Hello, all! Welcome back to the thoughts of a writer! If you’ve been following me on Instagram, you probably know that, since January, I have written every single day (one hundred-four days and counting). I get so many questions about how I write every day, what I write, how I keep myself motivated, etc…So I decided to do a blog post about it! If you’re a writer of any kind, from a novel writer to a student who writes essays, I think these tips will help.
1. Try to find a dedicated writing space. Okay, I still struggle with this, big time: but not your bed. I absolutely love writing in my bed. I can snuggle under my blankets, prop up against my pillows, turn on my music, and BOOM. I’m scrolling through Instagram, getting distracted by a book, or falling asleep. I decided to change my dedicated writing space to my desk. Since then, I have been WAY more productive—I’ve been able to write 1.2-1.5k words in about 45 minutes.
2. Find something to inspire you. Whether it’s a writing playlist (check out mine here!) or a type of coffee, keep it beside you. I like having one blanket to cover up with (I’m always cold), a literary-inspired candle, a tea with caffeine to keep me awake, my water bottle, and a paper copy of my book with my notes on it. I’ve also started listening to music directly from my laptop through Spotify instead of through my phone because I don’t feel the urge to pick up my phone to see what song is playing. My desk is a little cluttered, but it’s okay!
3. Experiment with writing at different times. Since I’m in college, my writing times usually switch up depending on my schedule for the semester. For the Fall 2019 semester, I had early classes MWF, so those were my writing days (I was not trying to write every day last semester). I would get to class an hour and a half early so that I had a dedicated time to write. There were some days when I wasn’t feeling inspired, but it allowed me to up that wordcount on my WIP fast! Now that my classes swapped to online, I’m writing whenever I’m able, but it’s mainly at night. I’ve found my peak focus hours go from around 8-10pm, so that’s when I try to write.
4. Before you sit down to write, think about what you want to write. I cannot stress this enough! When I sit down to write, I think about or look over the paper copy of my book to see what needs to happen in the scene/chapter I’m working on. If you have a plot or outline, go over it. I spend a few minutes trying to clearly think about the first thing I want to write down, and once I have that in mind, I start writing. It helps me stay focused, and it helps me write more because I know what I’m doing.
5. Find a group of writers to sprint with. I absolutely LOVE sprinting (the writing kind haha). I can spend hours sprinting if I have the mental endurance. If you’re unfamiliar with writing sprints, a writing sprint is normally a time between 5-20 minutes where you sit down, turn off your phone, and write. When you come out of the sprint, you calculate how many words you’ve written, and then share that wordcount with your group (if you have one). The amount of words I write goes up astronomically when I sprint—I can normally write around 375-575 words in 20 minutes if I’m sprinting (and it’s usually on the higher end). If you don’t have a group to sprint with, DM me on Instagram or shoot me an email! I will more than gladly start a group with you. (And, if you’re a student, try writing essays or assignments while sitting with your friends in the library! This doesn’t work as well for me, but I know it does for a lot of people).
6. Get rid of distractions. This is SO hard—honestly, it’s probably the hardest part about writing every day, but it is super important. I can’t write when I’m around other people. I can get very distracted if someone else is in the area I’m trying to write in (which is why I try to write from home as much as possible). I also get distracted by notifications from my phone—so I turn my phone on night mode. This is especially helpful when you’re sprinting. A lot of people put their phone in another room while writing, but I don’t like to do that because I time myself and calculate how much I’ve written using my phone. Instead, I turn it on night mode and stick it where I can keep an eye on the time.
So, there are my tips! I can’t think of any more at the moment, but if I do, I will certainly write a “part two” to this post. I’ve talked a lot about the actual tips to get you writing every day, so now it’s time to talk about the benefits of writing every day (and there are a lot!).
1. Writing flows easier. I have found that, by working on my WIP every day, when I sit down to write, I can write more and it flows easier. I’ve been more consistent in my voice and my character’s actions because I am continually in my story and I’m used to the ways that they respond. When I would go a month or more without touching my WIP, I had a hard time remembering how a character would react to something or what my voice sounded like.
2. Wordcount goes up a lot faster! One of the nicest things about writing every day is that your wordcount starts to creep higher and higher a lot faster. If you wrote as little as 100 words a day, by the end of the week, you’d have 700 words. Even if it doesn’t seem like a lot, every word counts!
3. Something to look forward to. Writing has always been something I enjoy doing, and since I do it every day, it’s something I get to look forward to. When I spend all day doing school, I get so excited for my hour or two of writing every night—it’s a great way to decompress. Even when I’m so tired that I can only write a sentence, it’s fun for me to get into my book to move the progress forward just a tiny bit.
4. There’s visible progress. Speaking of progress…when you work on your WIP every day, you begin to see yourself grow as a writer. I’ve noticed myself repeating words or phrases…and so I stop doing it! I also have begun to write comments alongside my word document to do things like “go back and edit” or “double check this” or “check this character” to make sure I’m staying consistent throughout. The daily visible progress in your writing is one of the best parts about writing every day!
5. Spending more time thinking about writing. When I think about getting to write at the end of the day, I get excited. I love to think about how I’m going to write a particular scene or what I’m going to do with a character. When you’re working on the same WIP every day, you find yourself thinking about your writing more often! For me, this helps me write even more when I sit down for my writing session.
6. Growing your craft. One of the greatest parts about writing daily is that, whether you know it or not, you are growing your craft. Every day that you take the time to sit down and write something, you’re choosing to work hard at something you enjoy (hopefully). When you do this, you’re growing your craft, in wordcount and in your perspective of it. When I didn’t write daily, I began to hate my current WIP. I thought it was terrible and that I could never make it “publishable.” Now that I see it every day and watch it grow, I’ve begun to change my perspective into something much more positive. It’s easier to see the end of the finish line when I’m enjoying writing it daily!
For me, all of those things are the biggest benefits of writing every day. I (again) cannot think of anymore, but if I do, I will write a “part two” post!
I hope that if you are a writer this encouraged you. There are some days that writing doesn’t flow or days when I’m so tired I can barely think to write a sentence, but the good days far outweigh the bad. If you’re looking for a challenge, I encourage you to try writing every day! My goal is to write every day this year, but I suggest maybe starting out small—try a week, or a month. If you have an Instagram, share your progress and tag me @authorkatiepoland! Also, feel free to use the hashtag #write2020 on your posts or stories if you write every day!
Much love,
Katie