Hellooo everybody! If you're a writer, then you've probably heard that you need to write every day
if you wanna make it. Writing every day can be a huge asset to writers, for obvious reasons. It
helps you establish a routine. It creates a habit. Plus, you usually finish your book
quicker this way. But a lot of writers feel pressured to make this a part of their lives,
to the point where they experience burnout. So today, I'm tackling the oh so difficult question:
Should I really be writing every single day? Short answer? It depends, and I'm going to break
down the 10 elements you should consider right now. Spoiler: A lot of writers are lying to you.
Stick around to find out how!
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Before we get started, a shout out to my friends over at Skillshare for sponsoring today's video!
If you've been following me for a while, you already know I love Skillshare.
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so you can stay focused and follow wherever your creativity or writing journey take you. I am
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They are available in ebook, hardback, paperback, and audiobook all over the place.
I got ‘em linked below. Check ‘em out! And now, let's tackle the age old writerly question:
Should I really be writing every day? Number One (1): Let's get the most important point out of the
way. You do not have to write every day. A lot of writers claim you absolutely have to write every
day to be successful, but here's the truth. Daily writing is an asset. It can help you work quicker
and more efficiently, and if you're able to do it, go for it. But it's not necessary. Never has been,
never will be. In fact, contrary to popular belief, not all successful authors write every
day. I don't write every day. Yes, I do something writing related almost every day. After all, this
is my career. But that could mean filming these videos or doing my accounting, handling my sales,
or designing merch. Personally, I give myself a writing target every week, as opposed to forcing
myself to write every single day. So long as I reach that target by the end of the week, I'm
fine. And that's because this is what works for my schedule. So don't beat yourself up if you can't
write every day. It's by no means a necessity, and anyone who tells you otherwise is full of shit.
Number Two (2): This should be obvious, but you don't have to do anything you don't want to do.
I meet a lot of writers who feel obligated to write every day because their favorite author
does that. “Stephen King writes every day and I want to be just like him!” Alright, you
gonna snort cocaine, too? Look, just because someone else does it, doesn't mean you have to.
Just because someone gives you advice, doesn't mean you have to take it. I'm a huge proponent
for outlining and some authors, including King, are not. And guess what? Both methods are fine!
Whether or not you write every day needs to be based on your habits and needs,
not anyone else's. Which brings us to Number Three (3): Stop comparing yourself to the greats.
“But Jennaaa, a lot of really famous writers write every day.” Good for them! Keep in mind,
many of the authors who preach the gospel of daily writing are doing so from a place of privilege.
They have employees to handle the business and marketing end of their career. They have family
who take care of household duties. And the writers I know who maybe aren't quite so successful but
are still able to write all day every day, usually have a second source of income supporting them,
typically from a spouse or family member. This is by no means a dig. If you have these resources, it
makes perfect sense to use them to your benefit. But not everyone has access to these luxuries,
and you shouldn't compare yourself to people who do. I have an assistant and a house cleaner,
which has freed up a significant amount of my time. But I don't have managers, staff,
or dual income, and thus daily writing isn't yet attainable for me. So stop comparing yourself to
wildly famous writers! Fame brings money, and money pays for labor. Which brings us to Number
Four (4): Consider your priorities. Are you a full time student? If so, that means you've got
classes and homework to manage, all of which are far more important than your work in progress. Are
you a parent to small children? I've yet to meet a parent with full custody of a child younger
than 10 who is able to write every single day. Do you work a nine to five job and have little
obligations outside of that? If yes, then you might be able to write every day when you get
off of work and on the weekends. Take a hard look at your schedule and break down the tasks that are
absolutely non-negotiable. You gotta do ‘em, period. If your life is stuffed to the seams
with obligations, chances are you can't write every day, and that's fine. Instead, focus on
utilizing your free time efficiently and tweak your goals to account for a longer timeframe,
‘cause you're gonna need it. Number Five (5): Consider the sacrifice. If you write every day or
any day, something's gonna get sacrificed. If you're a parent or caregiver, you can't sacrifice
those priorities unless you want someone to die. But I can pretty much guarantee you've got some
daily activities that are an absolute waste of your time. I'm talking about scrolling through
social media, hours spent playing video games, the 20 shows you're binge watching on Netflix.
