butler Yeats
Writers Write
As writers, we’re often concerned with the quality of our writing. We explore craft and read great books and consider how they’re made, and how we can incorporate those ideas into our own work. That’s good.
But the most important thing any writer can or will do is to write. You never know when a great idea is going to show up, and sometimes it doesn’t appear until after you begin writing. In fact, that’s when they usually do show up!
That’s why it's so important to make a commitment to writing.
It Might Sound Crazy, But…
I’m going to encourage you to write every single day. Why? Because it’s actually easier than writing once a week. You can build a daily habit more quickly and powerfully than a weekly one because you have more opportunities to reinforce the habit.
You Don’t Have To Be An Early Bird
The reason every article on the internet suggests that you write in the morning is because most people already have a morning routine. You wake up, you brush your teeth, you eat something, then you head out the door or to the desk to work. Those things are anchor habits—you already do them regularly. So if you decide that you’re going to wake up and write before you brush your teeth, you’re tying your new habit to an established habit. That makes it easier to accomplish.
But! Some people are not morning people, so writing in the morning is not gonna work.
What Then?
I have two suggestions:
- tie writing to your midday meal or
- tie writing to your bedtime routine.
You do not need to write for long. You will be amazed at how much you can accomplish in half an hour, but even five minutes will boost your mood and leave you feeling more energized.
Plan to write for five minutes daily, with a couple of longer sessions to really dig in. It’s like working out: the hardest part is getting to the gym. Once you’re there, it’s pretty easy to talk yourself into exercise.
And remember: Bookflow has a fresh prompt daily, so that you can warm up your creative brain and possibly spark a new scene or story idea.
