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How Writing Every Day
Keeps You Writing... Every Day!
By Dana Mitchells
"Write every
day." It's common advice among writers. Yet some writers
may wonder if it's really worth the effort. Factors such as writer's
block or hectic schedules can make it difficult for one to find
time to write every day.
Writing every
day, however, does more than simply instill the discipline to
write at will, rather than just when inspiration strikes. It offers several other very important benefits:
It
Boosts Your Creativity
After writing
every day for a week or two, you will find your creativity beginning
to flourish. Ideas will pop up from out of nowhere. Anything from
a newspaper article to a picture will inspire you. Your creative
self will feel more comfortable in being allowed to churn out
any idea, no matter how small or obscure. Exercising your creative
muscle will allow it to be stronger than ever before.
It
Increases Your Confidence
Many writers
struggle with the effort of writing down a single word. Fear of
rejection, poor writing and perfectionism can be numbing. Instead
of dealing with these fears, some writers elect not to write at
all. Some only write when they are inspired. But good writers
do not rely on inspiration to help them overcome these fears.
They rely on themselves.
Writing something
every day, no matter how little, will help you overcome these
fears. It will cause your confidence to escalate, because each
day that you actually write something is a day when you have faced
your fears. Each day that you write helps you prove to yourself
that you don't need inspiration to get you started. It helps give
you the confidence that you are a writer who can write anything
you want, any time you want.
It
enables you to experiment with your writing ability
Most writers
usually pursue just one form of writing: fiction, nonfiction,
songwriting, scriptwriting, children's writing or business writing.
Writing every day gives you the opportunity to stretch your writing
muscles by trying something different. If your time is limited,
try writing a poem or a song. If you usually write magazine articles,
try writing a short story or essay, which will usually require
less research than you're used to. If you write novels, take a
break from your work-in-progress and test your skills on a technical
article, greeting card verse, or short-short story. If you're
waiting for an answer to a query, spend
that time writing research logs or practice interviews.
It
Helps Overcome Perfectionism
Don't fall into
the trap of thinking that, with only a little time available to
write each day, you should make the "most" of it and
write only your best work. No writer can write something worthy
of a Pulitzer Prize every single day. Rest assured,
there will be days when all you write are jumbles of confusing
words and short stories that lack every single necessary element
of fiction. These episodes of "poor writing" are not
wasted moments. Instead, the very fact that you are writing anything
at all is a reminder that you are willing to write even when your
creativity is at its lowest. You are WRITING, even if what you
write will remain hidden in your desk drawer or is headed straight
for the trash. Don't let perfectionism get in the way of your
desire to write something! While perfectionism helps push you
to write well, it can also hinder your desire to create by convincing
you that everything you create must be of "value." In
reality, every single thing you write is of value, because it's
yours, and is your testament of overcoming your fears.
It
Combats Writer's Block
Writer's block
is another reason why a writer may neglect to write each day.
While this problem can be crippling, it's not impossible to cure.
I've heard many tips on beating writer's block, and here are a
few that I've found most helpful:
Read articles
on writing. I typically read one article on writing every day,
usually on the Internet. I then write down my own version of the
article, my thoughts on it, or a letter
to the editor about how the article helped me. For example, I
read an article about five things an entrepreneur can do to have
a stronger presence on the Web. I turned this into five ways writing
has helped my life, five ways to beat writer's block, five pieces
of writing advice that have helped me the most, etc.
Freewrite. Just sit down and write anything that comes to mind. Describe
the room you are in, the building, the clothes you are wearing,
today's weather. Make a list of things you like, books you've
read, or a jumble of rhyming words. Try timed sessions of freewriting.
Keep a Journal.
You can use a journal for anything at all: Writing, tracking freelance
work, recording daily life, writing down your thoughts, ideas
on parenting, etc. I keep a notebook handy to write down my ideas
and another to keep track of my freelance work.
Writing every
day instills in the writer the discipline to write at will. It
helps build creativity and skil. It
helps writers overcome their fear of writing poorly (and therefore
"wasting time"). The more you flex your writing muscles
and strengthen your vocabulary, the stronger your writing will
be, and the stronger your confidence in your writing will become!
This Article was found at: http://www.articleblast.com/
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