It's time to kick that shit to the curb. No one has all the time in the world to write. Everyone
sacrifices some mindless self indulgence to get the work done. Think about all the ways you're
wasting time and start utilizing that toward working on your book. Maybe you won't be able to
write every single day, but you'd be surprised how much more content you're able to produce. Number
Six (6): Consider your goals. Are you aspiring to finish one novel in the next five years,
or one novel in the next five months? Are you choosing to publish one book every other year, or
are you focused on the rapid release model? Your publishing goal is going to drastically affect
how you need to write. Rapid release authors publish anywhere between two and 20 books a year,
and you can't do that unless you're writing a lot! Most rapid release authors I know write every day,
or at least most days. Maybe five days a week. But if you're going for a more traditional,
slower release schedule, then consistency and habit are going to be a lot more important as
opposed to speed. So long as you're pumping those words out on schedule, it's fine. It doesn't have
to be every day. And if you absolutely cannot write every day for any of the aforementioned
reasons, then you just need to accept that your publishing process is going to take a bit of time,
and that's fine. Number Seven (7): Experiment. What works better for you? Short but frequent
writing sprints, or long but infrequent word dumping? Do you write better with a group of
writers or on your own? Do you need a distraction or complete silence? You're gonna have to
experiment to determine the writing routine that works best for you, and this includes figuring out
whether or not writing every day is feasible. I know writers who have found that waking up
an hour early and squeezing in some writing time before their day begins has done wonders for their
productivity. I know other writers who schedule half hour writing sprints after work each day.
Try different methods to see what fits better into your schedule and what gels with your creativity.
Number Eight (8): Quality versus quantity. If you're writing every day because it's a consistent
habit that helps you stay focused, fantastic! If you're writing every day with the goal of pumping
out as many words as possible as fast as you can without care or concern for their quality,
that's questionable. We all know rough drafts suck and striving for perfection at this stage is a
lost cause, but so is striving solely for words on the page with no rhyme or reason regarding their
direction. And for some writers, daily writing is just that. It puts the focus on the wrong part of
the writing process. Quantity over quality. This is why certain writing goals, such as NaNoWriMo,
do not work for a lot of writers. They're encouraged to strive toward a specific word count,
and with that goal in mind, they lose sight of what's important: the story! The result is a shit
ton of words you inevitably have to delete because they're unusable. Again, this doesn't apply to all
writers. Some function perfectly fine with this model. You just have to be honest about whether
or not you're one of them. If writing every day just encourages you to word vomit onto the page,
maybe try another method. Number Nine (9): Writing every day doesn't guarantee superior speed. I know
this sounds counterintuitive, but hear me out. Yes, some writers are able to write for an hour
a day and pump out their novels super fast. But other writers devote one entire day per week to
writing and they're able to finish their novels just as quickly, if not quicker. What this comes
down to is the time spent on your manuscript and the quality of that time. For example,
if you write for an hour every day, that's seven hours a week. But if you devote two work days per
week to writing your novel, that's 16 hours, which is obviously more. Additionally, if you
write every day for an hour but it takes you about a half hour to get in the zone, then that means
you're basically only getting three and a half hours of quality writing time per week. But if you
write two work days a week and it takes you the same amount of time to get into the zone, we're
looking at 15 hours of quality writing time. Long story short, more writing days doesn't guarantee
quicker completion. And Number Ten (10): Are you making excuses? I've said it before and I'll say
it again, not every writer can write every day. I don't write every day. That's fine. But writing
consistently–whether it's writing every day, or a few days a week, or you have some kind of writing
schedule at all–is necessary. You can't publish a book unless you write it! A lot of writers tell me
they can't write everyday, or even at all. They're really busy with school, work, family obligations.
Legitimate stuff. But they also have twice a week video game sessions that last
multiple hours. They go bar hopping every weekend, they prioritize the fandoms they're a part of,
and sometimes they’re just too lazy to write. These are excuses. We already covered that sacrifices
need to be made, and you're not making them. And if publishing a book ain't that important to you,
that's fine. In this case, writing is a hobby. But if you're watching this video,
chances are you're hoping to publish your book one day and maybe make it a career. And in that case,
cut the crap. Stop making excuses, unless you're totally cool with never getting a book published
within your lifetime. So that's all I got for you today! Thank you so much to Skillshare for
sponsoring today's video! You guys know I love them. Obviously! I am a student there, as well
as a teacher. If you’re interested in growing your craft or taking any of my amazing classes,
you totally should! And even better, the first 1,000 subscribers who click the link
in the description below will get a free trial of their Skillshare Premium membership. That's
a free trial! Zero dollars! But it's only for the first 1,000 subscribers who click,
so…you know what you gotta do. You gotta click! Don't forget to subscribe to my channel! I post
new videos on Wednesdays, and if you want to be alerted as SOON as I upload, ring that bell.
The Savior’s Champion and The Savior’s Sister are available all over the place! You can get
‘em in ebook, paperback, hardback, or audiobook and you totally should! They’re good books.
Get ‘em! Buy ‘em! They’re linked below. And be sure to follow me on social media! I'm on
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Bye!
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Oh, you must! It's so much fun! She talks about writing and heroism and romance…and sometimes
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