Has anyone written about writing habits yet? I don’t think they have yet and it’s something I really believe in so I’ll do that today. If it’s slipped my mind and it has been done and I’m being redundant, then I apologize in advance.
A huge pet peeve of mine however is when writers complain that they haven’t written because of writer’s block or that they just haven’t had time. Or when some of my friends who once aspired to be writers give me gloomy prophecies about how in the “real world” it’s almost impossible to make a living and still write.Writing is a job and a habit. You have to decide to write for a portion of time, or up to a certain amount of words, and do that ever single day. Because life, whether it’s school, a family, a job or whatever your responsibilities are, it gets in the way. It hovers around and demands a lot of your time.
I make myself sit down and write every day. I typically allow myself to have weekends off, just as if it were a proper job for me. Though if I feel like writing on weekends I won’t not do it because I’m “off.” In the spirit of full disclosure I’ll admit I haven’t written anything in months. I’ve been editing the last novel I wrote though, which means not creating anything new but it is an important step in the writing process.
It’s challenging to write every day. It’s easier to write with inspiration which you probably won’t have every day, but writing won’t always be easy. Write anyway. If it’s rubbish, that’s what editing is for. It is easier to just write when you have time, but unless you’re making a living as a writer and you have a publisher waiting on your manuscript, odds are there are going to be many things that are tempting to prioritize over writing. Make yourself do it though. After a little while writing every day does become a habit and your day will feel empty if skip that part of it.
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