(Unless you want to)
If you’re really into writing, you’ve probably heard of the various daily writing routines of famous authors. One of the most well-known is Stephen King’s. For years now, he has dedicated himself to start writing by 8:30 a.m. every day, for 4 hours each day. On a good day, he gets about 2,000 words out of his routine. With a decent book length being between 70,000-90,000 words, you can imagine that with all good days, no breaks, and no editing, Stephen King can probably write a book every month. In reality, he’s written over 60 novels and has over 1,000 distinct works and editions credited to his name. With productivity like that, the pervading advice for writers is that they should write every day.
But do you really have to? No.
A daily writing routine is a great idea. It keeps you focused; puts your brain on auto-pilot, so that you can focus on the story more and the act of writing less; and makes it easy to see active progress that can keep you motivated. If you can write every day, you should try it out and see if it works for you.
But if you can’t? Does that mean you’re doomed to never finish your book? No, of course not. Choosing to write a book is like entering the tortoise and the hare story. Except there’s no hare. You’re not in a race against anyone but yourself and the only two outcomes are (1) you haven’t finished the book and (2) you have finished the book. You don’t actually get any rewards for finishing your book faster than the next author. Slow and steady can win your race.
There might be a thousand reasons why you’re not ready to write every day. What matters is your dedication to your project and your thinking. I mean, you’re a writer! You’re creative! (Yes, even you non-fiction writers). If you want to see progress on your book, think outside of the box and find what will work for you. Maybe you can’t write every day, but you can write once a week. You can dedicate every national holiday to an 8-hour writing sprint. You can find a partner to read your work and motivate you to get keep them entertained. You can carve out a few weeks and dedicate them to your writing by joining programs like the November NANOWRIMO challenge or my Ideas Intensive (schedule a consultation to find out how to get started).
The point is, this is supposed to be fun. If you’re stressing out trying to squeeze your writing into your life in a way that feels unnatural, you may struggle to get writing that feels genuine to you. Your writing routine has to be yours. Your book journey has to be yours. If you have the time and mental stamina to write your book in a month like Stephen King or the many NANOWRIMO winners, then cheers! I’m sure the thrill of it was amazing, and you should be incredibly proud. But if your book takes you 15 years to write, then cheers to you too! You’ve proven your passion and dedication to your project, and you should be incredibly proud too.
In the end, we’re all just trying to get to the same place. With a book in our hands.
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